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PiPhase
InteractionsMixer

UserManual
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Overview
Piisaninnovative,multichannelphaseinteractionsmixerpluginengineforMac&PC.
PiworkstoimprovethesummingofaDAWoramixer.Pidynamicallyminimizesfrequency
cancellationsbetweeninstrumentswithinthemix,improvesmonocompatibilityandbringsbackthe
lostdepthandfocuslostwhenoverlappingfrequenciescollide.
Goodphaserelationshipsbetweenmixertracks,areakeytogreatsoundingmix.
Normally,wheremixerchannelsaresummedintoasinglestereomixbus,instrumentsoverlapand
interactwitheachotheracrossthefrequencyrangeandphaseposition.
Often,abasstrackcouldbetemporarilyoutofphasewiththekickorrhythmguitartracks,and
whensummedintoamix,endupcancelingeachotherovertheoverlappingfrequencyrange,
causingatemporaryholeinthelowend.Similarly,asnaretrackcouldendupsoundingthinina
mixwhenthetomsresonanceareoutofphasewiththesnare.
EnterPi.
Designedtoenhanceanymix,Pidynamicallyrotatesthephaseoftheindividualmixerchannelsto
achievemaximumphasecorrelationwithinthemix.Piminimizesnegativeinteractionand
significantlyimprovestheoverallsoundofthemix.
JustdropPiintothelastinsertslotofyourDAWmixerchannelsandlisten.Useanyofthe64
groupstobindrelatedinstrumentchannelstoenhanceyourmixevenfurther.

Features
Groundbreaking,truemultichannelengine,dynamicallyoptimizesphaserelationships
betweenmixchannelsforoptimalsoundingmix
Threemodetrackgroupingforenhancedrelatedinstrumentsandmultimicsetupphase
correlationoptimization
FullRangeandLowFrequencyglobaloptimizationmodes
Fourmodemultichannelphasecorrelationdisplay,enablesauniqueviewofthephase
relationshipswithinthemix
Internal,interchannelsampleaccuraterouting,nocomplicatedsidechainingrequired
AvailableforMac&PCinAAX,RTAS,VSTandAUformats,64and32bitswhereapplies.

Compatibility
MinimumRequirementsMac:IntelMacDualCore2GHzorfaster,4GBRAM,MacOSX10.6.xor
higher,AAX,RTAS,VSTorVSTCompatibleDAW.
MinimumrequirementsPC:IntelDuo2GHzorfaster,4GBRAM,MicrosoftWindowsXPorhigher,
AAX,RTASorVSTCompatibleDAW.

Installation
Mac:UnpackthedownloadedzipfileandrunthePiInstaller.pkg.Selectyourtypeofinstallation
andfollowtheinstallersinstructions.
PC:UnpackthedownloadedzipfileandrunthePiInstaller.exe.Selectyourtypeofinstallationand
followtheinstallersinstructions.

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UsingPi
InsertPiinthelasteffectinsertslotoneverymixerchannelofyourmix,excludingauxiliary
channels,groupbusesorthemastermix.
Channelsgainplaysasignificantrolewhendeterminingtheenergyofachannelinthemixandthe
bestphasestateforthechannel.Inordertoachievemaximumefficiency,Itisrecommendedto
insertPiintoapostfadereffectslotwhentheDAWallows.Otherwise,usetheCHNLGAINtoset
thelevelofthechannel,andsetthevolumefaderofyourDAWtounitygain.

CHNLGAIN
ChannelGain,setstheoverallgainofthechannel.
Thetracksenergyplaysamajorroleindeterminingthetracksweightwithinthemix.Therefore,it
isrecommendedtosetthechannelgainusingtheCHNLGAINorinsertPipostfaderwhere
available.
CHNLGAINisalwaysactive,evenwhenGLBLONissettoOFF,toallowlevelaccurate
comparison.

CHNLWEIGHT
Sincegainplaysamajorroleinchannels'phaseinfluenceandsensitivityinamix,someprogram
materialcangetstronglyinfluencedbyotherchannelsinthemixwhentheirlevelisrelativelylowor
whentheydecayintolowerlevels.WithCHNLWEIGHTItisnowpossibletomanuallyadjustthe
channel'slowlevelandoverallphasesensitivityandintensitywithinthemix.AsCHNLWEIGHT
increasesthelesssensitiveandmoreinfluentialit'llbetootherchannelsinthemix.Thiscanhelp
minimizeartifactsonsomeprogrammaterial,especiallyonlowlevel,midrangesustainnotesand
tails.

GLBLON
GlobalOn.TogglesallinstancesofPiwithinthemixOnandOff.

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WorkingWithGroups
Piprioritizeschannelswithinagrouptoallowcustomphaseoptimizationconfigurations.Useanyof
theavailablesixtyfourgroupstobindrelatedtrackssuchasmultimicddrumkitorguitaramp+DI
foroptimalphasecorrelation.
GroupingcanbeusedtofurthertunehowPiworksonyourtracks.Forexample,itspossibleto
phaselockagroupofchannelssotheirrelativephaseislockedwhileoptimizingtheirsumandthe
tracksoutsideofthegrouptoeachother.Similarly,groupingabassandakick,Piwilloptimize
themtoeachotherfirstbeforeperformingasecondcycleofoptimizationwiththerestofthetracks.

GroupSelectionDropDownMenu
Assignsthechanneltoanyofthesixtyfouravailablegroups.

GroupName
Namethatgroup!

GRPGAIN
GroupGain.Adjuststheoverallgainofthegroup.

GRPMIXMODE
GroupMixMode.
INT&MIXInternal&Mix.Optimizesthephaserelationshipsofthechannelswithinthegroupand
therestofthechannelsinthemix.
INTInternal.Optimizesthephaserelationshipsofthechannelswithinthegrouponly.
PLPhaseLock.Optimizesthephaserelationshipsofthechannelswithinthegroupwiththemix
whilekeepingthetrackswithinthegroupphaselocked.Thismodeissuitablefortracksrecordedin
M/Smodeetc.wherekeepingtherecordingphaselockediscrucial.
OFFTurnsPioffforallthechannelswithinthegroup.

GLBLMODE
Globalphaserelationshipsoptimizationmode.
FRFullRange.Whensettothismode,Piworkstooptimizephaserelationshipsacrosstheentire
frequencyrange.
LFLowFrequency.Whensettothismode,Pifocusesonoptimizingthephaserelationships
frequenciesbelow800Hz.

DisplayModes
GLBLGlobalmode.Displaysthephaserelationshipofthechanneltoallthechannelsinthemix.
GRPGroupmode.Displaysthephaserelationshipofthechanneltothechannelswithinthe
group.
CHNLDisplaystheoverallphaserelationshipsofthechannelswithinthemix.Eachchannelin
themixisrepresentedasauniquelycoloreddotontopofa360degreesphasecorrelationand
levelmonitor.
FREQFrequencyphasecorrelationmeter.Displaysthephasecorrelationofthechannelacross
thefrequencyrange.

ColorIdentifier
IdentifiesthechannelcolorwithinthemixinCHNLdisplaymode.

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SettingsWindow

GlobalLookaheadBuffer
Allowstheuseoflargeraudiobuffersandotherhighlatencyplugins.IfPidoesn'tgetallthe
samplesitneedsintimeduetoalargeraudiobufferorotherhighlatencyplugin,itcan'tdoits
magicandit'lldisplaysSyncErrors.Ifyou'regettingSyncErrorsmessages,Increasethe
lookaheadbufferuntilthey'regone.ClickontheSoundRadixlogotoopentheAboutscreenand
accessthissetting.

Reportlatencytohost
ToggleslatencyreportingtothehostforhostswithoutlatencycompensationsuchaslegacyPro
ToolsLEorsystemswithlimitedlatencycompensationsuchasProToolsTDM.

ImportantNotes
AvidProToolsUsers:
Pineedsa150mslookaheadtoperformitsmagic.Therefore,pleasesetyourLatency
CompensationEnginesettings(Setup>PlaybackEngine)toMaximum.
AvidProToolsTDMusers:
DuetothelimitationoftheavailabledelaycompensationinTDMsystems,ProToolsTDMcannot
compensateforthelatencyrequiredforPi,therefore,adelayof150mswillbeadded.
Pleasenotethatinordertokeepthetracksinsync,itisnecessarytoinsertPiintoallthechannels
ofthemix,excludingauxiliaries,groupsandthemasterbus.Alternately,asampledelayplugin
couldbeused.
HostswithmultiformatVSTandAUsupport
BecausePiinstancesneedstocommunicateinthebackgroundwitheachother,pleaseusea
singleformatofyourchoicethroughoutyourprojectfile.MixingVSTandAUinstancesinthesame
projectfilewillbreakPisfunctionality.

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AppleLogicProUsers:
DuetotheuniquewayLogicprocessesaudio,Pirequireslongerlookahead,andthereforehigher
latency,toguarantyaudiostreamsynctoPi.Therefore,youmayexperiencea500msaudible
delaywhenmanglingotherpluginparametersinrealtime.Otherwise,Logicfullycompensatesfor
thelatencyandplaybackisnoteffected.
MOTUDigitalPerformerUsers:
DPsPluginrealtimepreferenceshastobesettoRealtimeforPitoworkitsmagic.
lity.

PiPhaseInteractionsMixerFlowChart

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FrequentlyAskedQuestions
Q:WhatisthedifferencebetweenAutoAlignandPi?
A:AutoAlignandPicomplementeachother.
AutoAlignfindsandappliesafixedtimeshifttoeliminatethecombfilterthatusuallyoccurswith
multimicrecordingsofaninstrument.Pidynamicallyrotatesthephaseofthetracksinthemixto
improvetheirphaserelationships.It'sconstantlyonthemove.
ForamultimicrecordingAutoAlignismoreeffectiveacrosstheentirefrequencyrange.Piworks
itsmagiconallthetracksinthemix.
Q:IsPisuitableforelectronicallygeneratedmusic?Alsoisthepluginintendedtobeputonevery
trackormorelowfrequencyrelatedstufflikebass,kickdrum,pads,etc.?
A:Piworksforprettymuchanythingyou'llthrowatit.Themoreinteractionsandoverlapping
frequenciesyouhavebetweenyourtracks,themoreimpactPiisgoingtomakeonyourmix.
Naturally,trackswithmorelowendcontenttendtointeractmorewitheachother.
Q:DoesPiworkswellwithanalogconsoleemulationpluginssuchasSlateVCC?
A:Absolutely.
Q:SayIhave2tracksIwantto"sync"thephaseonascloseaspossible.IfIassignbothtothe
sameGroup,andIgivethemaintrackaweightof200andthe"lesser"trackaweightof100...is
thatthesameasassigningthemaintrackaweightof1000andthe"lesser"trackaweightof500?
Ordoesthehigherweightvaluealsomeanthetrackismore"effected"?
A:No.CHNLWEIGHTisdynamicbynature.Forthestrongestphasecorrelation,justassignthe
tracksintothesamegroupwithinPiandproperlysettheirgain.
AsCHNLWEIGHTincreasesthelesssensitiveandmoreinfluentialthechannelwillbetoother
channelsphaseinthemix.Mostofthetime,it'sbesttoleaveCHNLWEIGHTatitsdefault
minimumvalue(100).
Q:Ialreadymadesomegrouptracks(Drums,vocalsetc).Can'tIjustinserthereordoIhaveto
makenewgrouptrackswithinthePiplugin?
A:No,becausethetracksarealreadysummedbytheDAWgrouptrackbythetimetheygettoPi,
therewillbeverylittlePicandofromtheretohelpthemix.
Q:IwouldthinkPIshouldgoFIRSTcorrectingthephaseoftherawtracks(asifIhadtracked
everythingperfectly)asopposedtolastbecausethereareanumberofeqs,fx,etc.thatproduce
desirablephaseshiftasparttheirsound(vintageeqs,phasers,stereowideners,etc.)andifPIis
lastitisbasicallyfightingtocorrectthephaseshiftthatIhave'intentionally'addedbyselectingan
EQforit's'sound'thusundoingtheverythingthatEQaddedtothetrack.Wouldn'titbelikeusinga
linearEQoneverythingwhichisnotdesirable?
A:Well,Piisnottryingtofixthephaseshiftswithinyoursound(e.g.itwon'tmakeyoureqlinear),
butrathermakeallthetracksinyourmixworkbetterwitheachother.IfPiisinsertedinthefirst
insertslot,it'lloptimizethechannelsphaserelationshipswithouttakingintoconsiderationthephase
changesthathasoccurredduetheprocessesyouhaveinyourchannel.
Q:Thispluginappearstonotlikemodulationeffectslikeconsolepluginswithcrosstalkemulation
on,thingsseemstobemovingallovertheplaceunnaturally?
A:CrosstalkemulationprobablythrowsPiintoa"mentaldeadlock".Ithasduplicationsofallthe
channelsgoingmultipletimesintoPi'sengine...Ifthecrosstalkemulationsoundisnot
sampleaccurateanddelayedevenbyafewsamples,you'reprettymuchcreatingaglorious
combfiltereffectforallyourtracksinthemix.
Q:WhyPidoesn'tworkwithsidechains?Isthereaworkaround?
A:WhenboththesidechainsourceandreceivetracksrunthroughPi,itcreatesafeedbackloop
inPi.Theeasiestworkaroundistoduplicatethesidechainsourcetrackfortriggeringonly,remove
thePiinstancefromitssignalpathanduseitasthesidechainsource.

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Q:SayyouhaveinsertedPionarangeofaudiochannels(saythesearedrumchannels),and
haveallsentthemtoasinglePigroup.nowisthereawaytodeterminethepriorityofchannels
withinthatgroup?i.e.forinstancedeterminingthatthekickdrumaudiostreamreceivesno
selectiveallpassfiltering,asyouconsiderthattrackacrucialelementyou'dnotwanttohave
altered(instead,you'dwanttheothertrackswithinthatPigrouptofrequencyphaseshiftwhen
needed).ifthisisnotachievablethroughasetting,howdoespideterminewhichaudiostream
withinthegroup'getspreference'(andthusisnotaltered/islessaltered)?
A:Weightknobisyourfriend.Trackswithhigherweightvaluesaregoingtohavehigher"priority"
or"gravity"inamix.
(Warninggeekytextahead)
Ifyouthinkofatracks'currentphasepositionasapointinspace,andyouhavemultiplepointsat
variousdistancesfromeachother,andthegoalistominimizethedistancebetweenthevarious
points,youcanachievethesameresultsbyeithermovingallthepointstowardonespecifiedpoint
orcalculatethebestandshortestroutforallthepointstoanotherpointinspace.Thedifference
betweenthetwoscenariosisthatinthefirstcasethepointwithmoreWeightisnotgoingtomove
asmuchwhileotherpointswillhavetomakegreaterdistance.
Q:SayyouhavethreePigroups,whereoneissettoINT&MIX,andtheremainingtwoaresetto
phaselock.ie.youwantthesetwogroupstoremainintact,andhavethethirdgroup(theonesetto
INT&MIX)alteritsphasedynamicallytothetwophaselockedgroups.now,whathappenswhen
thetwophaselockedgroupscontainatthesameinstantphaseinvertedsignals?dotheycancel
eachotherout(asthey'resettophaselock),ordoesoneofthemalteritsphasesotheyremain
phasecorrelated?(whichonegetspreferencethough?)
A:Phaselockedgroupswilloptimizethetrackswithinthemtothemixwithoutchangingthephase
relationshipsofthetrackswithinthegroup.Soinyourcasescenario,ifatgivenpointthetwo
groupsarephaseinverted,Piwillrotatethephaselockedgroupsinphasewitheachotherlike
theywereasinglechannels.
Q:wouldyouthenrecommendplacingtwoPiinstancesinarowonachannelforthefollowing
scenario:aPigroupedsetofchannelswithinwhichyouwantoneofthechannelsto'dominate'
(receivetheleastamountofphaseshifting),thereforeusingtheweightknobyoumentionedto
achievejustthat.followedbyanotherinstanceofPisettophaselock,whereonewouldusethe
weightknobtosetthepriorityofthewholePigroupagainstotherpigroups,todeterminewhich
groupreceivesmoreorlessphasetreatment?
A:No.PlacingtwoinstancesofPionasingletrackwillbreakit.
Importance/priorityoftracksandgroupsinthemixaredeterminedbyvolumeandweightwhile
weightisadjustingindividualtracks.Therefore,togivehigherprioritytoawholegroup,simply
increasethegroupgainwithinPi.

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