Phase Aligner
Version 0.2.0 · updated November 4, 2026Phase Aligner corrects the time and polarity of every drum mic against the overheads, so the kit stops cancelling its own low end. One instance goes on each drum mic; press LEARN during soundcheck and the values are frozen for the show. Made for live drums, with zero latency in LIVE mode.
Getting started
- Download Harmovant Audio Hub from harmovant.com/downloads. You need to log in to your Harmovant account (a free account is enough).
- Open the Hub, sign in and find Phase Aligner in the product list.
- Click Install. The Hub downloads, checks and installs the AU and VST3 versions. It asks for the Mac administrator password once.
- Start the 14-day free trial or activate your license in the Hub. The plugin reads the license the Hub saves on this Mac.
- Open your host (Live Rack, or any app that loads AU or VST3 plugins) and rescan plugins if Phase Aligner does not appear. It is listed under Harmovant Audio.
Insert one Phase Aligner on every drum mic channel, including the overheads and the room mics, as the first insert, before any plugin that adds latency. All instances must run in the same host (the same Live Rack or app). They find each other automatically: no routing and no sidechain.
Why on every mic and not on the drum bus: once the mics are summed, the cancellation cannot be undone. The correction has to happen before the sum.
How it works
- Group (A to H): the instances that belong to the same kit. Every instance shows the whole group, so any of them works as the control panel of the kit.
- Role MIC: the mic is aligned. Role REF: the reference (usually OH L and OH R); REF mics are not moved and not aligned to each other, so the stereo image stays. Role OFF: listed but untouched (room mics, for example).
- ALIGN TO: each MIC aligns to the sum of the REF mics, or to a partner of the same drum (snare bottom to snare top, kick out to kick in). The partner's own alignment is then added.
- LEARN records every mic of the group while the drummer plays, then measures delay and polarity of each mic on the hits of its own drum, with a confidence score. Results below 35 % confidence are not applied.
- After LEARN the values are frozen and saved with the session. Nothing adapts during the show.
- If no instance is set to REF, LEARN uses the mic that arrives last as the reference.
The screen
Header at the top (GROUP, ROLE, LIVE / HQ, IN meter). Below it, three panels: GROUP (every instance of the group, LEARN), THIS MIC (the mic of this instance) and DISPLAY (correlation and cancellation map). The footer shows mode, latency in samples, sample rate, sync source and group.
| Control | Range | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| GROUP | A–H (A) | Group of this instance. Use one group per drum kit. |
| ROLE | MIC / REF / OFF (MIC) | Role of this instance in the group. |
| LIVE / HQ | (LIVE) | Processing mode for the whole group. See 'LIVE and HQ'. |
| IN | −60 to +6 dB | Input level of this mic. |
The window can be resized from 75 % to 150 % by dragging its corner.
GROUP panel
One row per instance of the group. Click a row to show that mic in the DISPLAY. THIS marks the instance you are looking at.
| Control | Range | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| MIC | Mic name. It follows the track or channel name sent by the host. | |
| ROLE | MIC / REF / OFF | Click to cycle the role of that instance. |
| ALIGN TO | REF, or the name of the partner mic. | |
| DELAY | Alignment delay, in the selected units. | |
| POL | Ø | Polarity. Click to flip it (MIC rows only). |
| ROTATION | Low-end phase rotation applied, if any. | |
| CONF | 0–100 % | Confidence of the LEARN result. |
| PHASE before > after | Live phase meter between 50 Hz and 1 kHz, before and after the correction. | |
| STATUS | Result of the mic. See 'Status messages'. | |
| LEARN | Starts the measurement of the whole group. The LCD next to it shows LISTENING, ANALYSING and the result (ALIGNED n/m MICS). | |
| 4 S / 8 S / 16 S | (16 S) | Length of the LEARN recording. |
| 5 MS / 10 MS / 20 MS | (10 MS) | RANGE: how far LEARN searches, and the latency in HQ mode. Applies to the whole group. |
| MS / SMP / CM / IN | (MS) | Display units of the delay: milliseconds, samples, centimetres or inches (distance at 343 m/s). Display only. |
THIS MIC panel
Controls of the mic where this instance is inserted. The large LCD shows the delay in the selected units, the other units below it, and a status chip.
| Control | Range | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Follows the host's track or channel name. Type to override it; clear the field to follow the track again. | |
| ALIGN TO | REF / partner | Align to the REF sum or to another mic of the group (a partner of the same drum). |
| DELAY | −20 to +20 ms (0) | Alignment delay, set by LEARN and editable by hand. In LIVE mode only positive values (delay) are used. |
| TRIM | −1 to +1 ms (0) | Fine trim on top of DELAY. |
| OFF / 1ST / 2ND | (OFF) | Low-end phase rotation: off, 1st-order or 2nd-order all-pass. |
| ROT FREQ | 20 Hz – 2 kHz (100 Hz) | Centre frequency of the rotation. |
| ROT Q | 0.3–4 (0.7) | Width of the rotation (2nd order). |
| AUTO ROT | on / off (on) | Lets LEARN set a low-end rotation when it adds 0.75 dB or more. |
| Ø INVERT | on / off (off) | Polarity of this mic. LEARN sets it. |
| ALIGN | on / off (on) | Alignment on or off. Off keeps the latency, so you can compare safely. |
DISPLAY
| Control | Range | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| CORRELATION | Correlation of the selected mic with its reference, the chosen peak, and up to 3 alternative peaks (ALT 1–3). In LIVE mode the excluded zone (mic earlier than the reference) is marked. | |
| ALT 1 / 2 / 3 | Click an alternative peak to use it and listen. Useful when LEARN chose a bleed peak. | |
| CANCELLATION MAP | Sum of the mic and its reference in 1/3-octave bands: the line is before, the bars are after the correction. Negative values mean cancellation. |
Step by step at soundcheck
- Insert Phase Aligner as the first insert on every drum mic, overheads included.
- Check that every instance shows the same GROUP (A by default) and that the names match your channels.
- Set OH L and OH R to REF and the room mics to OFF. You can do it from any instance, by clicking ROLE in the GROUP table.
- Set the partners: on the snare bottom, ALIGN TO the snare top; on the kick out, ALIGN TO the kick in.
- Leave LIVE selected, choose the length (16 S gives the most hits) and keep RANGE at 10 MS unless the overheads are very far.
- Ask the drummer to play the whole kit (kick, snare, toms, hi-hat) and press LEARN in any instance. The LCD shows LISTENING, then ANALYSING.
- Read the result (ALIGNED n/m MICS) and the STATUS of each row. OK and LATE rows are applied; LOW, RANGE and NO HITS rows are left untouched.
- Listen to the kit sum. Use ALIGN off/on on a mic to compare, and the ALT peaks in the DISPLAY for any mic that sounds wrong. For a LOW mic (often the kick), try an ALT peak or set DELAY by hand.
- Save the show or session. The values are frozen until the next LEARN.
Run LEARN again only when mics or overheads move. Each LEARN replaces the previous result of the group.
Status messages
| Control | Range | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| OK | Aligned and applied. | |
| LATE | Applied, but the mic arrives after the reference, which LIVE cannot move earlier. The LCD shows 'LATE: USE HQ OR ANOTHER REF'. | |
| LOW | Confidence below 35 %: not applied. Check the ALT peaks or align by hand. | |
| RANGE | The best peak is at the edge of the search window: not applied. Choose a larger RANGE. | |
| NO HITS | No hits of this mic's own drum were found during LEARN. | |
| NO SIGNAL | The mic was below −70 dBFS during LEARN. | |
| REF / OFF | Reference mic, or mic left out of the alignment. | |
| SAMPLE RATES DIFFER | LEARN stopped: the instances run at different sample rates. | |
| NO AUDIO FROM … / NOT ENOUGH AUDIO FROM … | LEARN stopped: that instance did not receive audio during the recording. | |
| SYNC MISMATCH (PLAY OR STOP ALL TRACKS) | Some tracks were playing and others were stopped. Play or stop all of them and press LEARN again. |
Footer: SYNC HOST TIME, SYNC TRANSPORT or SYNC CLOCK shows how the instances share the timing of the audio. SYNC HOST TIME and SYNC TRANSPORT are sample-exact.
LIVE and HQ
| Control | Range | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| LIVE | 0 samples | Close mics can only be delayed towards the overheads, which is what the physics of a stage needs. The fractional part of the delay has no extra latency. A mic that arrives after the reference is flagged LATE. |
| HQ | 5 / 10 / 20 ms | Every instance of the group reports the same latency (the RANGE) to the host, so mics can also move earlier, with any reference. |
- Changes of delay, polarity and rotation are crossfaded: no clicks, safe to touch during a show.
- Nothing adapts during the show: the values change only with LEARN or by hand.
- HQ adds latency to every drum channel. On stage, use LIVE unless a mic is LATE and you can afford the latency.
Low-end phase rotation
Some pairs (kick in and kick out, for example) still lose low end after time alignment. With AUTO ROT on, LEARN searches a 1st or 2nd-order all-pass between 30 and 400 Hz that maximises the 40 to 250 Hz sum, and applies it only if it adds at least 0.75 dB. You can also set it by hand with OFF / 1ST / 2ND, ROT FREQ and ROT Q.
Live tips
- Use one GROUP per kit. A second drummer or a second kit goes in group B.
- The kick is the hardest case, because the overheads carry little kick. Align the kick out to the kick in with ALIGN TO, and check the kick in by ear with the ALT peaks.
- Align the snare bottom to the snare top, not to the overheads: it is more consistent.
- Use ALIGN off/on to compare: the latency stays the same, so the A/B is fair.
- Insert Phase Aligner before any plugin with latency on the same channel, so the alignment is measured on the real arrival time of the mic.
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. Open Harmovant Audio Hub to start the trial or activate the license. The footer shows the license state and an OPEN HUB button. In demo mode LEARN and the group screen keep working, so you can set up the soundcheck before activating.
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
| Control | Range | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| An instance is missing from the group | Check that it has the same GROUP letter and runs in the same host. Instances in different apps cannot see each other. | |
| Names show 'Mic 1', 'Mic 2'… | The host does not send the track name. Type the names in THIS MIC. | |
| Many rows LOW | Run LEARN again with 16 S while the drummer plays the whole kit, with REF set on the overheads. | |
| A mic is LATE | In LIVE a mic cannot be moved earlier. Use HQ, choose another reference, or leave it as it is. | |
| The kit sounds thinner after LEARN | Switch ALIGN off on each mic to find the one that hurts, then try its ALT peaks or flip Ø. | |
| 2 s gaps of silence | Demo mode: no valid license on this Mac. Open Harmovant Audio Hub. |
Specifications
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