‘ab Delay’
‘ab Delay’ is a 4-Line delay with Spatial Rotation capabilities, designed to work with Mono, Stereo and Ambisonics Signals (1OA to 7OA).
Depending on the DAW you use, please refer to the end of this guide for punctual comments and tips.
Set Up
Upon inserting to the DAW, ‘ab Delay’ will try and adjust the input and output of the signal depending on the width of the channel. This assignment can be manually changed. Please mind that even if your input is Mono, your output should be either Stereo or Ambisonics (depending on your selection).
For working in native Ambisonics make sure your DAW is capable of handling 4-channel+ tracks (Nuendo, Cubase Pro, Logic Pro X, Pro Tools Ultimate).
The Ambisonics Order is automatically adjusted depending on your track’s settings. e.g. a 7OA track (or 64ch track in Reaper) will deliver a 7OA signal, etc.
To listen to an Ambisonics signal in your speaker-array, you must use a decoder. Any decoder that works with an Ambisonics signals (Ambix) works - we recommend you our ‘ab Decoder Suite’.
Cross OS | Cross DAW Presets
Factory Presets come ready to be used in any DAW or OS. You can delete the presets and even save new presets. Once a preset is saved, it will automatically be available in any Plugin format on your system (VST3, AU, AAX). Presets are saved as independent files, meaning you can copy them between Windows and Mac so that you can carry them with you or even share them.
On Windows, presets are in “\Documents\Audio Brewers”
On Mac, presets are in “/Users/Shared/Audio Brewers”
Input
The header of the plugin contains different controls that help you work with the dry signal before it passes through the Delay.
Depending on your Input Signal, some of the controls will be unavailable.
PRESENCE: Controls the focus of the input signal between discrete (focused) and omnipresent (sounds everywhere). This control is available only when the input signal is Mono or Stereo.
WIDTH: Controls the stereo image of the signal, from mono, to narrow, to wide. This control is available only when the input signal is Stereo.
DRY: Controls the volume of the ‘Dry’ input signal.
ADD/REMOVE: Adds/Removes a delay line. Up to four independent delay lines can be added.
Delay
Note that EACH Delay Line comes with a completely independent set of delay controls.
Spatial Control
ab Delay offers spatial controls to rotate the Delay in any of the three dimensions. This opens a door to a complete immersive result. Additionally, for applications that might be useful to sound designers, ab Delay can mute the Mid, the Sides, the Front/Back or the Top/Bottom of the signals, creating weird phase-sensitive effects that can help you achieve creative sensations.
The Spatial Control happens under the hood and independently of your input/output signal!
High and Low Pass Filters
A High Pass and Low Pass filter can be applied to the delay to surgically narrow down frequencies. Each of the filters comes with a resonance control.
Delay Controls
A RATE control helps you set the delay rate, either tempo-synced or time-based. If time-based, you can double click on the value to manually input one.
A FEEDBACK control helps you set the loudness of the feedback, from 0% to 100%.
A WET control helps you set the volume at which the wet signal of the delay outputs.
Parallel | Serial Delay modes.
Delays 2 to 4 contain a Parallel / Serial toggle.
When Parallel mode is on (default), the input signal is the DRY signal.
When Serial mode is on (on click), the input signal is the output signal of the previous Delay. For example, If Delay 2 is set to Serial, its input will be delay 1’s output. Additionally, if Delay 3 is set to Serial, then its input will be Delay 2’s output, etc. This way you can create very complex delay lines with completely wicked spatial transformations or filtering options.
Finally, a visualiser is also included to visually guide you on how the final output of the delay is being shaped in the sonic field around you.
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Insert a track with the width of your audio file (if you are working with a MONO WAV, insert a MONO Audio Track, for STEREO WAVS, insert a STEREO Track, for Ambisonics WAVS, insert a Quad or a 1st/2nd/3rd Order Ambisonics track.
Insert ab Delay with your desired Output configuration, and upon insertion, ab Delay will automatically set the Input and Output.
If you are adding ab Decoder to an Instrument Track with Kontakt with one of our Audio Libraries, you’ll need to insert the ‘ab Companion’ BEFORE the ‘ab Delay’ to convert the track to Ambisonics.
If you are working in Ambisonics, remember to add a decoder at the end of your insert chain to be able to properly listen to the signal.
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If you are working in Mono or Stereo, regardless of your audio file type, make sure your track has a Stereo configuration. Also, make sure you manually adjust the “Input” setting of ab Delay to match the WAV file.
If you want your output to be Ambisonics, make sure your track is set to Surround, and of course, make sure you decode the signal.
If you are working in Ambisonics, make sure your use a decoder the end of the insert chain (e.g. our ab Decoder) to properly listen to the signal.
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If you want your output to be in Ambisonics, make sure you add your MONO/STEREO/AMBISONICS WAV in a 1st/2nd/3rd Order Ambisonics Track.
If you are working in Ambisonics, remember to select a Decoder (e.g. our ab Decoder) in the panner (only for Nuendo and Cubase Pro)
Ambisonics signals are only available in Nuendo / Cubase Pro.
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If you’re working with Immersive Audio, Regardless of your final Output, use this plugin in a 9.1.6 track.
If you are using this plugin in a BUS, and receiving signal from a Mono/Stereo signal, make sure your BUS is 9.1.6 AND that you have ‘ab Encoder’ encoding from 9.1.6 to Ambisonics, then this plugin should work from AMBISONICS to AMBISONICS.
The Panner of your track should always be a Decoder (we suggest ‘ab Decoder HOA).
If working in Stereo, work with Stereo tracks just like with any other plugin.
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If you’re working with Immersive Audio, Regardless of your final Output, use this plugin in a Dolby Atmos 9.1.6 track.
The final insert of your track should always be a Decoder (we suggest ‘ab Decoder HOA).
If working in Stereo, work with Stereo tracks just like with any other plugin.
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If you are working in Ambisonics, remember to set the track width to at least 4 channels.
If your track has 10-14 channels, the Ambisonics signal will be 2OA, if the channel has 16+ channels, the Ambisonics signal will be 3OA
If you are working in Ambisonics, remember to add a decoder at the end of the Inserts chain.
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ab Delay is compatible with ALL DAWs. If your DAW only supports Mono/Stereo signals, make your you set the appropriate input/output settings. All ‘under-the-hood’ processing will happen in Ambisonics :)