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DS-10 Drum Shaper Manual

The DS-10 shapes transients, which is the short duration signal representing a non-harmonic “attack” phase of a waveform. They are the “spike” you see at the beginning of waveforms like drum hits, vocals, guitars and other musical instruments. The DS-10 will allow you to control and either enhance or reduce the attack and sustain of what you’re applying it on without affecting other parts of the waveform.

IMG - overview

Logo: click here to read credits, version number and so on.

Mode buttons: (Kick / Snare / Bus):

  • Kick: Optimized for use on kick drums. Also switches the "Mojo" mode to "Tightness"
  • Snare: Optimized for use on snare drums. Also switches the "Mojo" mode to "Body"
  • Bus: Optimized for use on a stereo drum bus / full drum mix. It also switches the "Mojo" mode to "Presence".

Algorithm selector: (Classic / Natural/ Smooth)

  • Classic: This algorithm is the same as the one found in Addictive Drums 2. It has a slightly "raw" sound with more pronounced pumping effects. Examples of this could be Drum and bass or metal.
  • Natural: This is the default algorithm. It performs really well on nearly all types of material, and has a natural decay with minimal "grainy-ness". Examples of this could be Pop, House and Rock.
  • Smooth: This is a variation of the Natural algorithm. It works really well on certain material and has an even smoother response. Examples of this could be RnB, Jazz and Electronic Lounge.

IMG - Attack Sustain...

Attack: increase or reduce the volume of the attack (transient) portion of the sound Sustain: increase or reduce the volume of the sustain (post-attack or post-transient) portion of the sound Mojo: fine-tune your sound with additional processing that is carefully adapted to each mode:

  • Kick mode: "Tightness" - go from a more boomy sound to a controlled tight punch or the other way around.
  • Snare mode: "Body"- control the low mid of the audio, typical snare range frequencies.
  • Bus mode: "Presence"- Increase to have the audio cut through better, or decrease to soften harsh-sounding high end.

IMG - bottom

Output Gain: Transient shaping can add a lot of volume to your signal. Use the Output Gain to control this, so you can better compare processed and unprocessed audio with the bypass button. You can also use Gain to drive the Soft Clip circuit for some extra 'crack'!

Soft Clip: This is kind of a "speaker protection" circuit that both clips the output level at "0" (unity gain) and adds mild coloration/distortion even on lower signals. Bypass: Great for A/B comparing. Bypass functionality is likely also available in your host, but using that may cause audible glitches due to latency compensation kicking in and out.

Typical use cases for the DS-10:

  • Get a tighter and more defined kick

  • Put some snap in the snare

  • Make your entire drum bus cut through the mix better

  • Remove or reduce ambiance/room on your drum loop

...Or why not some unorthodox non-drum usage, such as controlling the pluck sound of an acoustic guitar or to smoothen out parts of some hard compressed vocals!

DS-10 Drum Shaper Manual PDF
(can also be accessed if you click the xln audio logo in the bottom of the DS-10 user interface and then click Manual)

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