Digidesign Smack! TDM

The latest in a series of new, powerful Digidesign® plug-ins, Smack!™ has been developed for Pro Tools® music makers who require a great-sounding, flexible, and easy-to-use compression tool.

Accurately modeling automatic gain reduction devices previously found only in hardware, Smack! controls the volume of just about any source in a very “musical” manner, adding fullness, intelligibility, and excitement to any track. Its user interface is intuitively constructed, with a look and feel reminiscent of vintage devices, enabling you to create an amazingly wide range of tonal coloration with a minimal set of controls.

Smack! elevates plug-in compression capabilities and quality to a new level, transcending the limitations often typical of digital compressors and compressor/limiter emulations. Smack!’s control ranges are practical and sweep a wide range of tonal compression color, resulting in true warmth and distinction. Along with delivering phenomenal sound, the compressor has been designed to operate effectively and efficiently at any setting.

In addition to offering a variety of unique compression curves that range from subtle compression to hard limiting, Smack! includes three compressor modes that add warmth, reduce waveform distortion, and/or emulate electro-optical VCA limiters. And each of Smack!’s compression ratios has its own personality and release shape. So, from gentle curves with almost transparent compression to brick-wall limiting, Smack! delivers the extremes and everything in between.

To replicate the characteristic sound of analog tape saturation and vintage tube devices, Smack!’s distortion section lets you add subtle harmonic distortion. You can instantly add second-order and/or third-order harmonic distortion with the flick of a switch. Additionally, Smack! includes external or internal side-chain processing and a built-in side-chain EQ for additional filtering.

With Smack!, it’s almost impossible to get a bad compression sound. If you're not sure which settings to use, pick a ratio somewhere in the middle of the range, set all the controls midway, then adjust the input-gain control until you have sufficient gain reduction displayed on the VU meter. The result is a fine, general-purpose “vanilla” setting that serves as a good starting point for further adjustment.

Smack! features include:

• Foolproof operation — Handles any kind of audio material
• Three compression modes — Includes a mode for emulating classic electro-optical limiters
• Unique compression ratios — From subtle compression to hard limiting
• Harmonic distortion — Allows for addition of subtle analog-sounding distortion
• External or internal side-chain processing and a side-chain EQ
• Multichannel support — For all Pro Tools multi-channel track types
• Supports all Pro Tools sample rates up to 192 kHz
• Supports AudioSuite, RTAS, and TDM

At home in Pro Tools-based music, broadcast, post production, and sound design applications, Smack! is an ideal plug-in choice for use with bass, drums, and vocals to bring optimal track placement and presence to your mix. Offering the ultimate in plug-in flexibility, it supports both Digidesign and Avid® software, and provides support for all Pro Tools sample rates up to 192 kHz, all multichannel track configurations (with linked gain reduction), and AudioSuite™, RTAS®, and TDM plug-in types. Smack! is also available in AudioSuite and RTAS versions —"Smack! LE" — supporting Pro Tools LE and Avid software at a reduced price.