Master Channel Strip

Getting started

1. Download Harmovant Audio Hub from harmovant.com/downloads. You need to log in to your Harmovant account (a free account is enough).
2. Open the Hub, sign in and find Master Channel Strip in the product list.
3. Click Install. The Hub downloads, checks and installs the AU and VST3 versions. It asks for the Mac administrator password once.
4. Start the 14-day free trial or activate your license in the Hub. The plugin reads the license the Hub saves on this Mac.
5. Open your host (Live Rack, or any app that loads AU or VST3 plugins) and rescan plugins if Master Channel Strip does not appear. It is listed under Harmovant Audio.

Insert Master Channel Strip on the stereo master: the master insert of your console's plugin host, or the master of Live Rack. Put it last in the chain, after any other processing, because the last module (MAXIMIZE) sets the final peak ceiling.

A new instance opens on the first factory preset (Worship Arena) with LIVE at 0.5 ms. Pick the preset closest to your show, then adjust the BUS COMP THRESH and the MAXIMIZE THRESHOLD to the level coming from your console.

The factory presets were calibrated on a show mix at about −19 LUFS (≈ −18 dBFS RMS). If your master runs hotter or quieter, move the two thresholds first, before touching anything else.

The screen

The window has four areas: the header at the top, the nine module panels in the middle, the meter column on the right (LOUDNESS, RTA, PHASE) and the footer at the bottom.

Footer: LATENCY (ms and samples), CHAIN 1–8 (0 smp, or IIR 2× when HQ is on), sample rate, license status when it needs attention, LEVEL MATCH offset and plugin version.

• Knobs: drag up or down. Hold Shift for fine adjustment. The mouse wheel also works. Double-click returns to the default value.
• Stepped knobs (ATTACK, RELEASE, RATIO, frequencies): drag, use the wheel or click a value on the scale.
• All interface text is in English, the Harmovant standard.

01 BUS COMP

Console-style bus compressor (VCA, linked peak detection, short knee) to glue the mix. Zero latency. The needle meter shows gain reduction from 0 to 20 dB (dB COMPRESSION).

1 to 3 dB of reduction on the needle is the usual range for glue on a live master.

02 PASSIVE EQ

Program-style passive EQ: a low section with boost and cut at the same frequency, a high bell with bandwidth, and a high shelf cut. Clean, no harmonics. Zero latency.

03 TUBE

Series tube stage: a pentode and a triode, a parallel saturation circuit and an air band. The output level is compensated: the knobs change colour and compression, not the volume. Zero latency (2× oversampling with HQ).

04 SATURATE

3-band saturation with phase-flat crossovers. Each band has its own drive. Below about 2.4 dB of drive the sound stays clean. Zero latency (2× oversampling with HQ).

05 MB LIMIT

5-band limiter with zero latency. It calculates the total reduction needed and spreads it across the bands by their energy and by the priority you set on the faders: a band with higher priority is reduced less. Bands split at 100 Hz, 400 Hz, 2.5 kHz and 9 kHz. A wideband safety stage catches very fast peaks, and the MAXIMIZE comes after it.

Factory presets do not change MB LIMIT: they all load its mastering default (THRESH −3, CEILING −1, ARC). You can still change it freely.

06 INFLATE

Transfer-curve shaper that adds perceived loudness and density without pumping. Zero latency (2× oversampling with HQ).

07 STEREO

Mid/Side control: width, mono low end, balance and side tilt, plus listen modes. Zero latency.

Leaving M, S or MONO on goes to the PA. Check that the selector is on ST before the show.

08 RESONANCE

Dynamic resonance control: 33 bands of 1/4 octave from 63 Hz to 16 kHz, detected on the Mid and applied with dynamic filters, with no FFT in the audio path, so zero latency. The sensitivity per frequency is a fixed factory curve; the controls below set how it reacts.

The host's automation list also shows a Resonance Mix parameter (0–100 %), which blends the processed and dry signal. It has no knob on the panel.

09 MAXIMIZE

Final peak limiter. THRESHOLD raises the level into it, CEILING is the output ceiling. Its short look-ahead (set with LIVE in the header) is the only latency of the plugin. The needle meter shows LIMITER GR.

Meters

The column on the right measures the output of the plugin.

The RTA display is shifted so that the 200 Hz to 2 kHz average sits on the REF line. Read it as tonal balance, not as absolute level.

Presets

10 factory presets, calibrated on a show mix at about −19 LUFS with 1 to 3 dB of reduction on the BUS COMP and the MAXIMIZE at the target loudness of each style (−9.3 to −16 LUFS).

• Init: every module at its default value.
• A preset does not change LIVE, HQ 2×, LEVEL MATCH, BYPASS or the listen modes.
• User presets: open the preset menu, type a name in 'Save current sound as…' and click SAVE. The ⋯ button shows the folder (~/Music/Harmovant/Master Channel Strip/Presets, files .hvmc).

Latency and live use

Modules 1 to 8 run at zero latency. The only latency is the look-ahead of the MAXIMIZE, chosen with LIVE in the header, and it is always reported to the host for delay compensation.

• Switching LIVE, TP or HQ while playing does not create gaps or clicks. Module on/off and BYPASS are crossfaded.
• BYPASS, the listen modes (M, S, MONO) and Δ DELTA always come back off when you reopen a project.
• The bypassed signal is delayed by the same latency, so BYPASS does not shift the timing, and it goes through a safety limiter.

Live tips

• Start from a preset, then set the BUS COMP THRESH for 1 to 3 dB on the needle and the MAXIMIZE THRESHOLD for the loudness you want.
• Use BYPASS with LEVEL MATCH on to judge the processing at equal loudness.
• For the PA, MONO BASS between 100 and 150 Hz keeps the low end centred.
• For a live stream feed, start from Live Stream -16, select the HI-FI target (−16) and press RESET when the service or show starts.
• If you only need protection, use Transparent Safety: the final limiter only.
• If the RESONANCE sounds too active, lower DEPTH or switch to SOFT. Use Δ DELTA to hear exactly what it takes out.

License and activation

• Lifetime license, paid once, with lifetime updates: every new version of this plugin is included, with no yearly fee.
• Stage Pass, the Harmovant plugin subscription, also unlocks it.
• Up to 2 Macs at the same time on one license.
• 14-day free trial on each Mac, started in Harmovant Audio Hub.
• Installation and activation are done only in Harmovant Audio Hub. The plugin checks the license on the Mac, without internet. It needs internet only to activate and, every few weeks, to confirm the license; it works offline in between.

Without a valid license the plugin always loads, in demo mode: it plays normally but inserts 2 seconds of silence every 20 seconds, with short fades. A status strip and an OPEN HUB button appear at the bottom of the window (OPEN HUB opens the Hub, or harmovant.com/downloads if the Hub is not installed). The strip disappears when the license is fine.

It does not cut the audio in the middle of a show. If a license ends while you are playing, the plugin keeps running until the next long pause, and warnings appear days before.

Troubleshooting

Specifications