Pulsar Pulsar Massive User manual


PulsarMassive
UserManual
www.pulsar.audio
Pulsar Massive - User Manual - page 1 / 35

Tableofcontents
Pulsar Massive - User Manual - page 2 / 35
Introduction......................................................................................................................................................4
Welcome..........................................................................................................................................................5
Our experience............................................................................................................................................5
Sound and science......................................................................................................................................5
Our user interfaces......................................................................................................................................5
The search for the right equipment..............................................................................................................5
A final word..................................................................................................................................................5
Passive equalizers...........................................................................................................................................6
History.........................................................................................................................................................6
Pulsar Massive’s filtering forms...................................................................................................................7
Bell filters.................................................................................................................................................7
Shelving filters.........................................................................................................................................9
Special modes.......................................................................................................................................10
Parallel equalization..................................................................................................................................13
Quick start.....................................................................................................................................................14
Installation.................................................................................................................................................14
Activation...................................................................................................................................................14
First steps..................................................................................................................................................16
The user interface..........................................................................................................................................17
Use of parameter controls.........................................................................................................................18
Parameter locking......................................................................................................................................18
Using the GUI resize control......................................................................................................................18
The Toolbar...............................................................................................................................................19
Undo / Redo..........................................................................................................................................19
Preset Selection....................................................................................................................................19
Save / Save As......................................................................................................................................20
A / B.......................................................................................................................................................20
Rack visibility button..............................................................................................................................20
Menu Button..........................................................................................................................................20
Oversampling settings.......................................................................................................................21
Stepped Gains/Freqs.........................................................................................................................21
Other options.....................................................................................................................................22
The control panel.......................................................................................................................................23
The control rack.....................................................................................................................................23
Power................................................................................................................................................24
Auto Gain...........................................................................................................................................24
Transformer.......................................................................................................................................25
L/R M/S..............................................................................................................................................25
Link....................................................................................................................................................26
Listen.................................................................................................................................................26
Channel bypass.................................................................................................................................26
Band name field.................................................................................................................................26
Band bypass......................................................................................................................................26
Band filter type...................................................................................................................................27
Gain knob..........................................................................................................................................27
Frequency..........................................................................................................................................27
Bandwidth..........................................................................................................................................28
HPF...................................................................................................................................................28
LPF....................................................................................................................................................28
Drive..................................................................................................................................................29
Output Gain.......................................................................................................................................29
The curve display rack...........................................................................................................................30
Equalization using the curve display.................................................................................................30
Spectrum visualization.......................................................................................................................31
Level visualization.............................................................................................................................31

Tableofcontents
Pulsar Massive - User Manual - page 3 / 35
Minimum Configuration..................................................................................................................................33
License agreement........................................................................................................................................34
License......................................................................................................................................................34
Updates.....................................................................................................................................................34
License transfer.........................................................................................................................................34
Activation...................................................................................................................................................34
Trial............................................................................................................................................................34
Third-Party Software..................................................................................................................................34
Disclaimer..................................................................................................................................................35

Introduction
ThismanualdescribesthefeaturesandoperationofthePulsarMassiveeffectprocessor.Tobe
sure you understand how to use your plugin and understand all its subtleties, please read it
completely.
The information contained in this manual is believed to be correct at the time of publication.
However,ifanerrorhasunfortunatelycreptintoitscontents,pleaseletusknow.
IMPORTANT:Theprolongeduseofamplifiedinstruments,speakersorheadphonesmaycause
permanent hearing loss. Ensure you monitor your exposure level, and take regular breaks. In
caseoftinnitusorsuspectedhearingloss,pleaseconsultanENTspecialist.
Pulsar Massive - User Manual - page 4 / 35

Welcome
Ourexperience
ThankyouforchoosingPulsarAudioquality!
With more than 15 years’ experience in plugin development for the biggest names in the
industry, we decided to create PulsarAudio to push the quality requirements of our products
evenfurther.
For each product, our quest for excellence requires us never to rest on our technical
achievements,andtoexpandourknowledgeeverfurther.
Soundandscience
With solid expertise in audio signal processing, but also in electronics, sound techniques and
musicpractice,wetakegreatcareinmodelingallthesmalldetailsandimperfectionsofanalog
equipmentthatmakethedifferencebetweena«mathematical»exactsoundingalgorithmanda
rich, living and musical processing, and we produce this famous « 3rd dimension » sound so
muchsoughtafter.
Inaddition,ourclosecollaborationwithmusicproductionprofessionalsrequiresustoberigorous
inordertoproduceprofessionalqualitytools.
Ouruserinterfaces
The user interface of a plugin is the link between the creative drive and the technical
implementation;itmustthereforebeclear,intuitive,andaspleasantaspossibletouse.Wetake
great care to create the most beautiful and fluid interfaces possible, with an emphasis on
intuitiveness.
Thesearchfortherightequipment
Rarelydoyoufindtwoanalogmachinesthatsoundexactlythesame.Itisthereforeimportant,
when developing an emulation, to carefully choose the hardware units to be used as models.
Weonlyuseunitsinperfectconditionandmeasurethemwiththebestrecordingequipment.
Afinalword
Wehopeyouwillenjoythispluginasmuchasweenjoyedcreatingit.Besuretovisitourwebsite
www.pulsar.audioandfindoutaboutupdates,newproducts,tipsandotherresources.Thereyou
willalsobeabletocontactustoaskforhelporsimplytotellusaboutyourexperience!
ThePulsarTeam
Pulsar Massive - User Manual - page 5 / 35

Passiveequalizers
History
Filters are among the oldest electronic audio effects, dating back to the beginnings of
phonographicrecordingandreproduction.Theywerefirstusedtocorrectspectraldistortionsin
soundreproductionsystems,andlaterforaestheticpurposes.Thefirstfilterswerefixed,buta
variableequalizerarrivedinthe1920s(createdbyJohnVolkmanfortheRCAcompany),kicking
offaspectacularevolutionofthesetoolsthroughoutthe20thcentury.
Beforethedemocratizationofthetransistor,thefirstequalizersweremadeofpassivenetworks
followed by tube amplification cells.For cost reasons, several filters were implementedonthe
same passive components network, often in parallel. The Pultec EQP-1 equalizer, still widely
used today in studios around the world, is probably the best representative of this technology
andhasachievedmythicstatusamongaudioengineers.
PulsarMassiveisanemulationofafamouspassiveequalizerreleasedatthedawnofthe21st
century,itself largely inspiredbythePultec EQP-1. Passiveequalizersare characterized by a
rich and smooth sound. The use of inductances in the passive circuit causes characteristic
behaviors,particularlyinthelowendofthespectrum:thehighertheinputlevel,thegreaterthe
likelihoodthatharmonicsand‘dynamic’behaviorwillappear.Thisbehaviorallows,forexample,
toworkonthe low mids (100-500Hz) withoutthe soundbecoming muddyasis often the case
whenusingotherEQsinthisfrequencyzone.
WithPulsarMassive,youget:
ThesoundofalegendaryEQunitthat’susedinstudiosallovertheworld
Musicalequalization,eitherasaninserteffectoronabus
Unique warmth and dynamic behavior (due to our emulation of the original circuit's
inductorsandtubeamplifierstages)
Verysmoothandmusicalequalizationcurves
Aninnovativeworkflowthatallowsyoutotweakequalizationdirectlyonagraphicalcurve
An organic analog sound paired with the advantages of digital (presets, automation of
parameters,etc.)
Pulsar Massive - User Manual - page 6 / 35

PulsarMassive’sfilteringforms
Bellfilters
PulsarMassive'sbellfiltersdifferfromtheclassicconstant-Qbellfiltersfoundinmostoftoday's
equalizers,inthattheBandwidth(ie,Q)alsohasaneffectovergain:
WithafixedGainamount,adjustingthebandwidthsettingwillvarytheeffectivegainofthe
filter.Inotherwords,theactualgainamountofthebellfiltercanendupbeingdifferentto
thevalueshownontheGainknob.
Whenabandismodifiedfromthecurve,theverticalmovementsofthemouseareusedto
definethegainoftheband.However,whentheGainparameterthusmodifiedreachesits
maximum (or minimum), and you continue to move the mouse vertically, it is the
Bandwidthofthefilterthatismodifiedinordertoachievehighereffectivegainvalues.
WithafixedBandwidthamount,theGainknobwillnotaffectthewidthofafilter.
BellfilterwithfixedGain(20dB)anddifferentBandwidthvalues(from0to10)
Pulsar Massive - User Manual - page 7 / 35

FixedBandwidthbellfilter(Setatthemaximumvalueof10)withdifferentGainvalues(from0to
20dB)
Note:Ourmodeling,accuratedowntotheleveloftheindividualelectroniccomponent,faithfully
reproduces all aspects of the original machine, including the differences between the
frequenciesdisplayedontheknobs(andwhichintheplug-inarealsodisplayedinvariousother
places), and the actual frequencies of the filters, which can sometimes be significant. For
example,atthe82Hzposition,band2actuallyproducesaresonantfiltercloseto100Hz.We
have chosen to keep these differences, which thanks to the curve display can be surprising,
becausetheyarepartoftheuniqueworkflowoftheoriginaldevicethatwewanttoreproducein
itsdigitalemulation.
Pulsar Massive - User Manual - page 8 / 35

Shelvingfilters
PulsarMassive’shighandlow-shelffiltersarealsounusualwhencomparedtothosepresentin
modernequalizers.Withincreasingbandwidth,ashelfwillintroduceacomplementarybellfilter,
attheothersideofthecornerfrequency–ascoopbeforeaboostedshelf,orabumpbeforean
attenuatedshelf.
Thistypeoffilterallows,forexample,inthecaseofahigh-shelf,toaddpowerintheveryhigh
endofthespectrum(frequenciesabove8-10kHz),whilekeepingharshfrequencies(between2
kHzand4kHz)unchanged.
High-Shelffilterwithfixedgain(20dB)anddifferentbandwidthvalues(from0to10)
Note: This setting can be misleading. For example, when the Bandwidth parameter is set to
maximum and you try to boost the high frequencies above 8.2 kHz, the shelf filter will also
attenuatethefrequencyareaaround8kHzduetotheaddedbellfilterintheoppositedirection.
For this reason, you will often be surprised at your own frequency choices when using the
Massive'sshelffilters!Thebestfrequencychoiceswilloftenbehigherthanyouwouldexpectfor
low-shelves,andlowerforhigh-shelves.ThePulsardisplayrackprovidesgraphicalfeedbackon
theproposedEQ,andallowstheusertobetterunderstandthefilteringdonebytheplugin.
Pulsar Massive - User Manual - page 9 / 35

Low-Shelffilterwithfixedgain(20dB)anddifferentbandwidthvalues(from0to10).
Specialmodes
Whenusingbands1and4ofeachchannelinPulsarMassive’sShelfmode,you’llnoticethatthe
frequencies22Hzand33Hzonthefirstbandaswellas16kHzand27kHzonband4change
color and become orange. This illustrates that the behavior of the filters in Shelf mode is
particulartothesefrequencies.
Indeed, as the frequencies approach the limits of human perception, the shape of the filter is
reworkedsothatwedon’tamplifyfrequenciestoofarfromtheusual20Hz-20kHzrange.These
new shapes (described in the screenshots below) no longer have the classic shape of Pultec
filters, instead providingyouwithauniquewayofworkingwiththe extremefrequenciesofthe
audiospectrum:
Pulsar Massive - User Manual - page 10 / 35

The22Hzand33Hzlow-shelffiltersarequitesimilartoabellfilter.Thesubsonicfrequencies
arefilteredinsuchawaythattheydonotoverloadthelowendofthespectrum(whichcouldbe
dangerousforthespeakers,oraffectdynamicprocessingcarriedoutafterPulsarMassiveinan
undesiredway).
Special22Hzand33Hzlow-shelffiltermodeswithminimumbandwidth.
Pulsar Massive - User Manual - page 11 / 35

Inthe16kHzand27kHzhigh-shelffilters,theinversebellfilteraddedbytheBandwidthcontrol
hasahighergainthaninnormalmodesandislocatedforbotharound8kHz.Thisenablesyou
to obtain optimal control between the very high end of the spectrum and the high-medium
frequencieswhereyoumightexperiencesibilance.
Special16kHzand27kHzhigh-shelffiltermodeswithBandwidthsettominimum
Pulsar Massive - User Manual - page 12 / 35

Parallelequalization
TheoriginalmachinethatPulsarMassiveemulatesisaparallelequalizer.Ifweweretotakea
quicklookattheelectronicstructureoftheunit,wewouldseethat:
The overallstructureconsists of two passive filteringnetworks(Boost and Cut)in series
(processedoneaftertheother),followedbytwoamplificationcircuits:oneforpositivegain
filtersandonefornegativegainfilters.
WithineachoftheBoostandCutstructures,thefilterblockscorrespondingtothe4bands
oftheEQarewiredinparallel,whichessentiallymeansthattheyallfilterthesameinput
signal, and the filtered signals are then summed. By constrast, in most other modern
equalizers, the filters are successively applied to the signal and they are said to be in
series.
Hereisaquickexampleofparallelequalization.Let'staketwobellfiltersofabout20dBofgain,
placedatabout600Hzand1kHz.Youcanseethefrequencyresponsesbelow:
Twobellfiltersatclosefrequencies.
Now,takealookatthecombinationofthesetwobellfiltersperformedwithaseriesequalizer(in
yellow),andwitha parallelequalizer(in blue).Youcanseethatwithfiltersof20dBmaximum
gain,theseriesequalizergivesaresponsethatcanreachupto40dB.Withaparallelequalizer,
ontheotherhand,theresponseneverexceeds20dBintotal.
Differencebetweenthecombinationofbell-shapedfiltersinseriesandinparallel.
Pulsar Massive - User Manual - page 13 / 35

Quickstart
Installation
Pulsar Massive is available as a plugin in VST2, VST3,AU andAAX formats for use with all
majorDAWsoftwaresuchasLive,Cubase,Logic,ProTools,etc.
Installation from the supplied installer is automatic. The installer takes care of copying the
differentpluginsaswellaspresets,manual,etc.intotheappropriatelocations.
Note:IfyouareusingtheVST2formatinWindows,youwillbeaskedbytheinstallertospecify
theinstallationfoldersforthe32-bitand64-bitVST2pluginsrespectively.Thepathsthatseem
mostappropriateforyourcomputerwillberecommendedbydefault,butweadviseyoutocheck
thembeforecompletingtheinstallation. Ifthepluginisnotinstalledinthesamefolderasyour
otherpossibleplugins,yourDAWsoftwaremaynotdetectit.
Activation
AllourpluginsareprotectedbyPACE'siLoksystem.Forcorrectoperation,werecommendyou
ensurethatyouhavethelatestversionofthe«iLokLicenseManager»software,availablefor
freedownloadatwww.ilok.com.
Youcanchoosebetweenthreeactivationmethods:
Activationon ahardwareUSBdonglesuch asiLok2oriLok3,whichwill enable youto
use your pluginonseveral machines (you can ordera dongle online atwww.ilok.comor
buyitfromyourmusicretailer)
iLok Cloud activation which will enable you to use your plugin on several machines but
requiresapermanentinternetconnection
Machineactivation,whichdoesnotrequireadongleorapermanentinternetconnection,
butonlyactivatesyourpluginononemachine
Important:If you choose the iLok Cloud system, you have to open a Cloud session on your
computerbygoingtothe«File>OpenCloudSession»menuofyouriLokLicenseManager.If
youchooseaniLok2or3dongle,youhavetoconnectittoyourcomputerbeforeanyoperation.
Whenyoupurchaseyoursoftware,youwillreceive:
EitheralicensedepositeddirectlyontoyouriLokaccount.Justgotothe«Available»tab
and drag it to the destination of your choice (here CLOUD for a cloud license, or
iLok_PulsarforaniLok2or3dongle)
Or an activation code. Simply paste it into the « Licenses > RedeemActivation Code »
menu to receive the license on your account, and drop it off at the destination of your
choice(CLOUDoriLok2or3dongle)
Pulsar Massive - User Manual - page 14 / 35

iLokLicenseManager’s"available"licensetab
Pulsar Massive - User Manual - page 15 / 35

Firststeps
LoadPulsarMassiveonatrackofyourchoiceinyourDAW.Agoodstartingpointistoloada
basicpresetcorrespondingtothetypeoftrack(voice,guitar,bass,drums...).Fromthere:
Start playback and compare how the material sounds with and without Pulsar Massive,
using the bypass buttonon the interface (the Powerswitch).You can activate theAuto-
gainmodetocompareatequivalentvolumes.
Adjust the gains of the different bands according to the desired result (the bands are
sometimesnamedaccordingtotheirrole)
Adjustthecalibration(Drive)tomakesurethereisnoaudiblesaturationwhileenjoyingthe
warmanddynamicsoundofthePulsarMassive
You can browse through the many available factory presets to find inspiration quickly, without
gettingintotechnicalconsiderations.
Pulsar Massive - User Manual - page 16 / 35

Theuserinterface
Theuserinterface
Theuserinterfaceconsistsoftwodistinctpanels:
Thetoolbar,commontoallPulsarAudioplug-ins(top)
The control panel, specific to the plug-in. This panel is made up of two racks: the EQ
controlrackonthebottom,andthecurvedisplayandmeteringrackonthetop
Youcanfindaresizingcontrolinthebottomrightcorneroftheplugininterface.Thisiscommon
to all PulsarAudio plug-ins, and scales the interface to the exact size you want, from 67% to
200%,inincrementsof1%.
Pulsar Massive - User Manual - page 17 / 35

Useofparametercontrols
Theparametercontrolknobshaveseveralmodesofuse:
Thenormaleditingmode(useaclassicmousedrag,orthemousewheel)
Thefineeditingmode(holdtheCtrlorCmdkeywhiledraggingorwhileusingthemouse
wheel,ordragwiththerightmousebutton)
The«resettodefault»action(double-click,orclickwhileholdingtheAltkey)
The«menu»action(right-click,orclickwhileholdingtheCtrlkey)
Onlyforsomecontrols,thealternateeditionmode(holdShiftwhiledragging),whichcan
havevariousfunctions,forexampletotemporarilylinktwoparameters
Parameterlocking
Itispossibletolockcertainparameters,sothattheyarenotchangedwhenloadingapreset.For
example,onepossibleuseofthisfeatureistosettheinputandoutputgainsofacompressorto
achievethe desired amount of gain reduction, lock theseparameters, and then scroll throught
thelistoffactorypresetstofindthemostappropriatetone.
LockingtheDualInputknob
To lock a control, right-click it with the mouse, or click while holding down the Ctrl key on the
keyboard.Ifthecontrolcanbelocked,amenuwillappearofferingtolockit.Whenaparameter
islocked,asmallpadlockiconappearsnexttothecontrol.
UsingtheGUIresizecontrol
LocatedatthebottomrightoftheinterfaceofallPulsarAudioplugins,thiscontrolallowsyouto
resize the plugin's interface to your liking. It comes in the form of three lines, like a classic
resizinghandle:
Resizinghandle
Note that in some DAWs, this resizing can be problematic, depending on how the DAW
developerhasdesigneditswindowing.
Itisalsopossible,byclickinginthecorner,toopenasmallpopupwindowwithbuttonsofferinga
choiceoffixedsizeresizing(100%-150%):
Resizingwindow
Pulsar Massive - User Manual - page 18 / 35

TheToolbar
Located at the top of the plugin interface, it contains all the functions relating to parameters,
presets,communicationwithPulsarAudio,etc.
Thetoolbar
Undo/Redo
The two arrow buttons on the left of the toolbar have the function Undo and Redo, i.e.
respectivelythecancellationandrestorationofthelastaction.Allparameterchangesandmore
generallythestateofthepluginarestoredinahistory.Youcanclickon«Undo»atanytimeto
returntothepreviousstate(ortothenthpreviousstate)andon«Redo»toreturntothecurrent
state.
Note:aright-clickononeofthesebuttonsgivesaccesstothelistofstoredoperations.
Undo/redobuttons
PresetSelection
Thepresetselectionarea,locatedinthecenterofthebar,allowsyouto:
Read the name of the current preset. If an asterisk appears after the preset name, it
meansthatthestateofthepluginnolongermatchesthesavedpreset
Selectapresetfromthelistofavailablepresets,arrangedinsub-banks
Deletethecurrentpreset(«DeletePreset»option)
Renameormoveapresettoanothersub-bank(«Move/RenamePreset»option)
Set the current preset as the one that will be loaded by default when creating a new
instanceoftheplugin(«SetThisPresetAsDefault»option)
Openthepresetsdirectory.Thiscanbehandyformakingbackupsofyourpresetfilesand
restoringthem.Notethatrenamingandreorganizingpresetsmustbedonefromtheplugin
menu,notbyusingyoursystem'sfileexplorer.
Restore factory presets. This will also overwrite any changes you have made to your
factorypresets
Quicklynavigatebetweenthepresetstofindinspiration,usingtheleftandrightarrows
Thepresetselectionarea
Pulsar Massive - User Manual - page 19 / 35

Save/SaveAs
TheSavebuttonsavesthecurrentpreset.
TheSaveAsbuttonsavesthecurrentstateofthepluginunderanewpresetname.
SaveandSaveAsbuttons
A/B
Thissectionallowsyoutocompare2differentstatesoftheplugin,or2differentpresets.SlotsA
andB,accessiblethroughthese2buttons,represent2completelyindependentstates.
For example, when state A is active, you can load a preset and/or make settings from the
interface,thenclickonbuttonB;thenloadanotherpresetand/ormakeothersettings;buttonsA
andBnowallowyoutoquicklyswitchbetweenthetwostatesandeasilycomparethe2presets
orsetsofsettings.
ItisalsopossibletocopythestateAtoBorviceversausingthe>or<buttonslocatedbetween
AandB.
A,BandCopybuttons
Rackvisibilitybutton
Thisbuttonallowsyoutohidesomepartsoftheplugininterface.Usingtherackvisibilitybutton,
youcantogglebetweendisplayingbothsectionsoftheinterface,displayingonlythebottomrack
(withoutcurveeditingandvisualization),anddisplayingonlythetoprack.
Therackvisibilitybutton
MenuButton
Thebuttonlocatedonthefarrightofthebarencompassesvariousoptions.
TheMenubutton
Pulsar Massive - User Manual - page 20 / 35