VoxDucker Manual
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VoxDucker is a multi-mode, sidechain dynamics tool that ducks the input signal when the sidechain signal is present. It has 3 ducking styles to choose from with varying transparency, allowing for more of the ducked signal to be preserved while still keeping the sidechain signal clear and audible. It is primarily designed to be used for voice-over. However, it can work on all signal types, for example, kick and bass or vocal and guitar. Vox Ducker makes a great partnership with Voxessor. Place Voxessor on the voice and VoxDucker on the backing, and they work together to create a perfectly balanced and legible voice-over in seconds.

Place VoxDucker on your backing track and route the voice into the plugin's sidechain input (see your DAW docs for routing). If several plugins on the backing tracks are used VoxDucker should be the last plugin in the chain.

Basic Controls

Mode - Select between three ducking types. Broadband is classic ducking where the entire signal is ducked. Multiband uses 6 bands tuned to respond well to voice. It preserves more of the backing as the bands with the least activity are ducked less. Spectral is the most accurate, it preserves most of the backing as only the frequencies present in the sidechain are removed from the input. This mode has latency and is the most CPU-intensive.

Depth - Controls the amount of ducking. It works like a ratio control on a compressor.

Attack - Controls how quickly the signal will start ducking when the sidechain signal exceeds the threshold. It ranges from 10ms to 1sec.

Release - Controls how quickly the signal will return to normal after the sidechain signal drops below the threshold. It ranges from 100ms to 5secs.

Threshold - Controls the level at which the ducking will start. If the sidechain signal exceeds this threshold, it will trigger the ducking. If the sidechain signal is below this threshold, it will be ignored. It is useful, for example, to stop background noises from triggering the ducking.

Look-ahead - Controls the amount of offset for the detection. It allows the detector to be ahead of time, meaning it can predict the sidechain before it happens. This is used when you want the ducking to start before the voice, making the beginning of the speech clear and audible. This incurs latency, so it must be set to 0ms for live use.

Smoothness - Controls the amount of smoothing of the detected signal by using an RMS window. It also smooths the dynamic response around the threshold with a soft knee.

Meters

gr - shows the Gain Reduction amount applied on the music track

in - Measures the tracks input volume.

side - Shows the input volume of the Sidechain channel (typically voice-over track)

out - Shows the overall output volume of the track

Right-click

Right-click anywhere in the plugin background with the right mouse button, and you will get access to the following features.

Scale GUI precisely by per-cent.

Get the version info.

Access product web page, reach support and access online documentation.

Contact support

Open presets folder (to add, arrange or delete presets manually)

Activate/Deactivate the plugin

Access Licence manager (to activate or deactivate the plugin or several plugins at the same time)

Disable/Enable GPU Acceleration.

Disable/Enable Intelligent sleep on silence function that disables the plugin when no sound is on input or output to save the CPU power.

Right-click any control (knob, button) to access help for the particular parameter.

Double-click Menu

Some parameters let you access more accurate numeric settings by double-clicking the knobs.

Toolbar

A+B buttons - The plugin remembers 2 sets of settings, A and B. Clicking any of these 2 buttons switches between these 2 settings. The selected one is highlighted in red. This is a great way for A/B check and select the best settings.

Undo+Redo - Will revert back one step to help avoid the accidental change of parameter values.

Presets and right and left arrows - The plugin comes with a set of presets, which should do the trick for most cases or give you a good starting point when tweaking your sound. Access them using the right and left arrows or by clicking the preset field directly. You can save and manage your own presets there as well. In your computer, presets are stored in the following paths:

Windows:

C:\Users\username\Documents\SoundeviceDigital\VoxDucker

macOS X:

HOME/Documents/SoundeviceDigital/VoxDucker

Installation and maintenance

Installation is a quick and simple process involving downloading and using a standard installer on both platforms, Windows and Mac OS X. The installer places the plugins and presets into proper locations so that your DAW can easily find them. The plugin is available for all relevant interfaces: VST, VST3, AAX and AU. Note that on OS X since High Sierra you may need to restart your computer to make your DAW find new plugins.

If you find yourself in trouble, please contact us via support@unitedplugins.com.

Updating

Updating the plugin to the newest version is as simple as using the newest installer.

Uninstallation

Windows - You can either use the link to the uninstaller in the start menu by typing VoxDucker for example or it can be accessed via Control panels / Applications/

macOS X - First, delete the plugin files manually from:

AU: /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components

VST: /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST

VST: /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3

AAX: /Library/Application Support/Avid/Audio/Plug-Ins

Then if you really want to get rid of all data created by the plugin, remove the following folders as well:

HOME/Documents/SoundeviceDigital/VoxDucker

HOME/Library/Application support/SoundeviceDigital/VoxDucker

Note: Since OS X 10.7 (Lion), many folders are marked as hidden by default. To make them visible again in Finder, please follow this tutorial:

https://ianlunn.co.uk/articles/quickly-showhide-hidden-files-mac-os-x-mavericks/

Trial and activation

VoxDucker is initially in demo mode, which lets you evaluate the plugin. Try it in your mixing/mastering sessions and make sure it really does the trick. When ready, purchase a licence from our shop or any of our resellers. You will receive a so-called licence file, which you download to your computer. The plugin displays an ACTIVATE button when in trial mode. Click it and select the licence file. The plugin will check the licence and activate the licence on your computer. After you restart your DAW, the plugin will be activated and will work indefinitely without restrictions. You can use the plugin on all your computers.

Support

Now that you’ve taken the time to learn all about VoxDucker enjoy and make your sound awesome! If our plug-ins helped you take your production to the next level, let us know, we’d love to hear from you and what you were able to create with our software.

If you encounter any problems, we offer free technical support for all registered users. Start with the frequently asked questions here:

http://www.unitedplugins.com/faq

If you need further assistance, you can find our Customer Support contact form at:

http://www.unitedplugins.com/contact

You can also reach our support staff by e-mail at:

support@unitedplugins.com

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