Slate Digital fg-x2 User manual

Introduction 3
Quick Start 4
Easy vs Advanced view 4
FG-Comp 5
Ratio / Threshold 5
Attack / Release 6
Using The FG-Comp as a Leveler 6
Sidechain Filters (Advanced Mode) 6
Mid/Side Link (Advanced Mode) 6
GR Width (Advanced Mode) 6
Square Visualization 6
FG-Level 8
Gain 8
Modes 8
Clear 9
Tight 9
Punchy 9
Loud 9
Ceiling 9
LoPunch/Detail 9
LoPunch/Detail Frequencies (Advanced Mode) 9
Advanced Limiter Settings (Advanced Mode) 10
Drive 10
Transients 10
Balance 10
Right Bar 11
Listen Section 11
Constant Gain Monitoring 11
Global bypass 11
True Peak Limiting 11
Output Meter 12
Dithering 12
Metering Section 13
Time Graph, Vertical Meters and Histograms 14
Indicators 15
Needle Meters 16
Horizontal Meters 16
Presets 16
Third Party Licenses 17
2

Introduction
With the enormous number of music distribution channels and the variety of delivery
standards, the mastering process brings new challenges and needs more attention than ever
before. Introducing FG-X 2, a comprehensive mastering suite designed to deliver
unprecedented control and transparency to the audio limiting process.
Taking its roots in the legacy of the first FG-X, which introduced new sonic possibilities in
loudness and clarity, FG-X 2’s algorithm has been completely redesigned from the ground up.
Transparent tone and overall loudness are at the core of the processing, along with a simple
yet efficient set of parameters that allow you to finely adjust the behavior of the limiter.
You’re no longer forced to dial in specific settings to get your track sounding louder. All you
need to do is choose a mode and adjust the gain. This gives you an unbelievable amount of
control for a limiter while keeping things intuitive and simple. If you want to go even further,
open up the Advanced View and play with the Transients, Drive and Balance.
FG-X 2 is made of two main processors, the FG-Comp and the FG-Level. The FG-Comp is a
world-class mastering compressor that combines several different compression styles to
create the best in class transparent dynamic control. This module is more faithful to the
original, with additional control over the stereo field, a crucial feature at the mastering stage.
The FG-Level is a True Peak loudness processor that adds level to the signal without adding
degrading artifacts.
FG-X 2’s metering section offers everything that the most experienced mastering engineer
would need: LUFS, RMS, Peak, histograms, VU meters, and more. Everything about FG-X 2 is
designed to make you feel confident that you have all the visualization tools you need to feel at
home and get the results you’re looking for.
3

Quick Start
Using the Easy view, adjust the Ratio of the FG-Comp to smoothly compress the dynamics of
the full song, generally up to 3dB of Gain Reduction. Start with the Attack and Release at 5 and
adjust from there, usually keeping the Attack slower and the Release faster.
To get your desired loudness level, simply adjust the Gain knob. Then, decrease the Ceiling to
your distributor recommendation, select the mode that is best suited to your song, and adjust
the LoPunch and Detail parameters to enhance the transient response.
That’s it!
Now you have a pro-sounding master, but if you want to take things further, you can open up
the Advanced view to really get under the hood of FG-X 2.
Easy vs Advanced view
Easy view is the default view for FG-X 2, giving you instant access to the most important
controls.
Advanced view gives you complete control over FG-X 2 by adding advanced features for the
FG-Comp and FG-Level sections.
Use the switch on the top bar to change between easy and advanced views.
4

FG-Comp
The FG-Comp is a fully-transparent compressor dedicated to mixbus and mastering duties.
Whether you want to strengthen the dynamics of the mix, have a more compact sound, add
some glue, or control the dynamics of your signal before entering the limiter, the FG-Comp is
ready for anything.
FG-Comp - Easy view vs Advanced view
Ratio / Threshold
Ratio controls how much gain reduction is applied once the signal passes the threshold.
Threshold sets the level above which compression is applied. Using these 2 controls is
enough in most cases.
5