Maag MAGNUM-K
Plugin Manual
Developed by Brainworx Audio in partnership with maag Audio distributed by Plugin Alliance
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Maag MAGNUM-K
Plugin Manual
Introduction BIGGER SOUND
The MAGNUM-K Compressor helps quieter sonic signatures become as
The Maag Audio MAGNUM-K™ is a Compressor built to complement the big as you want them to be while simultaneously reigning in those louder,
audio engineer’s craft in a very big and impactful way. The MAGNUM-K is more dominant tones.
comprised of two compressor sections (MAGNUM COMP and K COMP),
a very musical Parallel EQ (with LMF and AIR BAND®), and a Soft Limit QUICKER WORKFLOW
(soft limiter). Tuning a MAGNUM-K Compressor is quick and easy, reducing your overall
workflow time.
Whether putting the finishing touches on a 2-mix or making a vocal sound
bigger than life without taking your head off; the MAGNUM-K will help OUTSTANDING CONTROL
elevate your craft to a whole new level. Welcome to compression nirvana The MAGNUM-K offers outstanding control from its transparent INPUT
and sonic bliss. Welcome to the Maag Audio MAGNUM-K Compressor ATTN (attenuator) and INPUT GAIN controls, to its SIDECHAIN capabilities
where BIGGER SOUND, QUICKER WORKFLOW, and OUTSTANDING and MAKE UP GAIN. Controls are stepped (detented) to allow for easy
CONTROL were designed to elevate your craft. recallable settings and channel matching.
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Maag MAGNUM-K
Plugin Manual
Cliff’s NOTES Now multiply these components x2 to accomplish two channels... You
would then need to send these connections to multiple Summing Busses
The MAGNUM-K is Maag Audio’s 8-Function channel that controls in your DAW.
gain and shapes tone like no other product on the planet. It is used for
Tracking, Mixing, Live Sound, and Mastering. This is an extremely complex insert that would require many units,
To accomplish what the MAGNUM-K does in one channel, an engineer much thinking and routing to accomplish what the MAGNUM-K does
would need the following components: in ONE simple channel. The MAGNUM-K does this work for us, giving
us more time to perfect our craft and make music. The Maag Audio
• INPUT ATTN (Input Attenuator) MAGNUM-K provides BIGGER SOUND, QUICKER WORKFLOW, and
• INPUT GAIN OUTSTANDING CONTROL.
• MAGNUM COMP (Fullband Compressor)
• SIDECHAIN Hz (Internal SIDECHAIN filter or External SIDECHAIN) -Cliff Maag Sr.
• K COMP (3 kHz Focused Compressor)
• PARALLEL EQ2 (LMF and AIR BAND)
• MAKE UP GAIN
• SOFT LIMIT (Soft Limiter)
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Maag MAGNUM-K
Plugin Manual
Controls (Main Unit) MAGNUM COMP
1 INPUT ATTN 5 COMP RANGE
The input signal can be attenuated by up to 12dB. This setting allows to adjust the Compression range selection limits (4,
Reduction of the input level affects the overall response of the compressor 8, 12, or 16 dB). In combination with the RATIO this determines how much
and it has a direct impact on the level reduction. your signal is compressed. The COMP RANGE determines the maximum
compression range. The higher the COMP RANGE is, the stronger the
2 PEAK signal is compressed.
Red LED illuminates when the input signal reaches 0dBFS.
6 RATIO
3 SIGNAL Adjusts the slope of the compression (1.3:1 to 13:1). Varies with the COMP
Green LED indicates audio signal presence. Illumination starts @ -48 dFS RANGE setting. While 1.3:1 result in a mild compression, settings greater
(clearly visible @-30 dBFS). than 8:1 will produce quite strongly compressed signals.
4 INPUT GAIN 7 Blue LED
The input signal can be boosted by up to 12dB. Indicates the level of compression for the MAGNUM COMP. The brighter
Allows a low level to be boosted, making it more sensitive to compression. the LED, the more compression being applied to the signal (simulating a
meter).
Reference Level
The internal reference level of this plugin is 18 dBu (18 dBu corresponds to 0 dBFS).
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Maag MAGNUM-K
Plugin Manual
1 THRESHOLD 3 ATTACK
Controls the level where compression occurs. Only signals that exceed Adjusts the attack speed of compression (5 ms to 200 ms).
the threshold level are compressed. Signals whose level is beneath the Attack determines the response time of the compressor. Put simply, it is
threshold value are not processed. Turning the knob to the right adds the time that the compressor needs to respond once a signal is above the
more compression. threshold.
2 SIDECHAIN (Hz) 4 RELEASE
Internal sidechain frequency filter at 40 Hz, 80 Hz, 120 Hz, 220 Hz or Adjusts the release speed of compression (100 ms to 1.2 s)
External sidechain. The counterpart of the Attack is Release. The Release parameter
determines how fast the compressor eases processing the signal.
The sidechain filters can make the response of the compression be influ-
enced by a given frequency range. Some call this frequency-selective 5 FB / FF
compression. For instance, if the low frequencies are reduced, the Feedback (FB) or Feedforward (FF) to select compression type.
compressor will not react as promptly to kick drums and bass lines. This selects whether the control signal used for compression is taken
This can prove very useful when these elements are very present in the from the input or the output of the amplification circuit.
material used. The same applies the other way around. If you increase In FF mode, compression is more aggressive.
certain frequencies, the compressor will respond more resolutely to
them. The sidechain filters are only in the control signal path.
When set to EXT a sidechain signal must be provided. How this is done
differs between the DAWs. Please check your DAW manual in case you
are unsure.
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Maag MAGNUM-K
Plugin Manual
Tip K COMP
Compression during vocal recordings:
The attack time should not be too fast, otherwise plosives could be The K COMP is a second independent compressor located before the
distorted, resulting in the vocals sounding unnatural. Many sound MAGNUM COMP in the signal chain. The K COMP is focused around 3kHz
engineers compensate these level variations by automating the fader. The and helps you to control harsh and edgy signal components.
actual peaks of vocals are not at the beginning of a syllable, but rather
later, when long vocals come along, which ought to be limited as well. 1 IN
That is why the Attack time should be relatively slow and the Release time Engages the K COMP compressor. Green LED indicates when the K COMP
relatively fast. is engaged or bypassed.
2 Blue LED
Indicates the level of compression for the K COMP. The brighter the LED,
the more compression being applied to the signal (simulating a meter).
3 THRESHOLD
Controls the level where compression occurs. Only signals that exceed
the threshold level are compressed. Signals whose level is beneath the
threshold value are not processed. Turning the knob to the right adds
more compression.
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Maag MAGNUM-K
Plugin Manual
Parallel EQ2 3 Frequency Selector (LMF)
Bell curve boost with W (wide) or T (tight) bell curves:
The PARALLEL EQ2 boosts the original source signal at focused • W (wide) = Sub, 57 Hz, 88 Hz, 220 Hz, 400 Hz, or 1.4 kHz
frequencies and then blends it with the MAGNUM COMP and K COMP • T (tight) = Sub, 40 Hz, 65 Hz, 150Hz, 250 Hz, or 1 kHz
signals (pre SOFT LIMIT). This boosting/blending also acts as a focused
make up gain. 4 Q (LMF)
LMF bell selection. Choose between W (wide) or T (tight) bell curves.
LMF (Low Mid Frequency) EQ Yellow LED indicates selection:
1 GAIN (LMF) AIR BAND® EQ
Gain control for the LMF.
The amount of gain depends on the selected Q factor: Blend some shiny highs to your original signal and hear how almost every
• 15 dB max gain (W = wide bell) signal will open up and benefit from this band. The higher frequency you
• 12 dB max gain (T = tight bell) select the smoother hi-end sound you get.
2 IN (LMF) 5 GAIN (AIR BAND)
Engages and disengages the LMF. Green LED. Gain control for the AIR BAND 20 dB max gain.
6 IN (AIR BAND)
Engages and disengages the AIR BAND. Green LED.
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Maag MAGNUM-K
Plugin Manual
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1 Frequency Selector (AIR BAND) 6 ENGAGE
Boost only shelf at 10 kHz, 15 kHz, 20 kHz, 25 kHz, 30 kHz, or 40 kHz. Engage or disengage the complete MAGNUM-K unit (true bypass).
Frequencies below the shelf peaks are also affected due to the transi- Green LED.
tional slope.
2 PEAK
Controls (Plugin Specific)
Red LED illuminates when the output signal clips @0dBFS.
7 PARAM LINK
3 MAKE UP GAIN The MAGNUM-K compressor has been designed as a completely
The MAKE UP GAIN is used to restore signal level after compression (0-15 dB). independent two-channel, dual-mono compressor and can be used to
process two different mono signals at the same time.
4 SOFT LIMIT This enables or disables linking of parameters in a stereo instance.
Engages soft limiter. Green LED transitions to Pink then Red (+17 dBu) as When both parameters have different values and link is engaged, both
soft limiting increases (simulating a meter). parameter values remain unless one of them is touched.
5 THRESH 8 M/S
Allows to set the threshold value for the soft limiter. This function is Engages Mid/Side processing. When this is set to On, the upper channel
available with the hardware as an internal jumper setting. The lower the processes the mid (sum) of both channels and the lower channel
value the more color you add to the sound. (-3 / -7 / -11 / -15 dbFS). processes the side (difference) of both channels.
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Maag MAGNUM-K
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Plugin Manual
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1 SC LINK 2 DIGITAL MODE
When using the sidechain input, each unit is fed with a different sidechain Toggles between using the same TMT channel for both units (Digital) and
signal (in both L/R or M/S mode). However, if you activate the SC LINK using two adjacent, differing TMT channels (Analog).
(Sidechain Link) function, the sidechain signals are mixed together and
then used to control both units. This effectively links the compression 3 CHANNELS
activity of both channels. TMT, switches between 20 different channel strips. In a Stereo instance,
two adjacent Channel numbers will be displayed. Each channel has its
own, different character!
TMT Section
4 RANDOM CHANNEL
The Maag MAGNUM-K offers 20 different channels, made possible by Whenever you instantiate a MAGNUM-K plugin on a channel, it will start
TMT. TMT is Brainworx‘ patent-pending Tolerance Modeling Technology, with the Default setup, which is Channel 1 in a flat setting. You can now
originally found in the bx_console line of plugins. It takes the real-world randomize a channel by clicking the Random Channel button.
tolerances of audio components found in audio circuits into account, and Only the plugin instance you click on will switch to any unused channel
offers various channels of analog audio which have realistic variances in number in that session randomly. The plugin will remember which
frequency response, time constants in dynamic sections, etc. The result channel numbers are already used in a session and activate an unused
is digital audio that sounds as analog as possible, whereas even the L/R channel number, unless you engage more than 20 channels. At that point
channels of a stereo instance will react slightly different. For more infor- the plugin obviously would have to use a channel number that has already
mation please check www.brainworx.audio channels. been used.
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Maag MAGNUM-K
Plugin Manual
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BX Section STEREO WIDTH
Make your mix wider than it originally was by increasing the stereo width
MONO MAKER without losing the center of your recordings! You will not lose bass drum
This tool is a valuable component to several Brainworx processors, and power or vocals by making your mix wider this way... and it will not sound
it is an invaluable tool when mastering or tightening up a mix. Sweepable different played back in mono at all. If you notice the Correlation Meter
from 20 Hz to 20 kHz, this parameter folds the processed sound to mono showing less than ±1 (or 90°), dial up the Mono Maker a bit to tighten up
at and below the frequency set. The most common setting is between the low-end until acceptable levels are shown.
100-200 Hz, below which bass frequencies reside, where common
practice deems that most sound should be mono. Other uses include 3 IN
folding an entire mix in order to check mono compatibility and avoid Engages the STEREO WIDTH processor. Green LED indicates when
phase incoherency. STEREO WIDTH processing is engaged or bypassed.
1 IN 4 WIDTH
Engages the Mono Maker. Green LED indicates when the MONO MAKER is Dial in the desired stereo width of your signal. Ranging from 0% effec-
engaged or bypassed. tively reducing the stereo width via 100% which retains the original width
up to 400%.
2 Frequency Selector
Determines the frequency up to which the signal stays mono.
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Maag MAGNUM-K
Plugin Manual
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1 MIX 3 PRE/POST
Controls the amount of unprocessed signal being blended with the Select where you would like to insert the filter:
processed (compressed) signal, effectively providing the option of • PRE: Right after the INPUT GAIN. This way no lower frequencies will
parallel compression. even enter the compressors
Wet = you’ll only hear processed signal. • POST: Before the SOFT LIMITER. This way your signal is processed in
Dry = you’ll only hear un-processed signal. its full bandwidth but lower frequencies are removed before the output
HIGH PASS 4 Metering Section
The HIGH PASS can be used to add an additional filter with an adjustable The metering section offers level meters for both input and output stage.
frequency either before or after the signal processing of the original The input meter shows signal level before all processing and the output
MAGNUM-K. This allows to effectively get rid of unwanted low frequencies. meter the level after all processing.
The Gain Reduction meter helps you to see how much your signal is
2 Frequency compressed by the MAGNUM-COMP.
Select the frequency at which the filter operates. All lower frequencies
will be filtered by a 2nd order filter. All meters show levels in dBFS.
5 ENGAGE
Engage or disengage the lower unit. This allows to disable both TMT
Section and BX Section with a single click. PARAM LINK, M/S, and SC LINK
buttons are always engaged.
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Maag MAGNUM-K
Plugin Manual
Top Toolbar several times. Let´s say you like your setting A and want to use the same
sound, just with less compression, as setting B.
1 Undo / Redo • Simply press Copy while you are in setting A.
You can undo and redo changes you made to the controls of the Maag • Switch to setting B by pressing ‘B’ in the settings section.
MAGNUM-K plugin at any time. The Undo / Redo will work for as many • Press PASTE, now setting B is identical to setting A.
as 32 steps. This makes experimenting and tweaking knobs easy. If you • Reduce the compression on the B setting.
don´t like what you did... just undo it.
4 Headroom
2 Settings (A/B/C/D) Adjusts the internal operating level so that the Plugin produces more
The Plugin offers four internal settings (A/B/C/D) which will be stored or less gain reduction. Rotating the control clockwise will allow signals
with every preset. So, one preset can contain up to four settings. You may at the input to be pushed higher before they compress, this will result
use similar settings with more or less compression in one setup / preset. in less compression overall. By rotating counter-clockwise headroom
Now, the SETTINGS can be automated in your DAW! This way it´s possible is decreased resulting in a greater amount of gain reduction and more
to use different sounds for your lead vocals or drums in various sections colour and compression being added to the signal. This parameter is
of the song. Automate the A/B/C/D settings, and you can still tweak knobs perfect for fine tuning the effects produced and also for accurate level
of the individual settings without overriding multiple parameters in your matching.
DAW, which would be time-consuming.
5 M/S Monitoring (for Stereo Channels only)
3 Copy / Paste Solo M: Solos the Mid (Sum) signal being processed by the plugin. Solo S:
To set up variations of similar sounds you don‘t have to dial in the settings Solos the Side (Difference) signal processed by the plugin.
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