Using The Side Chain; De-Essing Vocals - Avalon VT-737SP Operation Manual

When engaged, the frequency band selected is
multiplied by a factor of ten. This means that the
frequency is shifted upward by a multiple of ten.
In the case of the LOW MID, this shift is from the
range of 30Hz- 450Hz to the frequency range of
300Hz-4.5KHz and in the case of the HIGH MID,
the shift is from the range of 200Hz-2.8KHz to
the range of 2KHz-28KHz. Try experimenting with
these different range settings to see how effec-
tive they are at covering the full audio spectrum.
The HI-Q buttons toggle between two pre-select-
ed values of a measurement called "Q". "Q"
stands for "quality factor", a technical term
which defines the bandwidth of the equalization
filter. When HI-Q is engaged, a narrower band-
width of the specified frequency is affected.
4.4.5 Using the Side-Chain
Iserting an equalizer into a compressor's gain
reduction control path is commonly known as
side-chaining. This allows for spectral control of
the effect of compression at specified frequen-
cies. The most frequent application of this tech-
nique is known as de-essing vocals (technically
called sibilance control). De-essing derives its
name from the often needed task of removing
excessively pronounced "S" sounds from vocals
or, "de-essing" them.
To insert the equalizer into the side chain:
1. Set the compressor to full compression to
begin with. (described in previous section)
2. Engage the SC < MIDS switch the LOW MID
and HIGH MID Frequencies are routed into the
control circuit for the compressor. The amount of
gain in the mid bands represents the amount of
side chain compression for the selected frequen-
cies.
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The Bass and Treble controls are still active
while the side chain is engaged. Also the
EQUALIZER does not need to be engaged to
use the side chain. However it is easier to
focus on the desired frequencies by using the
equalizer.

4.4.6 De-essing Vocals

The following explains how to adjust your
Vt-737sp to "focus-in" and get rid of the sibi-
lance or annoying "sss" sounds on vocals
called de-essing.
1. Plug in microphone and adjust to required
levels.
2. Push in EQUALIZER switch to activate EQ.
3. In the HIGH MID section push in the X10
and HI-Q switches.
4. Boost the HIGH MID level +10dB to +15dB
to hear the "sss" sounds.
5. Slowly sweep the HIGH MID Hz frequency
control between the 5kHz and 20kHz while
singer is singing. This will increase the "sss"
sound at the exact frequency that it is occur-
ring.
6. Push in the COMPRESSOR and METER
switches.
7. Adjust compressor controls to:
COMPRESSION RATIO: 10:1
THRESHOLD: -25dB
ATTACK: fast
RELEASE: fast
8. Adjust COMPRESSION and THRESHOLD
so that you are reading approximately 3dB of
gain reduction during singing.
9. Now press in SC->MIDS. This switch grabs
the two mid bands and takes them out of the
audio path and into the side-chain path. This
means that now you have boosted the "sss"
Avalon Vt-737sp Operation Manual
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