1 ZYLIA Studio PRO reference manual v1.0.0
2 Copyright 2017 Zylia sp. z o.o. All rights reserved. Made in Poland. This manual, as well as the software described in it, is furnished under license and may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of such license. The content of this manual is furnished for informational use only, is subject to change without notice, and should not be construed as a commitment by Zylia. Every effort has been made to ensure that the information in this manual is accurate. Zylia assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or inaccuracies that may appear in this book. Except as permitted by such license, no part of this publication may be reproduced, edited, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Zylia. Zylia, the Zylia Logo, the ZYLIA Studio PRO logo are trademarks of Zylia sp. z o.o. Apple, macos are trademarks of Apple Inc, registered in the U.S. and other countries. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. VST are trademarks and software of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH. All other product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. VST PlugIn Technology by Steinberg Media Technologies
3 Table of Contents General overview... 4 Workflow Summary... 5 Microphone model... 5 Virtual microphones... 6 Output channels... 6 Virtual microphone positioning... 8 Separation mode and level... 9 Automation... 9 Polar patterns... 10 Updating directions... 11 Managing settings... 11
4 General overview ZYLIA Studio PRO [http:///zylia-studio-pro.html] is a VST/AU plugin which enables spatial filtering and signal separation directly within a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). Thanks to ZYLIA Studio PRO the whole recording system becomes even more powerful enabling new features for 3D audio production, sound source separation and surround recording. ZYLIA Studio PRO transforms a single 19 channel ZM-1 [http:///zylia-zm-1- microphone.html] recording into a number of Virtual Microphones which are easy to steer in any direction around the mic. It is possible to set and monitor Virtual Microphones of multiple polar patterns or characteristics - live or during post production! ZYLIA Studio PRO brings muli-channel presets that can be used in surround or ambient recordings (2.0, 3.0, 5.1, 7.1 and more). There is no need for time-consuming microphones placement. Now it is possible to record the entire music scene directly in 5.1 or 7.1 format! ZYLIA Studio PRO plugin extends all the features provided by ZYLIA Studio [http:///zylia-studio.html]. It is possible to setup an arbitrary number of Virtual Microphones and adjust their characteristics and positions, during the recording or in the post-production stage. Outputs of the Virtual Microphones are available as separated tracks directly in the DAW software for instant application of effects and mixing. It is possible to work with multichannel recordings in the same, easy way as in case of single-track recordings.
5 Workflow Summary In order to process audio previously recorded by ZM-1 do the following: import 19 channel recording into your DAW as a single track, add ZYLIA Studio PRO to plugin chain of the track with your multichannel file, arrange Virtual Microphones within ZYLIA Studio PRO, connect outputs from Vitual Microphones to new tracks within a DAW. In order to process audio which comes directly from ZM-1 do the following: select ZM-1 as an input device for new track in DAW, add ZYLIA Studio PRO to plugin chain of mentioned track, arrange Virtual Microphones within ZYLIA Studio PRO, connect outputs from Vitual Microphones to new tracks within a DAW. You can download a sample REAPER project at http:///downloads.html Important: ZYLIA Studio PRO requires 48000 Hz sample rate and a buffer size of 512 samples or smaller to work properly. Microphone model Due to differences between ZM-1 microphones it is important to select proper microphone model. To do so, use menu located in top right area of plugin window. Setting invalid microphone model will result in inferior sound quality. If you are not sure which microphone model you have please refer to your OS hardware managing facilities. On Windows you can use Device Manager application. When connected, your microphone model should appear in Universal Serial Bus devices list. On macos use Audio MIDI Setup application. Your microphone model should appear in Audio Devices window.
6 Virtual microphones A virtual microphone is a software-defined microphone which combines a spatial filtering and sound source separation. To create new virtual microphone use add microphone button near upper right corner of plugin window. You can add up to 24 microphones. To rename or delete microphone click on more options button (represented by three vertical dots) on the right side. Output channels ZYLIA Studio PRO provides multiple audio output channels. Names of these channels correspond to plugin outputs seen by DAW, i.e. Z1 is the first output. Each virtual microphone can be assigned to single output channel. To connect virtual microphone to output channel: 1. Select virtual microphone from the list on the right side of plugin window.
7 2. Click on output channel name (e.g. Z2 ) in the Parameters section below virtual microphone list. Select new output channel from menu. If you want to disable virtual microphone, you can select empty output channel (labeled as - ). Important: output channel setting has effect on automation envelopes (see Automation for more details).
8 Virtual microphone positioning To set position of virtual microphone you can use azimuth, elevation and width sliders. They represent position of currently selected virtual microphone. Azimuth angle defines horizontal direction of virtual microphone, while elevation angle corresponds to its vertical direction. Width setting determines the directivity of the microphone (see Polar pattern for details). In addition, you can use radar display to set azimuth angle of any virtual microphone. To do so, click on the note icon and while holding left mouse button drag the icon around the radar display.
9 Separation mode and level The character of sound produced by virtual microphone is affected by separation mode and level settings, which can be adjusted in Parameters section near bottom right corner of plugin window. Separation mode allows you to select different polar patterns or characteristics for virtual microphones (see Polar pattern section to learn how to compare them). OMNI mode has equal sensitivity in every angle thus azimuth, elevation and angle settings are ignored. When separation level is set to high additional processing (for simulating close microphone behavior) is applied. The ambient sounds and background noises are reduced and the separation between the sound sources is even higher. Important: S1 profile is designed to work with moderate number of virtual microphones. If two microphones are close to each other (less than 15 degrees) profile is automatically changed to S2 (but don t worry your settings won t be overwritten). Automation For each virtual microphone you can automate following parameters: azimuth angle, elevation angle, width (directivity). Automation envelopes are mapped to output channels. For instance, to draw azimuth automation for a virtual microphone connected to Z2 channel, you need to find Z2 azimuth parameter in your DAW. Bear in mind that changing the output channel won t transfer the automation settings to the new output channel.
10 Polar patterns This function allows you to see approximate microphone sensitivity to sound in relation to angle. To enable polar pattern: 1. Select virtual microphone from the list on the right side of plugin window. 2. Click on Polar pattern button near the lower left corner of plugin window. Width and separation mode have effect on the shape of polar pattern. Polar pattern for S1 mode.
11 Polar pattern for S2 mode. Important: since OMNI profile has equal sensitivity for all angles, we don t display its polar pattern. Updating directions While using automation or changing settings manually you may notice updating directions message. This means that plugin needs additional time to adjust to new parameters and you may experience slight delay in requested changes. This delay is only present in the live preview mode (online) and not during rendering (offline processing). Managing settings Apart from presets managed via DAW you can store and recall plugin state using import and export features. Since ZYLIA Studio PRO uses its own settings format you can use those files independently of DAW, platform or plugin type. To load or save plugin state use buttons located in top right area of plugin window..