Master X3 for PowerCore Manual English Manual Master X3 for PowerCore
SUPPORT AND CONTACT DETAILS TABLE OF CONTENTS TC SUPPORT INTERACTIVE The TC Support Interactive website www.tcsupport.tc is designed as an online support and information center. At the site you can find answers to specific questions regarding TC software and hardware. All known issues are stored in a database searchable by product, category, keywords, or phrases.
WELCOME TO TC MASTER X3 GENERAL INFORMATION Knock out Punch for any mixes or masters. Period. Master X3 is the virtual incarnation of the TC Electronic Finalizer™, the standard mastering processor in the pro audio field. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Master X3 expedites the mastering process by integrating several phases of mastering into a single, easy to use interface. It features multiband processing with expansion, compression and limiting separately for each band.
USING PRESETS / GENERIC CONTROLS FACTORY PRESETS TC Master X3 comes with factory presets. These presets were designed by audio professionals who created them in real-life sessions. The presets are extremely useful to get started quickly, and some users might even feel no need to edit them! PLUG-IN AUTOMATION The TC Master X3 parameters can be automated, in case your host application supports automation. Please refer to your host application’s manual to check if and how Plug-In automation works.
OVERVIEW OVERVIEW Look-ahead Delay Output Dithering Consecutive Clipping Indicator Meter zoom Input/Output PPM Meters Band levels Crossover Frequencies Target Curve Compressor reduction meters Limiter Soft Clip Indication Input Level Output Level 3-Band Expander Controls 8 3-Band Compressor Controls 3-Band Limiter Controls Preset Manager 9
TC MASTER X3 – PARAMETERS TC MASTER X3 – PARAMETERS METERS & CONSECUTIVE CLIPPINGS FREQUENCY/LEVELS Meters Here you set the crossover frequencies and compressor gains for the 3 bands. You could adjust the crossovers by clicking/holding in the numerical fields and moving the mouse to left/right. A third possibility is to click into one of the three blocks and move the mouse to left/right. These PPM meters (Peak Program Meters) include a very accurate Peak Hold function.
TC MASTER X3 – PARAMETERS TC MASTER X3 – PARAMETERS EXPANDER Ratio On-Switch Determines the amount of compression, the higher the ratio the “stronger” the processing and the lower the remaining dynamics range. 3-Band Expander on/off Threshold Sets the Expander’s threshold. Values below the threshold will be lowered in volume according to the ratio set and for the defined range. Ratio The Ratio determines how much the output signal will be lowered in proportion to the original signal.
TC MASTER X3 – PARAMETERS TC MASTER X3 – PARAMETERS LOOK-AHEAD DELAY Target Factor Master X3 can look into the future, whenever this parameter is active! This won’t help you fortune-telling, but it’ll help Master X3 to be prepared for sudden peaks in your material, thus ensuring a much better quality processing! The Target Factor allows fast editing of the relation between the 3 bands, separately for each module.
MASTER YOUR MIX WITH MASTER X3 Master your miX with Master X3! ...or six easy steps to ultimate happiness! The following chapter introduces the various modules and features of Master X3 in a “hands-on” tutorial. Let’s imagine we’re working with some rock music. It’s the final mix from that very expensive recording studio down the road, but for some reason there is 5.0 dB of headroom left, wasting precious volume reserves. No compression was applied to the stereo mix.
MASTER YOUR MIX WITH MASTER X3 To get a better impression of how the sound – as opposed to the output volume – is influenced by Master X3, reduce the output level so the bypassed and processed signals are equally loud – but don’t forget to bring the output level back up in the end! The band levels in the upper display supply you with an additional tool for easily adjusting the sound of your mix. Use them like a low, mid, treble EQ! 4.
PRESET HANDLING Introduction We recommend using the dedicated PowerCore file handling system that, apart from recall; store and compare facilities, allows for easy exchange of entire preset folders with other users, between Windows/Mac platforms and also between different host applications. PRESET HANDLING As soon as you touch one of the parameters, the memory location “A” will be active. All parameter changes will be applied to memory location “A”.
