User Manual

MD4 HD NATIVE MULTIBAND DYNAMICS

EQ, versatile 5-band Compressor and True-Peak Limiter Based on the
Legendary and Award-Winning System 6000 as a Native DAW Plug-in for
Mixing, Mastering and Post-Production

2021-03-12, Rev. 2
2 MD4 HD NATIVE User Manual

Table of Contents
Important Safety Instructions....................................... 3
Legal Disclaimer.............................................................. 3
Limited warranty............................................................. 3
1. Introduction................................................................. 4
2. Plug-in Installation..................................................... 4
2.1 Installation on a PC............................................................... 4
2.2 Installation on a Mac........................................................... 5
3. Activate the MD4 HD NATIVE iLok license................ 5
3.1 Activation................................................................................. 5
3.2 Get a Free Demo License................................................... 5
4. Connection and Setup................................................ 6
4.1 Inserting the MD4 HD NATIVE plug-in in
your DAW project........................................................................ 6
4.2 Operating the MD4 HD NATIVE....................................... 6
4.3 Signal flow through the algorithm:................................ 6
5. User Interface.............................................................. 7
5.1 Overview.................................................................................. 7
5.2 Main Page................................................................................ 8
5.3 EQ Page.................................................................................. 10
5.4 Compressor Page................................................................ 12
5.5 Output Page......................................................................... 14
6. Dynamics Processing In-Depth................................ 15
6.1 Compressor........................................................................... 15
6.2 Limiter..................................................................................... 16
6.3 Modern Mastering, Loudness and True-Peaks........ 16
7. Presets........................................................................ 18
7.1 Factory Presets..................................................................... 18
7.2 User Presets........................................................................... 18
7.3 Favorite Presets.................................................................... 19
7.4 Make Current Preset Default........................................... 19
7.5 Reveal User Preset Folder in Explorer.......................... 19
8. Software Updates ..................................................... 20
9. Specifications............................................................. 20
3 MD4 HD NATIVE User Manual

Important Safety 9. Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polarized 20. Please keep the environmental aspects of battery
Instructions or grounding-type plug. A polarized plug has two blades disposal in mind. Batteries must be disposed-of at a
with one wider than the other. A grounding-type plug battery collection point.
has two blades and a third grounding prong. The wide 21. This apparatus may be used in tropical and moderate
blade or the third prong are provided for your safety. If the climates up to 45°C.
provided plug does not fit into your outlet, consult an
electrician for replacement of the obsolete outlet.
10. Protect the power cord from being walked on or LEGAL DISCLAIMER
pinched particularly at plugs, convenience receptacles, Music Tribe accepts no liability for any loss which may
Terminals marked with this symbol carry
and the point where they exit from the apparatus. be suffered by any person who relies either wholly or in
electrical current of sufficient magnitude
to constitute risk of electric shock. 11. Use only attachments/accessories specified by part upon any description, photograph, or statement
Use only high-quality professional speaker cables with the manufacturer. contained herein. Technical specifications, appearances
¼" TS or twist-locking plugs pre-installed. All other and other information are subject to change without
12. Use only with the
installation or modification should be performed only notice. All trademarks are the property of their
cart, stand, tripod, bracket,
by qualified personnel. respective owners. Midas, Klark Teknik, Lab Gruppen,
or table specified by the
Lake, Tannoy, Turbosound, TC Electronic, TC Helicon,
This symbol, wherever it appears, manufacturer, or sold with
Behringer, Bugera, Oberheim, Auratone, Aston
alerts you to the presence of uninsulated the apparatus. When a cart
Microphones and Coolaudio are trademarks or registered
dangerous voltage inside the is used, use caution when
trademarks of Music Tribe Global Brands Ltd. © Music
enclosure - voltage that may be sufficient to constitute a moving the cart/apparatus
Tribe Global Brands Ltd. 2021 All rights reserved.
risk of shock. combination to avoid
injury from tip-over.
This symbol, wherever it appears,
13. Unplug this apparatus during lightning storms or LIMITED WARRANTY
alerts you to important operating and
when unused for long periods of time.
maintenance instructions in the For the applicable warranty terms and conditions
accompanying literature. Please read the manual. 14. Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel. and additional information regarding Music Tribe’s
Servicing is required when the apparatus has been Limited Warranty, please see complete details online at
Caution damaged in any way, such as power supply cord or plug musictribe.com/warranty.
To reduce the risk of electric shock, do not is damaged, liquid has been spilled or objects have fallen
remove the top cover (or the rear section). into the apparatus, the apparatus has been exposed
No user serviceable parts inside. Refer servicing to to rain or moisture, does not operate normally, or has
qualified personnel. been dropped.
Caution 15. The apparatus shall be connected to a MAINS socket
To reduce the risk of fire or electric shock, outlet with a protective earthing connection.
do not expose this appliance to rain and 16. Where the MAINS plug or an appliance coupler is
moisture. The apparatus shall not be exposed to dripping used as the disconnect device, the disconnect device shall
or splashing liquids and no objects filled with liquids, remain readily operable.
such as vases, shall be placed on the apparatus.
17. Correct disposal of this
Caution product: This symbol indicates
These service instructions are for use that this product must not be
by qualified service personnel only. disposed of with household
To reduce the risk of electric shock do not perform any waste, according to the WEEE
servicing other than that contained in the operation Directive (2012/19/EU) and
instructions. Repairs have to be performed by qualified your national law. This product
service personnel. should be taken to a collection center licensed for the
1. Read these instructions. recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment
(EEE). The mishandling of this type of waste could have
2. Keep these instructions.
a possible negative impact on the environment and
3. Heed all warnings. human health due to potentially hazardous substances
4. Follow all instructions. that are generally associated with EEE. At the same time,
5. Do not use this apparatus near water. your cooperation in the correct disposal of this product
will contribute to the efficient use of natural resources.
6. Clean only with dry cloth.
For more information about where you can take your
7. Do not block any ventilation openings. Install in waste equipment for recycling, please contact your local
accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. city office, or your household waste collection service.
8. Do not install near any heat sources such as 18. Do not install in a confined space, such as a book
radiators, heat registers, stoves, or other apparatus case or similar unit.
(including amplifiers) that produce heat.
19. Do not place naked flame sources, such as lighted
candles, on the apparatus.
4 MD4 HD NATIVE User Manual

1. Introduction 2. Plug-in Installation

Congratulations on the purchase of your MD4 HD NATIVE Multiband Dynamics
The MD4 HD NATIVE plug-in installer can be downloaded from the following
Processor.
page:
Originally launched in 1999 and available in Music, Mastering, Broadcast and
https://www.tcelectronic.com/p/P0ED6
Film variants, TC Electronic's Flagship System 6000 processor is recognized as
an industry standard for mix, mastering and post-production applications. You The MD4 HD NATIVE plug-in requires an active PACE iLok license to work. See
will find the System 6000 in literally thousands of world-leading recording, film, Chapter 3. 
post and mastering studios all over the world, and in quite a few OB vans and
Save the installer file (.pkg or .msi file) in a convenient location on your hard
broadcast production studios as well. The platform has won no less than three
drive.
of the prestigious TEC Awards over the years: in 2000 for the original System
6000, in 2005 for Mastering 6000 and in 2010 for System 6000 MKII. No longer
the preserve of the recording elite, these native DAW plugins will deliver all of the
2.1 Installation on a PC
performance of the iconic original unit combined with modern day convenience. Double click the installer (.msi file). If you get a security warning, click ‘Run’.
TC Electronic set about re-imagining the legendary System 6000 as native DAW
plug-ins, without sacrificing any performance, character or useability. The Danish
engineers, including many from the original System 6000 team, refined audio
quality whilst staying faithful to the original hardware version. The development
team fastidiously re-engineered these new native plug-ins to offer full support
for standard DAW automation and project recall with new optimized user
interface ergonomics.

MD4 HD NATIVE Main Features

• Six band Parametric EQ (Dual Mono capability)
• Normalizer with softclipper
• Full featured 5-band Compressor
• MS Encode/Decode for operating EQ and Compressor in Mid/Side mode
• Updated True-Peak BrickWall Limiter with legacy sample peak option Accept the license agreement and click ‘Next’.
Available for the first time as a plugin for DAW based productions, the TC
Electronic MD4 HD NATIVE plug-in is tailormade for music and sound production
in all forms. The MD4 HD NATIVE is the most transparent high-definition
dynamics processor ever made for your DAW, featuring a flexible 6-band EQ,
5-band compressor, soft clipping, and a newly optimized true-peak limiter.
MD4 HD NATIVE features four different highly versatile compression types –
normal/downward, parallel/upward, the truly-unique parallel stereo-unlinked
mode, and details-focused DXP mode that allows you to lift up low-level detail
individually in each band, without touching precious transients. MD4 HD NATIVE
offers full dynamics control of each of the 5 bands and with the ability to choose
compression of RMS, Peak or anything in between.
MD4 HD NATIVE operates in stereo and true mid/side processing, includes EQ
unlinking, dual mono rare artifact-free split and recombination crossover filter Select which VST and/or AAX components you want to install. Pro Tools uses AAX
banks. MD4 HD NATIVE is for the highly critical ear. It is perfectly suited for any and most other DAW programs use VST. The installer will offer a default location
demanding mastering job and is also equally suitable for use for a wide variety of to save the file, but you can choose another location by clicking
content material in music and post-production, ideal for single sources, buses and the ‘Browse’ button.
master mixes.
TC Electronic wishes you all the best, and we hope that you will enjoy the
MD4 HD NATIVE in your audio projects.

About this manual

Read this manual to learn how to install and use your TC Electronic MD4 HD
NATIVE multi-band dynamics processor plug-in. This manual is only available in
PDF format from the TC Electronic website. To get the most from this manual,
please read it from start to finish, or you may miss important information.
To download the most current version of this manual, visit the web page:
www.tcelectronic.com/Categories/c/Tcelectronic/Downloads
If you still have questions about your TC Electronic product after reading its
manual, please get in touch with TC Support:
www.tcelectronic.com/brand/tcelectronic/support
5 MD4 HD NATIVE User Manual

Click ‘Next’ to begin the installation. When installation is complete, click ‘Finish’.
3. Activate the MD4 HD NATIVE iLok
Note: If your DAW fails to detect the newly installed plugin, this can often be
fixed by adding the following paths to the Plug-in Manager (or similar) of the
license
DAW. The default paths on a PC are "C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST2" and
"C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3" for VST2 and VST3, respectively.
3.1 Activation
Step 1: Install iLok
2.2 Installation on a Mac The first step is to create an iLok user account at www.iLok.com and install the
PACE iLok License Manager on your computer if it’s your first time using iLok.
Double click the installer (.pkg) file.
Step 2: Activation
In the received mail when buying the MD4 HD NATIVE, you will find your personal
Activation Code. To activate your software, please use the "Redeem an Activation
Code" feature in the PACE iLok License Manager.

Proceed through the prompts to begin installation.

3.2 Get a Free Demo License

Make use of this hassle-free offer to try out our plug-ins before you buy.
• 14-Day Trial Period
Click ‘Continue.' • Fully Functional
• No Feature Limitations
• No Physical iLok Key Needed

Step 1: Install iLok

The first step is to create a free iLok user account at www.iLok.com and install the
PACE iLok License Manager on your computer if it is your first time using iLok.
Step 2: Get your free trial license
Go to:
https://www.tcelectronic.com/brand/tcelectronic/free-trial-md4hd-native

and enter your iLok User ID.

A default location will be selected for installation, or you can select another Step 3: Activation
folder manually. If you have administrator authorization in place, you will need to
Activate your software in the PACE iLok License Manager.
enter your password before beginning installation.

Click 'Close' when done.

6 MD4 HD NATIVE User Manual

4. Connection and Setup 4.2.3 Bypass

Press the BYPASS button at the top to bypass or engage the MD4 HD NATIVE.
4.1 Inserting the MD4 HD NATIVE plug-in in
your DAW project 4.2.4 Automation
Once you have downloaded the plug-in, you can now apply it to a channel in your Please be aware that automation of certain parameters, can cause audible
DAW to begin using the effect. This process may vary slightly depending on your artifacts.
software, but generally should require these steps:
In case you need to automate these parameters, you should take care that
• Select a channel or bus in your DAW to which you would like to add the effect. changes only take place in parts where no audio is sent to the plug-in.
Access the mixer page where you should see a section dedicated to effect slots.
• Open the menu where you can select from a list of effect types, which 4.2.5 Parameter Overview
probably includes many stock plug-ins that are included with the DAW.
The MD4 HD NATIVE is a 5-band, 2-Channel Dynamics processing algorithm. The
There should be submenu to view general VST/AU/AAX options.
algorithm contains:
• The plug-in will likely be found in a dedicated TC Electronic folder. Select the
MD4 HD NATIVE and it will now be added to the signal chain. • Stereo 6-band precision EQ (linked, left/right, or mid/side operation)
• Stereo 5-band compressor (stereo or mid/side operation)
Double click on the effect slot that contains MD4 HD NATIVE to view the plug-in
UI. • The MD4 HD NATIVE will run at sample rates up to 192kHz

4.2 Operating the MD4 HD NATIVE 4.3 Signal flow through the algorithm:
After you have installed the plug-in, and activated the iLok license, you can begin
working with the plug-in on your tracks. NORMALIZER
MS DECODER
GAIN
Adjustments to the effect are done using the plug-in user interface:

LOW CUT
LIMITER GAIN

MS ENCODER

SOFT CLIPPER
TRIM GAIN

EQ (6 BAND) LIMITER

Most DAWs offer the ability to move or drag plug-ins from one track/bus to
another, and MD4 HD NATIVE supports this as well. 5-BAND DYNAMICS
(COMPRESSOR OUTPUT GAIN
Most DAWs also feature an on/off switch for plug-ins, accessible inside the plug-in WITH DEFEAT) (+ COMPARE GAIN)
window and/or the track itself. Note that some hosts don’t offer smooth on/off
switching. Use the Global Bypass button on the MD4 HD plug-in interface for a
smooth and latency-compensated bypass.

4.2.1 Insert vs Aux Effect

The MD4 HD NATIVE is intended for insertion directly into an effect slot on a single
channel, sub mix bus or master bus, which passes the entire signal through the
effect.
Be careful if using MD4 HD NATIVE on an auxiliary bus, as mixing the output of
MD4 HD NATIVE with the original track sound will potentially create a phasing
issue depending on your DAW's ability to correctly compensate for latency in
plug-ins.

4.2.2 Mono/Stereo Operation

The MD4 HD NATIVE can be used both as a mono instance on mono tracks and a
stereo instance on stereo tracks.
In the case of a mono out instance, the output signal is made by outputting the
left plug-in channel only. In this case, panning should not be used.
7 MD4 HD NATIVE User Manual

5. User Interface Meters

• Gain reduction meters for compressor: these show the low, low-mid,
5.1 Overview mid, high-mid, and high for left/mid and right/side. The meter range
There are four tabs along the left edge of the interface, that bring up various is (+/- 15 dB). Note The horizontal orange line on the gain reduction
pages of controls. The controls and features are described in more detail in the meters indicates the offset of each band. In Normal, Parallel and Parallel
following pages. As a general note, the parameters, controls, and graphs are UL mode, the GR meters are offset by the Makeup Gain of each band.
color-coded as shown below: This gives an indication of the overall effect of the Compressor gain
reduction and the Makeup Gains. In DXP mode, the offsets indicate the
The top part of the display:
boost that is applied to signals below the threshold. This depends on the
• Bypass: Press this to bypass or engage the MD4 HD NATIVE. This makes it settings of Threshold, Steer and Makeup Gain.
easy for you to listen and compare the overall effect of your work
• Input L/R meters (0 to -60 dB range)
• The EQ and compressor can be individually bypassed using the ON
• Output L/R meter (0 to -60 dB range with limiter soft clip indication)
button (at top right) in each of their control pages
• Output Limiter meters (0 to -12 dB range)
Tabs on the Left
• Use the input and output gain/trim controls in the MAIN and OUTPUT
• Main: This brings up controls for the normalizer gain, trim gain left,
pages to adjust the levels if required.
right (orange), and controls (green) for initial setup of the compressor
Near the Bottom
• EQ: The parametric equalizer, with controls for adjusting the frequency,
gain, EQ type, low, mid and high, EQ bypass. The bands are color coded • Assign Focus Fields: You can place your own favorite set of parameters in
the 6 focus fields. (See section 5.2.1 for more details)
• Compressor: Controls (green) for compressor threshold, ratio, makeup
gain, attack, release, defeat threshold, defeat ratio, with compressor • The EQ and compressor (see the following pages), each have a horizontal
bypass row of parameters just below their controls, such as threshold, gain, etc.
If you click on any of these, the parameters are shown in this focus fields
• Output: Limiter controls (orange) for gain, soft clip L/R, threshold L/R.
area. Click again to return the focus fields to your assigned fields.
Output controls (green) for output gain, compare enable, and compare
gain Along the Bottom Left
Controls • Preset number, preset name, preset type, preset favorite, preset up/
down
• Any of the circular controls can be adjusted either by dragging on the
dials or numeric value in the box, or by double-clicking and entering a Along the Bottom Middle:
numeric value.
• Tool Tips shows useful information about the current selection
Bottom Right Corner:
• Setup, shopping cart, user interface size adjustment

Global Bypass
Gain
Reduction
Meters
Left/Mid
Right/Side
Main Tab Normalizer
Input Trim 5 Bands
Controls
Limiter
EQ Tab Soft Clip
Compressor Controls

Input
5 Band Meter
L/R
Output Output
and Limiter Meter
L/R
Focus Fields
Pin
Focus
Assign Fields
1-6

Preset Up/Down Preset Name Preset Type

Tool Tips Window Setup and Window Size
Preset Number Preset Favorite Cart Adjustment
8 MD4 HD NATIVE User Manual

5.2 Main Page

Input (orange controls) EQ can be linked or unlinked.

Normalizer Gain In Mid/Side mode, the left meter shows the Mid channel, and the right meter
shows the Side channel.
Range: -18 dB to +18 dB in 0.1 dB steps
NOTE : When a mono signal is processed, only the left channel of the algorithm
The Normalizer Gain is the first gain stage in the plugin, used to adjust the overall
is active
level of the input signal.
Mode
Trim Gain (L/R or M/S)
Range: Normal, Parallel, Parallel Unlinked, DXP
Range: -12 dB to +12 dB in 0.1 dB steps
Select Normal for downward compression
Trim the gain level for the two input channels to the EQ.
Select Parallel for upward compression. By default (Wet Gain 0 dB), the dry and
When using the EQ section, the gain might have been increased or decreased. The
compressed signals are added in equal parts and then compensated by -6 dB.
Trim Gains are used to optimize the gain before reaching the Compressor section.
This results in a neutral gain when the compressor is not actively reducing the
5 Band Compressor Setup (green controls) signal. The contribution of the Compressor signal can be adjusted using Wet Gain
(see the Compressor Page).
Configuration
Select Parallel UL for upward compression with unlinked compressor. This works
Options: Stereo, Mid/Side
just like Parallel, except that the two channels (L/R or M/S) are compressed
Stereo independently, so peaks on one channel don't lead to gain reduction on the other
channel. Beware that this can lead to changing the stereo image, although this
In Stereo Mode, the Compressor section of the algorithm uses by default one
is not as noticable in Parallel mode, because the dry signal still preserves the
common Sidechain for both Left and Right channels, and the EQ section is linked.
original stereo image.
It can be unlinked.
NOTE: in M/S Unlinked configuration, Parallel and Parallel UL are identical.
The gain reduction meters show the left and right channels.
Select DXP compression for lifting up low levels without touching transients. This
Mid/Side (MS)
mode introduces a new parameter on each band: Steer, instead of Threshold.
In this mode, the MS encoder is activated. The Compressor section of the Steer determines the slope and boost of that particular band. Bands hit unity gain
algorithm uses Sidechains as follows: (0 dB gain) at the Reference Level, so low-level boosting only takes place below
that level, and is at the max below each band’s Threshold.
• When COM LINK is enabled, there is only one Sidechain.
• When COM LINK is disabled there is a separate Sidechain for the Mid and
Side channel.
9 MD4 HD NATIVE User Manual

Lo Cut Click on the PIN Icon inside the ASSIGN button, and the Assigned Focus Fields will
remain when presets are changed. The numeric values within the Focus Fields
Range: Off, 2 Hz to 200 Hz, with increasing step width as frequency increases.
will change to the new preset values.
This Low Cut filter is used to remove potential noise at low frequencies
Detector Crest
Range: Peak, 6, 10, 12, 14, 16, 20, 24, RMS
Select the Sidechain level detection method of the compressor between RMS and
PEAK for all bands. The dB steps between RMS and Peak are the number of dBs
In the example below, Focus Field 1 has become Trim Gain Left by dragging the
needed for a peak-value to override the RMS measurement, and can be perceived
control down and releasing it over the Focus Field 1 button. It will stay like this,
as a Threshold setting.
even when you move to the EQ page or Output page. Note that Focus Field 1 is
Example: highlighted in color while it is being assigned, as is the Trim Gain L control
If the Crest parameter is set to 6 dB, the Compressor will respond to RMS values
and to peaks 6 dB higher than the current RMS value.
Reference Level
Range: -24 dBFS to 0 dBFS in 0.5 dB steps
This parameter sets the reference level in the algorithm.
The reference level is the level at which the Compressor Threshold parameters
will start operating when set to 0 dB.
For example, in order to keep “unity gain,” it can be beneficial to set the reference
level close to the RMS level you are aiming for, and then use the Threshold
parameter to set the amount of compression.
Look-ahead Delay
In the EQ and 5 Band Compressor pages, the Focus Fields will show other
Range: 0 to 15ms parameters if any of the buttons are selected in the lower area of each page. For
example, here are the Focus Fields when GAIN has been selected in the row of
<2ms in 0.1ms steps
buttons below the EQ graph. To return to your assigned Focus Fields, deselect
>2ms in 0.5 ms steps GAIN by pressing it again.
Sets the look ahead Delay of the signal compared to the Sidechain signal. This
enables the compressor section to become more responsive to the incoming
signal, thereby performing a more precise compression.

5.2.1 Focus Fields

Each of the six Focus Fields along the bottom can be assigned to any of the
available controls. These useful assignments remain visible when you switch to
different pages. For example, you can adjust the Compressor Threshold while you
are on the EQ page.

Click on ASSIGN in the lower left, and you will notice that the control knobs will
become blank. (This is a good reminder that you are in ASSIGN mode.) Click and
drag any of the controls and drop it down onto the desired Focus Field 1 to 6.
You can also click the desired focus field and then click the control to assign to it.
When finished assigning, select the ASSIGN button again.
10 MD4 HD NATIVE User Manual

5.3 EQ Page

Introduction • Press FREQ again, and the Focus Fields will return to their assigned fields
This page features a 6-band parametric EQ, switchable between Notch and • Select GAIN, and the Focus Fields show the gain in dB for each band.
Parametric filters. The outer bands can also be changed to Low/High Cut or Low/ Adjust the values in the Focus Fields as desired
High Shelving.
• The needle-sharp notch filter has a range down to 0.02 octave
• The parametric equalizer features a natural and well defined bandwidth
behavior at all gain and width settings
• The shelving filters have a variable slope, with options of 3, 6, 9, and
• Select LOW, and the frequency, gain, and type of the LO1 and LO2 bands
12 dB/oct
are shown. Adjust the values in the Focus Fields as desired
• The low-cut and high-cut filters are switchable between 12 dB/oct
maximum flat amplitude (Butterworth) or flat group delay (Bessel)
types
Basic Operation
• Press the colored buttons LO1, LO2, MID1, MID2, HI1, HI2 at the top of the
• Select MID, and the freqency, gain, and type of the Mid1 and Mid2
graph, to activate or deactivate the EQ bands. Alternatively, double-click
bands are shown. Adjust the values in the Focus Fields as desired
on the colored handles in the graph
• Click and drag left/right the colored handles in the graph to adjust the
frequency and drag them up/down to adjust the gain. Use CTRL+Drag
(or CMD+Drag on a Mac) to change the bandwidth
• Press the ON button at the graph's top right, to bypass all bands
• Below the graph, select Freq, Gain, Type/BW or Low, Mid, High to access • Select HIGH, and the freqency, gain, and type of the High1 and High2
all parameters on individual bands. bands are shown. Adjust the values in the Focus Fields as desired
• For example, if you press the FREQ button, the Focus Field below it
shows the frequency in Hz of all bands.
• Click and drag the value in the Focus Field to adjust it, or double-click on
the value and manually enter a valid value
11 MD4 HD NATIVE User Manual

Type /BW Selector Notch Filter - Narrow Type

• Select TYPE/BW and use the Focus Fields to select filter types and vary
the parameters. Click and drag on the numeric value to scroll through
the types and their available values
• LO1 and HI2 filter options: Notch, Parametric, Shelve, and Cut
• LO2, MID1, MID2, HI1 filters options: Parametric and Notch

• Typical graphs of the different filter types are shown below:

Parametric Filter - Broad type
• Bandwidth Range: 0.02 octave to 1 octave
• Frequency Range: 20 Hz to 20 kHz
• Gain Range 0 dB to -100 dB
Cut Filter - Bessel type

• Bandwidth Range: 0.1 octave to 4 octave

• Frequency Range: 20 Hz to 20 kHz
• Gain Range -12 dB to +12 dB
• Frequency Range: 20 Hz to 20 kHz
Shelving Filter
Cut Filter - Butterworth type

• Frequency Range: 20 Hz to 20 kHz

• Bandwidth Range 3, 6, 9, or 12 dB/octave

• Frequency Range: 20 Hz to 20 kHz
• Gain Range -12 dB to +12 dB
12 MD4 HD NATIVE User Manual

5.4 Compressor Page

Stereo or Mid/Side Stereo Operation

The configuration control in the MAIN page allows you to select Stereo or MID/ If Stereo configuration is selected in the MAIN page, then the top section of the
SIDE for the compressor setup (as well as the EQ, Trim Gains and Meters). Compressor page shows STEREO, and the gain reduction meters are shown as
LEFT and RIGHT.
Stereo Configuration

If Mid/Side configuration is selected in the MAIN page, then the top section of
the Compressor page shows STEREO initially, and the gain reduction meters are
shown as MID and SIDE. The COM LINK selection allows the compressor controls
to be linked between the stereo and mid/side.
Mid/Side (MS) Configuration
13 MD4 HD NATIVE User Manual

Turn off COM LINK to allow separate compressor control of the Mid and Side. Threshold
Range: -25 dB to 20 dB in 0.5 dB steps
Relative to the Ref.Level setting (Main page).
When the Input signal exceeds the Threshold value, the Compressor starts to
reduce the dynamic content of the signal according to the set Ratio.
Makeup Gain
Select SIDE, and the Compressor controls will affect the Side instead of MID. Range: Off, and -12 dB to 12 dB in 0.1 dB steps.
Manual Makeup-gain for each compression band.
Where the Gain controls in the Main page compensate for the total gain
reduction caused by the Compressor, the Makeup Gain in the Compressor page is
used as additional gain control on the individual bands.
Ratio
Range: Off to Infinity
If at any time you want the SIDE control settings to be the same as the MID
Specifies the Ratio of the performed compression.
settings, press the COPY button. (It will not copy from SIDE to MID).
Example: With a Ratio setting of 2:1 the compressor will reduce every 2 dB above
X Over
the Threshold point to only 1 dB. This changes to STEER when in DXP mode.
The compressor operates in 5 bands, using a low crossover, low-mid, high-
Attack
mid, and high crossover. The Gain Reduction meters show these 5 bands, with
markings for L, M, and H. Range: 0.3 to 100ms
Select X OVER and the crossover frequencies can be viewed and adjusted in the The Attack time is the time the Compressor uses to reach the gain reduction
first 4 Focus Fields. specified by the Ratio parameter.
The 4 crossover frequencies can be set to OFF (turn all the way down) in order to Example: If the Input signal increases by 4 dB above the set Threshold, with a
run MD4 HD NATIVE as a 4-band, 3-band, 2-band, or full band compressor. Ratio set to 2:1 and the Attack time is set to 20ms, then the Compressor will use
20ms to reach a Gain reduction of 2 dB.
Release
Range: 20ms to 7s
The fallback time. This is the time it takes for the Compressor to release the
attenuation of the signal.
Defeat Threshold
Controls Range: -30 dB to -3 dB in 0.5 dB steps
Use the rotary Compressor control knobs to adjust the overall Threshold, Makeup The Defeat Threshold is used in combination with the Defeat Ratio to expand
Gain, Ratio, Attack and Release. The knob values correspond to the Comp All lower levels
values you will see in the 6th Focus Field shown below.
Defeat Ratio
If you select from the row of Threshold, Gain, Ratio, Attack and Release buttons,
Range: Off to 1: Infinity
or if you just click on any rotary control, the Focus Fields will show the Com
Lo, Com LoMi, Com Mi, Com HiMi, Com Hi and Com All values for the selected Specifies the Ratio of the performed compression.
parameter. This allows you to adjust the compressor parameters for the each
The Defeat Ratio is used in combination with the Defeat Threshold to expand
of the five bands. Adjusting the Com All value in the 6th Focus Feild adjusts the
lower levels
value of all bands. However, the Com Mid value only adjusts itself and the Com
All value. Steer (DXP mode only, it takes the place of the Ratio control)
The example below shows RATIO selected, showing the separate ratio values in Range: Off, -11 to +10, NORMAL in center position
the Focus Fields for each band, and the "Com All" parameter in the 6th Field. In
DXP processing enables boost of only low level material, without affecting
this example, the Lo band ratio is 3.20:1 and the Mid and Hi are 2.00:1.
material that is already loud enough. The boost is applied to levels below the
The Mid Band value follows the Com All value, and is the same value as the rotary Reference level, and reaches its max at Threshold. The more Steer, the more audio
knob. If you vary Com All, then all five bands will change, but keeping in the same is steered towards the Ref Level. For more information about this parameter, see
relative distances from each other. the previous description of DXP Mode.
Wet Gain (Parallel or Parallel UL mode only)
Range: Off, -40 dB to 6 dB in 0.5 dB steps
Only active in Parallel or Parallel UL mode.
Use this to adjust the compressed signal's contribution to the parallel mix. "0 dB"
means there is an equal amount of dry and compressed signal.
14 MD4 HD NATIVE User Manual

5.5 Output Page

The Limiter Limiter Soft Clip L/R

The limiter cannot prevent destruction of dynamic range from happening at Range: -6 dB to +6 dB in 1 dB steps; OFF
earlier stages in the production process, but it can get rid of the signals we
Soft clipper threshold (sits after the Limiter Gain).
know are going to get distorted in consumer CD players, radio processors or data
reduction codecs. The softclip threshold is relative to 0 dBFS - not to the Ref Level.
The limiter operates with extended precision in both level and time. Double- Limiter Threshold L/R
precision calculations are always used.
Threshold is relative to 0 dBFS - not to the Ref Level.
The Limiter employs adaptive time constants to combat distortion at low
Range: -12 dB to 0 dB in 0.1 dB increments, OFF
frequencies, while maintaining quick adoption to occasional peaks.
Limiter Link
Range: On=Stereo, Off= Left/Right
This links the Limiter in Stereo, or unlinks it in Left and Right
Output Gain
Range: Off to 0 dB (<-40 dB: in 3 dB steps, >-40 in 0.5 dB steps)
Output level adjustment for both channels.
Limiter Gain
Compare Enable
Range: -6 dB to +12 dB in 0.1 dB steps
Click to activate the compare function, and activate these controls. Due to the
The Limiter Gain is used to control the output loudness (sits between the difference in level, "in-circuit" and "out-of-circuit" comparisons are often difficult
compressor and the limiter soft clipper) to make using the BYPASS key. Use the Compare Gain parameter to compensate.
Limiter Profile Compare Gain
Range: Dynamic, Soft, Universal, Loud, Voice Range: -20 dB to 0 dB in 0.1 dB steps
Dynamic: Gentle adaptive profile for sensitive dynamic/acoustic content Processing with MD4 HD NATIVE will most often also mean raising the level of the
signal.
Soft: Gentle adaptive profile for soft audio content
To make a realistic comparison of processed and unprocessed signal, it is
Universal: Adaptive profile for universal use and general audio content
important to compare at equal levels. Use the Compare level to set a level for the
Loud: Fast adaptive profile for loud/agressive rock/pop/electric content processed signal.
Voice: Adaptive profile for voice/asymmetric content
15 MD4 HD NATIVE User Manual

6. Dynamics Processing In-Depth Examples of Compressor Threshold and Ratio

Let us look into setting the Threshold and Ratio. In many cases, you would use a
After the Normalizer Gain, the signal is gently split into 5 overlapping bands - the low threshold, in combination with a small ratio and vice-versa. Let us choose a
low, low-mid, mid, high-mid, and high frequencies. It will then compress each low threshold of -23 dB and a small compression ratio of 2.5:1.
band somewhat independently. Thereby, for example, a powerful kick-drum will
We have now set the compressor – but with identical settings for all 5 bands.
not modulate the processing of the lead vocals. After compression, the 5 bands
With identical settings, we are not taking full advantage of the multiband
are combined again.
capabilities. This is where the individual band controls come in. For example,
click on the Thresh control knob once, or the Thresh button in the row below the
6.1 Compressor controls, and the Focus Fields change to show the Threshold settings for each
The very basis of compression can be reduced to "controlling the dynamic band. To return to the Assigned Focus Fields, select Thresh again.
content" of an audio signal. This basically means turning down the loudest parts
of the source material and raising the volume of the parts with low level content.
But how this is done, and how this is applied in audio production, is slightly more
elaborate.
Keep an eye on the illustration below and let us look at the basic compression
parameters:

The controls allow you to create different settings for each of the 5 bands and All.

Examples of Attack, Release and Crossover Frequencies

Let us look into how to set the Attack and Release Times.
We start with small values for both parameters. If the attack time is too short,
we may remove some nice transients or “kick” from the material. This may not
be what we want, so we could try a greater value instead. Heavy peaks can be
smoothed using the limiter section.
If the release-time is too fast, it may result in a “pumping” effect, because the
compressor returns to the uncompressed signal immediately whenever the signal
Threshold falls below the compressor’s threshold setting. If so, we could increase the value
The Threshold parameter sets the limit where the compressor kicks-in/ of the release time until we are satisfied with the result.
releases its grip of the signal. As soon as the level is above the set threshold the
You could start with an Attack time of 1 ms and a Release time of 200 ms.
compressor is active. When below - it is not.

Ratio
The Ratio sets the amount of gain reduction applied when the signal exceeds the
threshold. In the illustration above, the Ratio is the steepness of the curve after
the compressor threshold.

Attack
The Attack time is the time it takes for the compressor to reach the compression
amount specified by the set ratio.

Release
The Release time is the time it takes for the compressor to release the signal
after the input signal is below the threshold point again. How each of these
parameters are set is very important, and only the correct combination gives the
desired result.
16 MD4 HD NATIVE User Manual

If you do not get the desired result, you could also try some different crossover 6.3 Modern Mastering, Loudness and True-
frequencies. Keep in mind that you have 5 independent bands – why should a Peaks
bass drum signal affect the mid and high bands when its peak is in the low end?
The MD4 HD NATIVE is a multi-band dynamics-multi-tool, highly suitable for the
Click on the XOVERS button in the row below the control knobs, and the Focus
mastering process, with many ways to make your mix sound better, but if not
Fields will show the 4 crossover frequencies. You could start out by using 100 Hz,
used wisely, there are many ways of making it sound worse!
400 Hz, 1.6 kHz and 6.3 kHz if applied on drums, or 125 Hz, 500 Hz, 2 kHz and 8
kHz, if applied on a full range mix. There is a risk of becoming speed-blind in the tuning process, and at first prefer
an over-compressed and loud-sounding track. This is a situation that can be
Click the XOVER button again to return to the Assigned Focus Fields.
avoided by:
• Knowing your music genre deeply
• Using relevant reference tracks for comparison
• Ensuring calibrated monitoring levels
• Using an optimized monitoring environment
The resulting Loudness and Dynamic Compression are two of the most important
properties of a track, adjusted finally in mastering. These two properties can be
regarded as counterparts to each other. In other words, it is important to:
• Decide how loud your tracks should be
• Design the dynamic profile of your music
Due to the fixed 0 dBFS ceiling in digital audio, louder tracks have less dynamics,
and “weaker” tracks will potentially have more dynamics.
Note: Sometimes it is easier to adjust the Attack and Release times and the
Crossover frequencies by using extreme values for Threshold and Ratio during We recommend that you do not hyper-compress and limit your tracks to the
setup. This will make the effect of your settings much easier to hear. extreme in the mastering process, in order to achieve a loud track. If you overdo
it, it will potentially reduce the audio quality of your work. And often, there
6.2 Limiter is even a penalty in playback stages so your loud track may end up sounding
weaker, rather than louder.
The Limiter is actually yet another compressor. It uses a very fast attack time and
has a ratio of 1 to infinity. But why is the Limiter necessary?
6.3.1 Loudness
The Loudness approach to music mastering is based upon similar methods
introduced more than a decade ago by the industry producing audio for TV.
Loudness measures how loud we actually hear audio, which is different from
“level” PPM meters that look at transients only. The Loudness method includes
K-filtering that emulates human hearing, where bass affects the perceived
loudness level less, and where frequencies from approximately 2 kHz and up
affect the perceived loudness level more.
Loudness is a modern, but still well-rehearsed reference method, which is
standardized in BS-1770, and many music streaming services refer to this
standard, or similar proprietary methods.
Loudness is measured on the LUFS metering scale. LUFS stands for "Loudness
Units Full Scale." The scale does not measure sound as a dB meter or a VU meter
For the compressor to be used as a musical tool, the set attack times are relatively
would. Rather, it accounts for how the human ear (and brain) perceives the
long (from 1 to 100 ms). This gives the disadvantage that certain peaks can pass.
loudness of a track. That is also why there is only one loudness value or level,
Therefore a limiter with an attack time of as little as 0.1 ms and a ratio of 1 to
instead of one per channel.
infinity prevents nearly all overshoots.
Loudness examples: Some Streaming Services will aim for -16 LUFS loudness
You may want to use the Limiter carefully, as a limiter is always a somewhat
when they play back music tracks with “Sound Check” enabled. The AES
“drastic” tool to apply to your audio. If on a full mix, just a couple of dB should be
community recommend streaming music between -20 and -16 LUFS. Often
enough to limit strong peaks. If on a channel, feel free to sculpt your sound but
you will see songs that measure -14, -12, -10 or even -8 LUFS and it will vary for
beware that the more compressed and limited it is, then the less “life” and more
example by music genre.
“ear-fatiguing” it will most likely sound.
17 MD4 HD NATIVE User Manual

6.3.2 True Peak 6.3.4 Compress-O-Meter - Master Analyser

Often, there can be small peaks of sound in-between digital samples, TC Electronic has launched a free on-line service at the following address:
intersample peaks, that go undetected in most digital tools. Where traditional
https://finalizer.com/analyzer
peak meters and conventional peak limiters fail to read those true peaks of
sound, a True Peak meter will provide the mastering engineer with the actual This analyzer can help you investigate and decide the suitable loudness level
reading. and amount of dynamics processing for your music, when you compare it to your
preferred reference tracks, or pre-analyzed giant hits through the history.
Without a True-Peak Limiter, a mastered track could go into digital clipping when
converted to a lossy format like MP3 or AAC or when being Digital-to-Analog A central part of this service is the Compress-O-Meter:
converted in normal playback systems. This can happen, even if no distortion is
heard when monitoring the final master.
Although it doesn't have a True-Peak meter, the MD4 HD features a True-Peak
Limiter, which ensures that there are no intersample peaks above the level the
limiter threshold is set to. Be aware that further processing after the MD4 HD
might introduce intersample peaks again.

6.3.3 Beware of The Loudness Wars

An important note on loudness, is that there has been a trend in mastering
toward making songs appear louder and louder. Since you can never exceed
the 0 dBFS digital ceiling, applying a brickwall Limiter at the final stage, the
result often has been to apply very aggressive settings on dynamics tools such
as multiband compressors, so-called ‘loudness optimizers’, as well as the final
Brickwall Limiter itself. This phenomenon has been referred to as ‘The Loudness
Wars’.
This escalated because we naturally perceive a louder version of a song to be
better than a softer version, when you compare them directly. Another cause is
that record industry people would compare an ‘airplay’ version of one track to a
newly mastered CD track, where the former tended to sound louder and fatter
due to FM broadcast processing – leading to a request to make the master louder,
with more cowbell. Well, the ‘wars’ may have peaked, but it is still something
that you should be aware of and pay attention to. And while we say that they
may have peaked, they are not completely over…
The X-axis is the amount of Dynamic Compression. It is unit-less, so you should
Further, if you apply extreme amounts of compression, distortion occurs, which not add “dB”, “ratio”, or similar, when thinking about it.
may lead to listening fatigue for you as well as your audience. Of course, the
The Dynamic Compression is based on the track’s Peak-to-Loudness (PLR) value
amount of compression that you can use in order to fit a certain music genre can
and a measurement of the micro-dynamics of the track.
vary, but just stay aware of how it affects your music, and act accordingly.
• Very dynamic music with lots of transients and loud and soft passages,
It is also very important that you always listen to your own mastering project and
will have a low Dynamic Compression value, to the left in the Compress-
your reference library at the same loudness level when you compare them. There
O-Meter.
is no doubt that while a heavily compressed song – dynamically speaking – may
sound more impactful at first, you will sacrifice detail and nuance. • Very dense music with little transients, will have a high Dynamic
Compression value and show up to the right.
Finally and as mentioned above, keep in mind that the current trend in music
streaming is a target loudness of approximately -16 LUFS, so if you deliver a The Y-axis is the full track Loudness value, shown in LUFS (Loudness Units Full
significantly louder song, it will get turned down automatically if the listener Scale).
chooses to apply the ‘normalization’ feature such as ‘SoundCheck’ or ‘Same Level’
that aligns the loudness of the songs in the library. And if that happens, your very 6.3.5 Additional tools
loud song may well end up sounding much less impressive than the competition!
We recommend using the Icon Series BRICKWALL HD for adding detailed True
Peak limiting and loudness awareness to your chain, which will ensure a solid
master audio file that will comply with any play back system or streaming
service.
18 MD4 HD NATIVE User Manual

7. Presets 7.2 User Presets

The MD4 HD NATIVE offers a collection of factory presets, as well as the option to If you make an alteration to any of the parameters in the current preset, the
create and save your own custom settings as user presets and favourites. preset name changes to italics as a reminder that something has changed from
the original factory preset.
Note that most DAWs have a built-in preset function that appears on every plug-
in, which is often found at the top of the plug-in window.
It is not recommended to use this as your primary method of saving presets, as it
has limited functionality and does not allow the saved presets to be transferred
To save this new setting as a User preset, click in the PRESET window, then select
easily to other DAWs. Instead, we suggest using the Preset section at the bottom
the Save As option. Save it with an appropriate name.
corner of the user interface window:
To discard the changes without saving, simply navigate away from that preset.

A single click on this PRESET window brings up a menu with several preset-
related options. You can recall a factory or user preset from the libraries, save the
current preset, or create a new user preset with the 'Save as' option.
Note: the following illustrations are from a different plug-in, but the main
features are the same.

The altered preset will be saved as a user preset, with your new name for it, and
its name will appear in the presets window.

If you modify a saved user preset, you have the option to "Save" (overwriting over
the existing user preset) or "Save As" (save as a new user preset).
If you modify a factory preset, then only "Save As" is available (to save as a new
The presets menu is divided into Factory Presets and User Presets.
user preset). Factory presets cannot be overwritten.
7.1 Factory Presets
Factory presets are built into the plug-in and cannot be overwritten, so if a
factory preset is modified and you want to keep the changes, you need to save it
as a User preset. User presets can be edited and organized as you like.
When recalling a Factory preset or saved User preset, the name will appear in
plain text as shown below.
It will have a number to the left of the title, if it has been assigned as a favourite
(see later), otherwise it will show "--" next to it. Do not be alarmed.

User presets are not given a number unless you assign them as favourites. (See
Favourite Presets below.)
19 MD4 HD NATIVE User Manual

7.3 Favorite Presets 7.3.1 Browse Favorites Only

Creating your own presets will make them accessible from the Preset menu, The 'Browse Favorites Only' option in the preset menu allows the UP/DOWN
but they will only appear in the list of 100 favorite presets in the plug-in if you set arrows in the bottom bar of the plug-in. Otherwise, scrolling goes through all
them as a favorite. This is done by assigning a favorite slot number to the preset presets.
using the Favorite menu.
Click the FAVORITE (heart-shaped) button at the right edge of the preset window,
then select one of the 10 banks. Assign one of your custom presets to a favorite
slot, then save the preset.

7.4 Make Current Preset Default

Selecting 'Make current preset default' will cause this preset to appear every time
a new instance of the plug-in is created.

7.5 Reveal User Preset Folder in Explorer

To change the name of a preset, select 'Reveal User Preset Folder in Explorer'
and modify the file name. This will open a Finder (Mac) or Explorer (PC) window
where the user presets are stored. You can rename as well as delete, copy and
paste presets. This allows you to share presets with other users online, simply
pasting the new ones in this folder.

When a preset is assigned a favorite slot number:

• The preset is part of the 100 presets that can be recalled

• The favorite number will be locked so that two presets cannot be
assigned to the same favorite slot number. This is shown in the Favorite
menu by graying-out the number in question
• The favorite number will be displayed in brackets when you browse the
presets menu
You can remove the favorite assignment by selecting the “Remove Assignment”
feature in the Favorite menu, then saving the preset.
20 MD4 HD NATIVE User Manual

8. Software Updates 9. Specifications

New versions of the software may be released to add new features and improve
performance. Updates can be detected from the plug-in directly and can be Sound
installed after download from the website. See Chapter 2 for plug-in installation.
Processing 5 Band compression/limiting, softclip
If the ’Automatically check for updates’ option is checked inside the update
Sample rates 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192 kHz
menu, the red dot will appear on the settings icon when a new plug-in
is available.
Software Support
Operating systems Mac OS X 10.13 High Sierra or above,
Windows 7 or above
Plugin formats AAX-native, Audio Units, VST2.4,
VST3. 64 bit
Click the gear icon and select “Check for Updates” to perform a scan.
21 MD4 HD NATIVE User Manual