Bevel EQ

Quick start

1. Insert Bevel EQ on a track or bus. A new instance opens with six flat bands: a low shelf, four bells and a high shelf, all at 0 dB. If the chip at the top right reads LOCKED, Bevel stays silent until you activate it or start a trial (see Installation and activation).
2. Press play. The analyzer draws the music under the curve.
3. Drag a numbered node up to boost, down to cut, and left or right to move its frequency.
4. Scroll the mouse wheel over a node to make the band narrower or wider (its Q).
5. Click a node to open its band plate, and pick a shape there. For example, set band 1 to High Pass to clear low rumble.
6. Double-click an empty part of the graph to add a band. To remove one, right-click its node and choose Remove band.
7. Click BYPASS to compare with and without the EQ.

For ready-made starting points, try the factory presets or the Recipes.

What's new in 1.3.0

• External sidechain for dynamic bands. A dynamic bell or shelf can listen to another track, so a kick can dip the bass only where the two fight. See Using an external sidechain.
• Lighter editing. The display recalculates only the band you change, so editing is lighter on your computer.
• Your sessions are safe. Projects saved with 1.2 open exactly as they were, and every existing dynamic band keeps listening to its own audio.

The window

This chapter covers the top bar and the EQ display. The band plate, which floats over the display for the selected band, has its own chapter. Drag the bottom-right corner to resize the window, from 760 x 420 up to 2400 x 1400 pixels. Bevel remembers the size with your session; a new window opens at 1200 x 720.

The top bar

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1. Preset menu. Factory and user presets, and Save current as.
2. ••• (Options). Quality, curve and analyzer settings, the mono-maker and tooltips.
3. OUT. Output trim, with the output meter along its lower edge.
4. A/B. Two complete settings to compare.
5. PRE/POST. Picks the main analyzer trace.
6. BYPASS. Turns the whole EQ off and on.
7. License chip. Shows LICENSED, TRIAL or LOCKED; click it to open the license card.

To try a variation of what you have in A: save it with Save current as..., switch to B, and load your preset there.

The EQ display

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1. Summed curve. What all the bands add up to. This is what you hear.
2. Band node. Each active band has a numbered node and a curve in its own color.
3. Selected band. It shows its name above the node; the band plate edits this band.
4. D tag. The band is dynamic, and its curve moves with the music. A small d means DYN STORED (see The DYN page).
5. S tag. The band works on the side signal only. Other tags: L (left), R (right), M (mid).
6. Analyzer trace. The live spectrum of the signal you pick with PRE/POST.
7. Peak hold. A faint line that holds the recent peaks and falls back slowly.
8. dB scale. Gain of the curve. Change the span in Options > Curve range.
9. Frequency scale. 10 Hz on the left to 30 kHz on the right, on a musical (log) scale.

The display is the main way to work:

• Add a band: double-click an empty spot. The new band is a Bell at that frequency and gain (Q 0.71, Stereo). Keep holding after the second click to drag it into place. Up to 24 bands.
• Move a band: drag its node. Left and right change frequency; up and down change gain. Gain catches lightly at each whole dB, a little more at 0 dB.
• Change the width: scroll the mouse wheel over the node (Q, 0.1 to 40). Away from any node, the wheel edits the selected band. High Pass and Low Pass bands ignore Q; set their SLOPE on the band plate.
• Type exact values: double-click a node to open the value bubble (below).
• Band menu: right-click a node (see below). Right-click an empty spot for Add band here.
• Read a frequency: hover. The display shows the frequency under the pointer and its nearest note name; over a node it shows that band's values.

Everything you do on a node can be undone, and DAW automation records every move. More gestures are in Keyboard and mouse.

A node can go up to just below half the sample rate (about 21 kHz in a 44.1 kHz session). With 2x or 4x Quality it can reach 30 kHz.

The band menu

Right-click a node for:

• Shape and, on pass filters, Slope.
• Stereo placement: Stereo, Left, Right, Mid or Side.
• Dynamic: turns dynamics on for a bell or shelf (the same as DYN ON on the band plate).
• Dynamic source: Internal (the band's own audio) or External sidechain. See Using an external sidechain.
• Bypass band (reads Enable band when it is off), Reset band and Remove band.
• Undo and Redo.

The value bubble

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1. FREQ. Type Hz, kHz or a note name.
2. GAIN. Type a value in dB.
3. Q. Type the width.
4. The node. Double-click it to open the bubble.

On a High Pass or Low Pass band the third field is SLOPE instead of Q. Frequency accepts plain numbers (250), units (2.5k, 500 Hz) and note names (A4, C#2, Bb1; A4 is 440 Hz). Tab moves between the fields, Return applies, and Esc or a click on the graph closes the bubble without changing anything. Text Bevel cannot read leaves the value as it was.

The band plate

Click a node and the band plate appears over the display. It has two pages: EQ for the filter itself and DYN for the dynamics. Switching pages changes what you see, never the sound.

Move the plate out of your way by dragging its grip (the short lines at the top) or any empty part of it. It stays inside the display and keeps its place with your session. Double-click the grip to send it back to its automatic position. The x at the top right closes the plate; click any node to bring it back.

The EQ page

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1. ON. Turns this band on or off.
2. EQ and DYN. Switch between the two pages.
3. Shape selector. The curve icon over the shape name.
4. FREQ. The band's frequency.
5. GAIN. Boost or cut. On a dynamic band, the outer ring sets the range.
6. Q. The width. Pass filters show SLOPE here instead.
7. Placement selector. The two rings over the placement name.
8. SOLO. Listen to this band's region alone.
9. DYN ON/OFF. Turns dynamics on for this band; the range shows under it.

EQ

Typing a value: click any value on the plate and type. Return applies and Esc cancels. FREQ takes 1k or A4; times take ms or s (0.2s is 200 ms). Text Bevel cannot read is outlined in red and changes nothing. Tab moves to the next value but drops what you typed, so press Return first.

On a mono track, every band works on the mono signal whatever its placement, so a Side band still does something.

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1. Shape selector. High Pass is selected here.
2. GAIN. Dimmed, because pass filters have no gain.
3. SLOPE. 72 dB/oct on this band.

Dynamic bands and the sidechain

A dynamic band listens to its own part of the spectrum, not to the whole track. A bell listens around its frequency, a low shelf to everything below its corner, a high shelf to everything above it. So a dynamic bell at 6 kHz on a vocal reacts to the "s" sounds, not to the low notes of the voice. On the display, a dynamic band's curve moves in real time so you can see what it is doing.

The DYN page

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1. DYN ON. Dynamics on for this band.
2. SOLO. The same solo as on the EQ page.
3. EQ and DYN. Back to the EQ page.
4. THR. Threshold.
5. RNG. Range.
6. ATK. Attack.
7. REL. Release.

DYN

If you change a dynamic band to Notch, High Pass or Low Pass, the button reads DYN STORED: the settings are kept for later but do nothing, because those shapes have no gain to move.

Using an external sidechain

A dynamic band can listen to another track instead of its own audio. The other track is never heard through Bevel; it only drives the band. This works in VST3 and AU. In Pro Tools (AAX), Bevel has no sidechain input, so the Dynamic source menu does not appear and every dynamic band uses its own audio.

1. Make the band a Bell, Low Shelf or High Shelf and turn on DYN ON.
2. Right-click the band's node and choose Dynamic source > External sidechain.
3. In your DAW, send the other track to Bevel's sidechain input:
   • Logic Pro: choose the track in the Side Chain menu at the top of the plugin window.
   • Cubase: turn on the plugin window's side-chain button, then route a send from the other track to Bevel's side-chain input.
   • Studio One: click the side-chain button in the plugin window's header and add a send from the other track.
   • REAPER: give Bevel's track 4 channels, then send the other track to channels 3/4 of Bevel's track.
   • Other DAWs: look up "sidechain to a plugin" in your DAW's manual.
4. Set THR, RNG, ATK and REL on the DYN page as usual.

Each band picks its own source, so one band can follow the kick while another follows the track itself. The sidechain can be mono or stereo; with a stereo sidechain, a band set to Left, Right, Mid or Side listens to the matching part of it. If nothing plays into the sidechain, the band stays at its GAIN setting. To go back, choose Dynamic source > Internal.

The Options menu

Click ••• in the top bar. The processing settings (Quality, Proportional Q, Auto gain and the mono-maker) are saved with the session and can be automated. The view settings (Curve range and the Analyzer menu) are saved with the session but stay out of your DAW's automation list. Show tooltips and Check for updates apply to every Vitric plugin on this computer.

Quality, latency and CPU

• Zero Latency (the default) adds no delay at all. Use it while recording and on most tracks.
• 2x and 4x Oversampled add a small delay: 49 samples at 2x and 60 samples at 4x (about 1 ms at 48 kHz). Bevel reports it to your DAW, which lines everything up, and BYPASS stays in time with the processed sound.
• Changing Quality switches at once, so set it before you play back rather than during a take.
• Oversampling costs CPU roughly in proportion to the factor. Save it for buses and masters where you boost or cut near the top of the audio range.
• The analyzer is drawn in the plugin window. Closing the window frees that work; the sound does not change.
• Moving controls while audio plays is smooth: frequency, gain, Q, shape and slope glide, and turning bands on or off fades, so automation does not click.

Keyboard and mouse

Keys work when the Bevel window has keyboard focus: click the display once. While you type in a value field, the field keeps the keys.

In Pro Tools, the plate's knobs and values follow the Pro Tools habit: fine drag is Cmd + drag (Ctrl on Windows) and reset is Option + click (Alt on Windows). The node gestures on the display stay the same in every DAW.

Recipes

These are starting points. Every voice, mix and room is different, so adjust by ear and compare with BYPASS or A/B.

Clean up a muddy vocal

Low rumble and a boxy low-mid make vocals sound cheap. Remove the rumble, then find the box with SOLO.

To find the box: turn on SOLO on band 2, sweep FREQ between 200 and 500 Hz, stop where it sounds worst, then turn SOLO off. Raise the high-pass until the voice thins, then back it off a little.

Add air to a vocal or mix

A gentle high shelf brings detail forward without making it harsh. The default layout already has one: band 6, a High Shelf at 12 kHz.

If it makes "s" sounds sharper, add the band from the next recipe.

Tame harsh "s" sounds

A dynamic bell cuts sibilance when it happens and leaves the rest of the vocal alone. For a head start, load the De-Ess (Dynamic) factory preset.

Watch the band's curve on the display: it should dip on each "s" and sit still between them.

Remove hum

Electrical hum sits at 50 or 60 Hz (depending on the country) and its multiples. Narrow notches remove it without thinning the sound.

Add more notches up the series while the hum is still audible. Bevel has 24 bands, so there is room.

Let the kick through the bass

With the external sidechain, the bass dips in the low end only while the kick hits. The rest of the bass stays full. Not available in Pro Tools.

A shorter release follows a busy kick pattern; a longer one suits a slow, heavy kick.

A light mastering touch

Mastering moves are small. Set a tight display, use broad shapes, and keep the low end centered.

Presets, A/B and undo

Factory presets

Loading a factory preset replaces the bands. Bands that change fade in or out over 15 ms, so a preset change never clicks.

Your own presets

Choose Save current as... in the preset menu and give it a name. Your presets appear under User in the same menu, in every session. A user preset stores everything: the bands, OUT, Quality, the Options settings, the analyzer view and the plate position. Loading one clears the undo history. Show presets folder (available after your first save) opens the folder on disk, so you can back presets up or copy them to another computer. The files end in .bvl. Saving and loading your own presets needs an active license or trial.

A/B and undo

A and B each hold a complete copy of every setting, and both are saved with your session. Undo and redo (Cmd + Z on Mac, Ctrl + Z on Windows, or the band menu) cover your band edits. A whole drag, or a burst of wheel steps, undoes as one step. Switching between A and B, or loading one of your presets, clears the undo history.

Specifications

• Bands: 24, each Bell, Low Shelf, High Shelf, Notch, High Pass or Low Pass.
• Gain: -30 to +30 dB. Q: 0.1 to 40. Frequency: 10 Hz to 30 kHz, limited by the sample rate.
• Pass-filter slopes: 12, 24, 48, 72 and 96 dB/oct.
• Placement per band: Stereo, Left, Right, Mid, Side.
• Dynamics per band (bells and shelves): threshold -72 to 0 dB, range -24 to +24 dB, attack 0.5 to 200 ms, release 5 to 2000 ms; internal or external (VST3, AU) detector.
• Quality: Zero Latency, 2x or 4x oversampled. Latency: 0, 49 or 60 samples.
• Analyzer: pre, post or both; 60, 90 or 120 dB range; tilt up to 6 dB/oct; FFT 4096, 8192 or 16384 points; freeze; peak hold.
• Mono-maker: 24 dB/oct, 20 to 500 Hz.
• Output: -24 to +24 dB trim with peak and RMS meter.
• Sample rates: works at your session's rate; tested at 44.1, 48 and 96 kHz.
• Window: 760 x 420 to 2400 x 1400, freely resizable.
• Formats: VST3 and AAX on macOS and Windows; AU on macOS; an optional standalone app on Windows.
• Systems: macOS 10.15 or later on Intel, macOS 11 or later on Apple Silicon; Windows 10 or later, 64-bit.

Not included

• There is no linear-phase mode.
• Bevel works on mono and stereo tracks. It does not support surround or Atmos formats.
• There is no EQ matching and no freehand curve drawing.
• You edit one band at a time; there is no multi-band selection.

Installation and activation

Install

1. Download the installer for your computer from vitricaudio.com/downloads or from your account at vitricaudio.com/account.
2. Save your work and quit your DAW.
3. Run the .pkg (Mac) or .exe (Windows) and follow the steps.
4. Open your DAW. If Bevel EQ is not listed, run your DAW's plugin rescan.

Use AU in Logic Pro, AAX in Pro Tools and VST3 in other DAWs. The Mac installer puts the plugins in the standard folders:

• AU: /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components
• VST3: /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3
• AAX: /Library/Application Support/Avid/Audio/Plug-Ins

On Windows:

• VST3: C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3
• AAX: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Avid\Audio\Plug-Ins
• Standalone app (optional in the installer): C:\Program Files\Vitric Audio\Bevel EQ

Activate your license

Until you activate a license or start a trial, Bevel passes no sound, the chip reads LOCKED and a large LOCKED mark sits over the window. The license card opens by itself once each time you open the window. Click the license chip in the top right of the window to open it any time.

1. Copy the VT-... key from your purchase email or your account page. Lost it? vitricaudio.com/license can resend your keys.
2. Paste it into the box on the license card.
3. Click Apply license. Bevel checks the key with vitricaudio.com and the chip changes to LICENSED.

After activation a full license works offline. It runs on up to three computers at a time.

Activate a computer that is offline

1. On the offline computer, open the license card and click Copy code to copy its machine code (it starts with VTM1-). Write it down or carry it over on a USB stick.
2. On any computer that is online, open vitricaudio.com/license, enter your key and the machine code, and download the license file.
3. Copy the file to the offline computer, open the license card and click Load file.

Try it free for 72 hours

1. Open the license card and click Start free trial. Your browser opens the trial page with the product and this computer's machine code filled in.
2. Sign in with the link we email you, then click Start my 72-hour trial.
3. Click Copy trial key, paste it into the license card and click Apply license. Or click Download license file and use Load file on the license card. A backup copy is emailed to you.

The trial has every feature, runs for 72 hours from when it is issued, and needs an internet connection while you use it (Bevel checks in every few minutes). There is one trial per product, person and computer, and no payment details are needed. When the trial ends, Bevel goes silent but keeps every setting in your projects, so they open as you left them once you buy a license.

Updates

Bevel asks vitricaudio.com once a day, while its window is open, whether a newer version exists. It sends the product, the version you have and your platform, nothing else.

1. Click the license chip. When a new version is out, the license card shows UPDATE AVAILABLE with the new version and the one you have.
2. Click Download (it shows the version number) to open the product page and get the new installer, or Later to hide the notice until the next version.
3. Quit your DAW and run the new installer over the old one.

Your sessions reopen exactly as saved after every update. To stop the checks, turn off Check for updates in Options. You can always get the newest installer from vitricaudio.com/downloads.

Troubleshooting

Bevel EQ does not appear in my DAW

• Run your DAW's plugin rescan and restart the DAW.
• Check that the format your DAW uses was installed (see the folders above). Pro Tools needs AAX, Logic Pro needs AU.
• Logic Pro: open Logic Pro > Settings > Plug-in Manager, find Bevel EQ, and click Reset & Rescan Selection.
• Windows: make sure your DAW scans C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3.
• Make sure your computer meets the system requirements: macOS 10.15 or later (Intel), macOS 11 or later (Apple Silicon), or Windows 10 or later, 64-bit.

It went silent

• Check the license chip. LOCKED means Bevel is not activated yet, the trial ended, or the license needs attention; open the card to see why. A trial needs an internet connection while you use it.
• Check SOLO. A soloed band plays only its own region and can sound nearly silent on some material.
• Check OUT. A very low OUT setting turns everything down.

A dynamic band does not move

• Make sure DYN ON is lit, not DYN OFF or DYN STORED, and that RNG is not 0 dB.
• Lower THR. The threshold is measured in the band's own frequency region, which is quieter than the whole track.
• If the source is External sidechain, check that your DAW actually sends a signal to Bevel's sidechain input. With nothing playing into it, the band rests at its GAIN setting.

I can't find Dynamic source in the band menu

If the item is missing, you are in Pro Tools (AAX), where Bevel has no sidechain input. If it is grayed out, the band is not a bell or shelf: change the shape to Bell, Low Shelf or High Shelf.

Shortcuts do nothing

Click the display once so Bevel has keyboard focus. Some DAWs keep certain keys for themselves; use the mouse for those.

"Save current as..." says unlock to save

Your own presets need an active license or trial. Activate Bevel, and the menu item comes back.

The sound jumps when I change Quality

Quality changes the plugin's latency, which your DAW then compensates. Set Quality before playback, not during a take.

I lost my license key

Enter your email at vitricaudio.com/license to have your keys sent again, or find them in your account at vitricaudio.com/account.

Support

Write to support@vitricaudio.com. Include your Bevel EQ version (your DAW's plugin information shows it, and so does the installer's name), your operating system, your DAW and its version, the plugin format (VST3, AU or AAX), and the exact error message if there is one. A screenshot helps.

Every purchase comes with a 14-day refund, no questions asked.