Next release preview: multi-band audio processing

Monday, September 23rd 2013
Rack Performer - multi-band audio processing
Multi-band processing is a very powerful tool with many different applications, like dynamics control, waveshaping and creative sound design.

With the new crossover modules in Rack Performer, you can now do multi-band processing the modular way!

The principle is pretty simple: take your audio signal and split it by frequency into different bands. For instance, anything below 300 Hz would be your low band, anything above 8000 Hz would be your high band, and what remains in between would be the mid band.

Now you can apply selective processings to these individual bands that will affect only a particular frequency range and leave the other bands unaffected. You could for example compress the mid band only, or apply a reverb to the high band only, and if you are into more experimental music, there are a lot of exciting possible effect combinations.

Ususally multi-band processing is confined to a particular effect unit (ex: multi-band distortion) but as Rack Performer is a modular environment, it works at a higher level, making it completely open to any kind of processing. The 2-, 3- and 4-Band Crossover modules have one output per band in the patcher and can handle up to 7:1 signals. You can see the 3-Band Crossover patched on the left part of the screenshot above, and on the right part, in action with simply 3 Peak Meter modules connected to its 3 outputs.

The signal splitting inside the modules is performed by filter banks based on the Linkwitz-Riley crossover design. The current series is implemented with 3rd order complementary all-pass filters, and while being slightly different from the original design, they exhibit the same qualities (they sum to unity) and problems (they introduce a phase shift between the processed version of the signal and the non processed one)

We hope you will enjoy this new addition to the toolbox!

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