AfterLife Setup.

Tracking/Recording

If you want to apply AfterLife during recording, simply insert it into your recording chain. See below for a sample set-up

Re-Tracking

Employ AfterLife against pre-recorded tracks. This is an excellent way to apply saturation post-recording, and either replace the original track(s) or mix-in to taste without altering the original track.

Incorporating Outboard Hardware into your DAW

There are many reasons why Sound Engineers incorporate outboard hardware into their workflow. One of the major drivers is the opinion that plugins cannot accurately emulate the non-linear nature of hardware. And while most hardware found in traditional studios has been well emulated, many will still say nothing beats the real thing! So it is no surprise that most DAWs are fully capable of supporting outboard components.

In order for a DAW to access external hardware, they typically employ what is called an I/O (Input/Output) plugin. Here you will select from the various Output and Input ports available in your Audio Interface(s). When connecting external hardware to these ports, you will be sending and receiving audio at Line-Level which is similar to the output from a preamp or a DI (Direct Inject) box. Unless the hardware is meant to receive a signal from a microphone or an instrument, most external hardware operates at this level - both input and output - so we can ensure standard compatibility.

Even though these I/O plugins will support Line-Level audio, they should also allow you to manage the output level leaving the DAW. And similarly, the input level your DAW will accept, coming back from the interface preamp or line-in jack. However, most interfaces also have an adjustable preamp gain dial as well (e.g., Scarlett, Apollo, etc.) which can be used to manage gain into the interface. Managing gain out and back from the DAW is not that complicated if you are applying gain staging that aligns to a standard.

The Send level is used to increase the amount of saturation against the source track. For the Return signal, which is connected into one of your interface preamps, ensure the gain is turned-down all the way, and do not engage the pad. You may need to increase this gain as you work toward Unity Gain.

And finally, latency is also a factor when dealing with outboard gear. In the box, your DAW works at the speed of light, but sending a signal from your DAW to hardware and waiting for the response may take a few samples or milliseconds. Your I/O plugin should also account for this latency.

Managing Send and Return Levels

AfterLife will produce saturation and compression as you increase the level of the source you send to it. Sources that have a lot of Low-end energy will excite the circuit sooner, while mid & high-end dominant sources may require a little push:

Peak of Source - Generally speaking, your raw source should peak around -18 to -12dB. If the track has a level higher than -12dB, it will limit the range of saturation you can apply (i.e., hotter signals excite AfterLife faster)
Send Level - On your I/O plugin, leave the Send level at 0dB until you are ready to set the level of saturation
Return Level - On your I/O plugin, leave the Return level at 0dB for starters
Unity Gain - Now check for Unity Gain. If you are not there yet, ensure you do not have the preamp pad engaged and add gain to the preamp until unity

Selecting Levels of Saturation

As you increase the Send in your I/O plugin, AfterLife will become more excited and start to apply natural compression to the source. A Send of 0dB and a Return of 0dB should result in Unity Gain. If you want to maintain Unity Gain as you are auditioning different saturation levels, for every dB boosted on the Send, attenuate the Return by 1dB.

NOTE: For every dB you add to the Send level, you will need to decrease the Return by 1dB to maintain Unity Gain. You may desire to set the Return to 0dB after selecting the level of saturation desired.

Tracking with AfterLife (in Logic Pro)

Because most DAWs do NOT apply anything in the FX chain to the recorded track, your setup may seem a little odd, but believe us, it is not difficult to grasp. This method is one of a few commonly employed setups in professional studios that allows you to apply plugins like EQ, Compression, etc. to the recording:

AfterLife Send AUX - Create an Aux, name it "AfterLife Send" and set the input to the source of your incoming signal

Then add the I/O plugin to the chain and ensure you have selected the appropriate output and input ports, and have adjusted for latency. Leave the Send and Return at 0dB which should result in Unity Gain
Use your preamp gain to set the peak level (around -12 to -18dB is a standard)
Set the output of this track to a new Aux (see AfterLife Return Aux below)

Setting Saturation Levels

Audition the source and increase the Send level on the I/O plugin until you have a achieved the level of saturation you desire
Reduce the Return level by 1dB for every dB added to the Send to adjust for Unity Gain or set the Return to 0dB to eliminate the level boost

AfterLife Return AUX - This Aux is receiving its signal from the AfterLife Send Aux, so name it "AfterLife Return"

Change the Output of this Aux to "No Out" so it won't double the signal on your stereo out

Recorded Track - Now create a new audio track and change the name to whatever you are recording like "Vox - Lead"

Set the Input to the AfterLife Return Aux
Hit [Record]...

Re-Tracking with AfterLife (in Logic Pro)

If you would like to apply AfterLife to an already recorded track:

Source Track - On the Source Track (e.g., "Vox - Lead"), turn-off all plugins in the FX chain

Add an I/O plugin at the end of the chain
Be sure you have selected the appropriate output and input ports, and have adjusted for latency. Leave the Send and Return 0dB so you are at Unity Gain
Play the source track and add any additional preamp gain necessary to achieve Unity Gain
Now add an Aux Send to the track, we are going to call this Bus 20, and set the send level to 0dB (Unity Gain)
Now set the output of this new Aux to No Output

Setting Saturation Levels

Audition to the source track and increase the Send level on the I/O plugin until you have achieved the level of saturation you desire
You may need to reduce the Return level by 1dB or so to adjust for Unity Gain

AfterLife Track - Now create a new Audio track and name it the same as your Source Track, but add AfterLife to it (e.g., "Vox - Lead (AfterLife)")

Set the input to the Bus (Aux) from the Source Track (e.g., Bus 20)
When you are ready, hit [Record]

Remember to remove the FX Send and I/O plugin from the Source Track when you are finished, and enable its original plugins. You may also want to copy the plugins from the Source Track to the Recorded Track and set the fader level so the new track matches the source.

NOTE: AfterLife will add harmonics and compression so the new track may actually be louder even though it is at the same peak level as the original.

Side-Chain Management

SOUND AND AC CURRENT

Sound, whether it is digital or in an analog circuit, is comprised of an alternating current (AC) which is represented by a sinusoidal (sine) wave.

And with each respective frequency in an electrical signal, a degree of energy is required to generate it. Lower frequencies require more energy as opposed to higher frequencies that require less comparatively. Think of the power it takes to drive a sub woofer versus a tweeter.

Saturation is the result of a controlled “overload” of a circuit. At certain levels saturation can be quite pleasing, but if the circuit were to become too loaded, the saturation loses its musical quality. High quality saturation is therefore a fine balance and difficult to achieve without extremely tight requirements from the components that generate it.

If you pass an audio signal through an analog circuit at a rate that causes the circuit to become excited, the lower frequency information will tend to saturate faster because it has more energy. This is also why many compressors have a side-chain high pass filter so you can tame the load against the incoming signal.

This is not to be confused with what some plugin makers incorporate into their products called an Equal Loudness Contour which is founded in the research from Fletcher-Munson in the 1930s where they identified the frequencies that were most and least audible by humans. An Equal Loudness Curve or EQC attempts to attenuate or boost frequencies so they are more naturally audible to the listener with the ultimate goal of a non-flat response.

HRMNC SIDE-CHAIN MANAGEMENT

So it is no surprise when incorporating the Hrmnc into your workflow we want to consider the impact of the entire frequency spectrum against the source. If we pass a drum bus through the Hrmnc, assuredly the low-end, because it has the hottest signal, will excite the circuit and beautiful low-end saturation will result. But the high-end information like cymbals and snare may not receive much if any saturation response.

Pushing Hrmnc further can elicit high-end saturation, but it may also cause the low-end to saturate and compress beyond what is desired.

To address this fundamental “feature” that affects all analog hardware, we propose a very common solution. You can manage the frequencies presented to Hrmnc so that it is excited by the full frequency spectrum.

Applying two gentle sloping bell curves to the source, before the I/O plugin, one attenuating the low-end and another boosting the high-end, will balance the electrical current passing-into Hrmnc and will elicit a much more flat response from the unit.

Notice the cross-over of these identical but opposing curves at 600hz. This is the midpoint on the 20 to 10khz frequency spectrum. Exciting frequencies above 10k is generally not desirable because it sounds like noise to the listener.

By applying a gentle slope to the attenuated low-end and boosting the high-end from this point, we are telling Hrmnc to respond equally to the entire spectrum, regardless of the frequency.

And since by its design, Hrmnc does not attenuate or boost frequencies naturally, you can then reverse this EQ after the I/O plugin, leaving you with no net change to the frequency response.

This is a common trick used by engineers who work with analog equipment, especially hardware that does not have side-chain management.

The end result is you get a more balanced response from Hrmnc and zero alteration of the frequency spectrum. Just a larger sonic footprint from the harmonic saturation and a more responsive overall output!

Here are the specs for each of these presets:

PreQ:

1. Bell Curve: 85hz

Gain: -6dB
Q: 0.3

2. Bell Curve: 4.3khz

Gain: +6dB
Q: 0.3

PostQ:

1. Bell Curve: 85hz

Gain: +6dB
Q: 0.3

2. Bell Curve: 4.3khz

Gain: -6dB
Q: 0.3

APPLICATION

You may find not all sources require these pre/post EQs, especially those with little low-end information below 250hz. If this is the case, side-chain management is likely not necessary. All the same, we generally incorporate it at all times to simplify our workflow.

You will also find boosting the high-end even further for some sources imparts a better high-end harmonic response. Just remember to offset the boost in the PostQ and pay attention to the natural compression that results from a hotter signal. The additional high-end may be pleasing to the ears but may actually drive a decrease in the dynamic range of the source which could potentially be problematic.

In some cases you may also want to disable to low-end bell for mid/high-end dominant sources like vocals and guitar. For these sources, Hrmnc will not bias the low-end, and so attenuating it may actually diminish the amount of low-end saturation you desire from the unit. If you do this, remember to disable the low-end bell curve on the PostQ as well.

And finally for low-end dominant sources like bass guitar and drums, you may find 6dB of attenuation is not enough to balance the response. Based on our research the -6/+6 standard applies well to all sources, but there are no hard rules. Audition the change in saturation with more attenuation and potentially a higher Send level. Just remember to offset the change on the PostQ if you change the PreQ.