3.6

Displays

FabFilter Pro-C comes with some very cool ways of looking at all the dynamic information.

On the left, you'll find the basic transfer function display which shows the input/output relationship. The horizontal axis corresponds to the input signal level, and the vertical axis is the output level (measured in decibels). The red area in the display shows the current signal level. Furthermore the threshold, ratio and knee are visible so you have a clear view on those compressor settings. See Compressor basics for more information.

In the center is a very useful other window: the animated level display showing the actual input, output and gain-reduction levels in a 2D animated display. Very useful if you want to know exactly what's happening. The input level is shown in grey, the gain reduction as a red line, and the output level is yellow. Use the three small colored knobs underneath the display to adjust the opacity of each of the three curves to your liking.

To the right, there are three very accurate peak level meters, which are always displaying the current input level, gain reduction level, and output level as well. In addition, the output meter will freeze the peak level if it has clipped (shown in red). Click the meter to reset it.

Notes

• The animated level display will slide under the knee display when Expert mode is enabled.
• You can change the scale of the level display and the peak level meters with the Meter Scale drop-down button, ranging from 48 dB (the default) to 8 dB for very precise mastering purposes. The transfer function display always keeps the 48 dB range.
• With the small Display Enabled button, you can turn off all animated displays in case you find them distracting. The peak level meters will always be visible, though.
• To save all display settings so they will be re-used in future plug-in instances, click Save Interface Defaults on the Help menu. The display settings will also be saved with presets and in songs.
• If the output meter indicates clipping, this does not imply distortion in Pro-C: it can handle levels above 0 dB easily. Rather, this indicates that the output signal might clip in another part of the audio chain, for example your sound card or host software.

Next: Expert mode

See Also
Compressor basics
Overview