SpectraLayers Pro  6.0
Processing spectral data

You can use the commands on the Process menu to manipulate spectral data.

Generating silence

  1. Create a new SpectraLayers project or open an existing project file.

    For more information, see Creating a new project or Opening a project or an audio file

  2. In the Layers Panel, click the layer where you want to amplify data.
  3. Select the data you want to replace with silence or position the cursor where you want the silence to begin. For more information, see Selecting spectral data
  4. Choose Process > Generate > Silence. The Silence dialog is displayed.
  5. In the Length box, specify the amount of silence you want to insert.
  6. Click OK.

Generating a tone

  1. Create a new SpectraLayers project or open an existing project file.

    For more information, see Creating a new project or Opening a project or an audio file

  2. In the Layers Panel, click the layer where you want generate data.
  3. Select the data you want to replace with a tone or position the cursor where you want the tone to begin. For more information, see Selecting spectral data
  4. Choose Process > Generate > Tone. The Tone dialog is displayed.
  5. Choose a setting from the Type drop-down list to indicate the waveform shape you want to generate.
  6. Use the Power (dB) control to set the level of the generated signal.
  7. Use the Offset (%) control to apply a DC offset to the generated signal.
  8. Use the Length (s) control to set the duration of the generated signal.

  9. Use the Start Frequency (Hz) control to set the frequency of the generated signal.

    If you want to sweep a frequency range, select the End Frequency check box and use the End Frequency box to set the end frequency of the sweep.

  10. Click the Preview button to preview your generated signal. During preview, only the generated signal is played, and the generated signal is drawn over the spectral display.
  11. Click the OK button to mix the generated frequency with the selected layer.

Generating noise

  1. Create a new SpectraLayers project or open an existing project file.

    For more information, see Creating a new project or Opening a project or an audio file

  2. In the Layers Panel, click the layer where you want generate noise.
  3. Select the data you want to replace with noise or position the cursor where you want the noise to begin. For more information, see Selecting spectral data
  4. Choose Process > Generate > Noise. The Noise dialog is displayed.
  5. Choose a setting from the Type drop-down list to indicate the type of noise (white, pink, brown) you want to generate.
  6. Use the Power (dB) control to set the level of the generated signal.
  7. Use the Offset (%) control to apply a DC offset to the generated signal.
  8. Use the Length (s) control to set the duration of the generated signal.
  9. Click the OK button to mix the generated noise with the selected layer.

Adjusting the volume of a selection

Choose Process > Amplitude > Levels to increase the volume of a selection.

  1. Create a new SpectraLayers project or open an existing project file.

    For more information, see Creating a new project or Opening a project or an audio file

  2. In the Layers Panel, click the layer where you want to amplify data.
  3. Select the data you want to amplify. For more information, see Selecting spectral data
  4. Choose Process > Amplitude > Levels to display the Levels dialog.
  5. Type a value in the Gain box to set the amount of gain you want to apply to the selection. Positive values increase volume, and negative values decrease volume.
  6. Type a value in the DC Offset box if you need to compensate for DC offset in the original signal.
  7. Click OK.

Mixing channels

  1. Create a new SpectraLayers project or open an existing project file.

    For more information, see Creating a new project or Opening a project or an audio file

  2. In the Layers Panel, click the layer that contains the channels you want to mix.
  3. Choose Process > Amplitude > Channels Mixer. The Channels Mixer dialog is displayed.

  4. Adjust the faders in the Mix Channels dialog to mix the layer's channels as desired.

    The Channels Mixer dialog displays a tab for each channel. Select a tab and use the channel faders to adjust the mix for that channel.

    Click the Preview button to preview your mix. During preview, the new mix is played, and the spectral display is updated to reflect the new mix.

  5. Click the OK button to update the layer's channel mix.

Reducing noise

  1. Create a new SpectraLayers project or open an existing project file.

    For more information, see Creating a new project or Opening a project or an audio file

  2. In the Layers Panel, click the layer that contains the noise you want to remove.
  3. Create a selection containing only the noise you want to remove. For more information, see Selecting spectral data
  4. Choose Process > Restoration > Register Noise to register the selection as noise.
  5. Choose Edit > Deselect to clear your selection.
  6. Create a selection containing the portion of the spectrogram from which you want to remove the registered noise. If you don't create a selection, noise will be reduced in the entire layer. For more information, see Selecting spectral data
  7. Choose Process > Restoration > Noise Reduction. The Noise Reduction dialog is displayed.

  8. Use the settings in the Noise Reduction Noise dialog to adjust how the noise you registered in step 4 will be removed from the selection.

    a. Use the Tolerance (dB) control to set the level of the noise. Samples below this level will be removed.

    b. Use the Reduction Ratio (%) control to set the amount of the noise signal you want to remove. A setting of 100% removes all noise; settings below 100% allow you to make the noise less prominent.

    c. Choose Reduce Noise from the drop-down list if you want to reduce noise in the audio signal, or choose Reduce Signal to reduce the dry signal, leaving the noise signal intact.

    d. Click the Preview button to preview your settings and adjust as needed.

    e. Click the OK button when you're satisfied with your settings.

Reducing reverb

  1. Create a new SpectraLayers project or open an existing project file.

    For more information, see Creating a new project or Opening a project or an audio file

  2. In the Layers Panel, click the layer that contains the reverb you want to reduce.
  3. Choose Process > Restoration > Reverb Reduction. The Reverb Reduction dialog is displayed.
  4. Click the Analyze button to analyze the audio signal.
  5. Use the Reverb Threshold (dB) control to set the level of the reverb signal. Samples below this level will be reduced.
  6. Use the Reverb Length (s) control to set the length of the reverb you want to reduce. The length represents the time you can hear the reverb signal after an audio sample.
  7. Use the Reduction Ratio (%) control to set the amount of the reverb signal you want to reduce. A setting of 100% removes all reverb; settings below 100% allow you to make the reverb less prominent.
  8. Choose Reduce Reverb from the drop-down list if you want to reduce the effect of reverb in the audio signal, or choose Reduce Signal to reduce the dry signal, leaving the reverb signal intact.
  9. Click the Preview button to preview your settings and adjust as needed.
  10. Click the OK button when you're satisfied with your settings.

Spectral Imprinting : casting and molding

Spectral imprinting (casting or molding) allow you to apply the frequency content across layers.

Imagine you're working on a mix in which the bass guitar is causing the kick drum to become lost in the mix. You could use spectral molding to remove the shared frequencies from the bass guitar, creating space for the kick drum to stand out.

Casting a layer

In spectral casting, the frequency content of the mold leaves an impression in the selected layer in the same way your foot leaves an impression in the sand when you walk on the beach.

  1. Load the layers you want to process. For more information, see Importing an audio file as a layer
  2. Adjust the spectral display until the harmonics are clearly visible. For more information, see The Display panel
  3. In the Layers panel, select the layer to which you want to cast peaks.
  4. Choose Process > Imprint... to Layer. The Imprint dialog is displayed.
  5. Select the Cast Operation. and the layer you want to use as the source for casting.
  6. Type values in the Horizontal Margin and Vertical Margin boxes (or use the spin controls) to control the time and frequency range that is used when casting peaks. Increasing the margin settings produces softer (feathered) peaks.
  7. Type a value in the Cast Ratio box (or use the spin control) to set the gain that will be applied to the cast peaks.
  8. Click OK to cast peaks with the current dialog settings.

To demonstrate the effect of casting with our bass guitar/kick drum example, let's start with a simple two-layer project. The following image shows the spectrogram of the bass guitar layer. This layer is displayed in red:

The following image shows the spectrogram of the kick drum:

The following image shows the mix of the kick drum and bass guitar. The bass guitar layer is displayed in red. The kick drum appears in the global mix and is displayed in green, You can see where the layers conflict:

After selecting the content of the bass guitar layer and casting peaks, you can see that the areas that conflicted with the kick drum have been removed:

Molding a layer

In spectral molding, the frequency content of the mold that shapes the selected layer, removing spectral data that exists outside the area of the mold in the same way a cookie cutter allows you to cut shapes from dough.

  1. Load the layers you want to process. For more information, see Importing an audio file as a layer
  2. Adjust the spectral display until the harmonics are clearly visible. For more information, see The Display panel
  3. In the Layers panel, select the layer to which you want to cast peaks.
  4. Choose Process > Imprint... to Layer. The Imprint dialog is displayed.
  5. Select the Mold Operation. and the layer you want to use as the source for molding.
  6. Type values in the Horizontal Margin and Vertical Margin boxes (or use the spin controls) to control the time and frequency range that is used when molding peaks. Increasing the margin settings produces softer (feathered) peaks.
  7. Type a value in the Mold Ratio box (or use the spin control) to set the gain that will be applied to the cast peaks.
  8. Click OK to mold peaks with the current dialog settings.

To demonstrate the effect of molding, let's start with a simple two-layer project with a music bed and a voiceover. The following image shows the global mix of the voiceover and a music bed. The music bed layer is displayed in red. The voiceover layer is displayed in green. You can see where the layers intersect:

After selecting the content of the music bed layer and molding peaks, the voiceover layer is used to mold the frequency content of the music bed. In the following image, you can see that mold of the voiceover layer has cut away portions of the music bed layer that do not intersect with the voiceover: