Black Rooster Audio BlackAsh SC-5 Installation guide

OVERVIEW & INSTRUCTIONS
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BlackAsh SC-5
OVERVIEW & FEATURES
1
About the BlackAsh SC-5
Classic VCA Compressor
Accurately modeled aer the „black frontplate“ revi-
sion of a classic and sought-aer VCA compressor the
SC-5 opens up a whole world of versatility:
You‘re going for super gentle compression to sweeten
up the signal on your masterbuss? You‘re looking for
a distorted, smashed-up sound on your drum buss?
You want to tame lively and dynamic material? The
BlackAsh SC-5 handeles it all.
Compared to its brother, the BlueAsh version of the
SC-5, the BlackAsh SC-5 brings you slightly dierent
compression behaviour, a dierent harmonic structure
paired with a darker sounding audio-path and the op-
tion to feed in external sidechain signals.
Plugin Activation & System Requirements
Black Rooster Audio plug-ins are equipped with a
straightforward and easy to use challenge-response
activation system. We did our best to make sure our
system works well for both online and oline users. By
supporting USB key activation, mobile use is suppor-
ted and just as easy as permanent activation of your
computer‘s hard disk.
For detailed information about the activation pro-
cess and the current system requirements of our plug-
ins please refer to: blackroosteraudio.com/faq.html
Key features
External sidechain input
The BlackAsh SC-5 adds an external sidechain input
that can be engaged by depressing the “Ext SC” button.
The BlackAsh SC-5 is a feedback compressor design,
thus feeding an external sidechain input into the exist-
ing feed-back loop circuit would result in feed-forward
topology, which would result in dierent compression
behaviour.
To overcome this problem, the external sidechain in-
put is treated just like the normal audio signal, while
the resulting control voltage is fed into a mirror VCA
that modulates the audio signal. This way feed-back
operation can be retained in both the normal and ex-
ternal sidechain modes.
Authentic circuit emulation
Our real time SPICE type component based circuit
simulation approach allows to authentically capture
the sound and feel of the analog counterpart in all nu-
ances. Every crucial part of the circuit, including the
custom VCA design, the detector circuit, the feedback
compressor loop and the audio path have been faith-
fully modeled.
SSE2 optimized code
DSP operations are pipe-lined using the SSE2 instruc-
tion set. This ensures highest possible performance
operation despite very complex computations.
Auto-adjusted oversampling for maximum audio trans-
parency
Aliasing artifacts are eiciently attenuated using a low
latency linear phase Dolph-Chebyshev poly-phase de-
sign. The oversampling is auto adjusted to your ses-
sion‘s sample rate to save valuable CPU power while
oering the most transparent sound possible.
HighDPI / Retina Support
All our plug-Ins support high pixel density on Mac OSX
and Windows to bring you the most enjoyable user
experience on high DPI displays. Please refer to your
manual to nd whether your DAW is HighDPI capable
if you‘re working on Windows.

BlackAsh SC-5
CONTROLS & USER INTERFACE
2
» Power
Engages or bypasses the processing altogether.
» Limit
Toggling this button engages or bypasses the circuit‘s compressor path. Using this switch
allows you to monitor the eect of your current setting. The output stage as well as the meter
LEDs (see below) will remain active also when bypassed.
» Link
This is an addition to the original circuit. Sets the unit into stereo linked operation when
depressed or dual-mono compression, otherwise. Only available in stereo instances.
» Gain
Controls the amount of gain in the compressor path. The BlackAsh SC-5 is a xed threshold
compressor: The more you drive the gain stage the more compression will be applied to your
signal. Drag the knob with the right mouse button and the Output knob will move into the
opposite direction, this function allows for adding compression without increasing the volume.
» Ratio
Use this knob to adjust the ratio of the compressor in the range from 1:2 to 1:∞.
» Attack
Use this knob to dial in the attack time from 200us to 20ms.
» Release
Controls the release time in the range from 100ms to 2s.
» Output
Use the output gain knob to compensate for volume changes applied by the compressor
stage in the range between -∞ and +18 dB. Drag the knob with the right mouse button and the
Gain knob will move into the opposite direction, this function allows for adding compression
without increasing the volume.
» Ext SC
Depress this button and the compressor will react to external sidechain signals instead of the
audio inputs. This allows for de-essing, ducking or other eect compression tasks.
ATTENTION: Be careful with strong compression settings and high output gains when engaging
the external sc signal. This may result in high volume jumps when the external signal is un-
routed/silent.
» Gain Reduction LED Meter
The red LEDs monitor the gain reduction applied by the compressor stage.
» Threshold LED
The yellow LED monitors by which amount the compressor‘s threshold is exceeded by the
incoming signal. The brighter the LED lights up, the more compression will be applied.

BlackAsh SC-5
PREFERENCES & SHORTCUTS
3
GUI Size
In the GUI size menu you can select your preferred GUI
scaling from a list of four settings, if the default mode
(Normal) is too big or too small for your taste. Please
note that the GUI size setting is a global preference that
aects all Black Rooster Audio plug-ins installed on your
system.
Check for updates
Click the Check for updates entry to see if the plug-ins installed on your system are up-to-date. This function
requires internet access.
Knob behaviour & keyboard shortcuts
Use the plug-ins settings menu to select your preferred knob mode globally, i.e. all of our plug-ins share the same
setting among all DAW applications. Choose between „Host Setting“, „Circular“, „Relative Circular“ and „Linear“:
• By default the knob mode is set to „Host Setting“ which means that the knob mode is dictated by the DAW
application. Some VST hosts allow to change the knob mode setting in their preference menu. Our plug-ins
will respect the host knob mode in that setting.
• In the „Circular“ or „Relative Circular“ modes knobs will react to circular mouse gestures and you have to
drag your mouse in clockwise or counter-clockwise direction to change a knob‘s value.
• In the „Linear“ mode you have to drag your mouse up or down when selecting a knob to change its value.
Use the knob sensitivity menu to adjust the knob sensitivity to taste. This function is only available in linear mode.
All of our plugins support the following keyboard shortcuts
AU Hosts on Mac OS
Alt + Click - Reset control to its default value
Shi + Drag - Fine control
Shi + Mousewheel - Fine control
VST Hosts on Mac OS
CMD + Click - Reset control to its default value
Shi + Drag - Fine control (only a applicable in linear knob mode)
Shi + Mousewheel - Fine control
VST Hosts on Windows
Ctrl + Click - Reset control to its default value
Shi + Drag - Fine control (only a applicable in linear knob mode)
Shi + Mousewheel - Fine control