EMPress User Manual

Loudness processor

1. Insert EMPress on your master bus.
2. Raise Press until the track is as loud and dense as you want. Watch the GR meter: the needle falls as EMPress works.
3. Balance the tone with the Low and High knobs.
4. Set Ceiling to your final peak target. For example, lower it slightly to leave streaming headroom.
5. If the result feels too dense, back off Mix to blend some dry signal back in.
6. Use A/B to compare two settings, and Output for the final level.

3. Interface overview

The header holds the preset menu, undo and redo, the A/B compare buttons, and the settings menu. Two large VU meters sit above the main control row. The Deep Tweak button opens the advanced panel.

4. Main controls

Press

The main knob. Raising it pushes the signal into compression and limiting toward the ceiling, adding loudness, density, and colour. Everything else in EMPress rides along with it. For most jobs, this is the only knob you need.

0 to 70  ·  Default: 0

Dyn Att

How quickly the compression grabs the signal. Faster catches every peak; slower lets transients punch through.

0.1 ms to 10 ms  ·  Default: 0.8 ms

Dyn Rel

How quickly the compression lets go. Faster is denser and more energetic; slower is smoother.

0.1 ms to 20 ms  ·  Default: 1.6 ms

Low / High

Tone trims for the low and high bands, applied on top of the built-in voicing. Neutral at 0.

−12 dB to +12 dB each  ·  Default: 0 dB

L-Freq / H-Freq

Where the low and high bands sit. Move L-Freq up to treat more of the low end as “bass”; move H-Freq down to bring more of the top end under the High knob.

25 Hz to 400 Hz / 1 kHz to 16 kHz  ·  Defaults: 100 Hz / 16 kHz

Brickwall

The output limiter. While on, nothing passes the ceiling.

On / Off  ·  Default: On

Ceiling

Moves the output ceiling up or down. Lower it to leave headroom for streaming encoders.

−12 dB to +12 dB  ·  Default: 0 dB

Mix

Blends the dry input with the processed sound. The dry signal is time-aligned, so any blend stays clean.

0 % (dry) to 100 % (wet)  ·  Default: 100 %

Output

Final level after the ceiling.

−12 dB to +12 dB  ·  Default: 0 dB

5. Meters

The two VU meters show the left and right channels. The buttons between them switch what they read:

• OUT: output level. Can read above 0 when Output is boosted.
• GR: gain reduction. The needle rests on 0 and falls as EMPress compresses, limits, or clips. Use it to see how hard you are pushing.
• CONTROLLER MAPPING: The gain reduction meters are exposed for use with midi controllers. Tested to date on the SSL UC1. For a 1 to 1 match in needle movement, in the 360 Bus Link settings, calibrate the meter to 50%.

6. Deep Tweak

The Deep Tweak button opens an overlay with four groups of advanced controls. All of them default to neutral, so the main panel alone gives the intended sound.

Dynamics

• Stereo Link: compresses both channels together so the stereo image stays stable. (On / Off  ·  Default: On)
• Width: a subtle fixed stereo widening. (On / Off  ·  Default: Off)
• Transient: preserves attack and punch as the loudness rises. (0 to 100  ·  Default: 0)
• Glue: adds a slower, gluing layer of compression. (0 to 100  ·  Default: 0)
• Cmp Smooth: smooths the compression movement for a calmer sound. (0 to 30  ·  Default: 0)
• Knee Level: shifts the level where the Press curve starts working, so quiet and loud material can be driven the same way. (−24 to +24  ·  Default: 0)

Character

• Saturation and Sat Mid: switch in analogue-style harmonic colour and set its amount in the mids. (Off; 0 to 100  ·  Defaults: Off, 0)
• Warmth and Warm Amt: a gentler, rounder warming stage and its amount. (Off; 0 to 100  ·  Defaults: Off, 0)
• Bass Clip: rounds off low-end peaks for a tighter bottom. (On / Off  ·  Default: Off)
• Treble Cpl: lets the top end follow the main band’s movement for a more natural high response. (On / Off  ·  Default: Off)

Loudness

• Density and Dens Amt: switch in the density engine and set how much it thickens the sound and raises perceived loudness. (Off; 0 to 100  ·  Defaults: Off, 0)
• Adapt Lim: an adaptive limiter stage that reacts to the material. (On / Off  ·  Default: Off)
• Pk Tighten: tames stray peaks before the limiter so it works less hard. (0 to 100  ·  Default: 0)

Clipper

• Clipper: an oversampled clipping stage for the last bit of loudness. (On / Off  ·  Default: Off)
• Clip dB: how hard the signal is driven into the clipper. (0 to 24 dB  ·  Default: 0 dB)
• Clip Knee: how the clipper rounds: 0 is a hard clip, higher values are progressively softer. (0 to 200  ·  Default: 20)
• Clip 8x: raises the clipper’s internal quality from 4x to 8x oversampling. (On / Off  ·  Default: Off)
• Protect Hi: keeps the clipper away from the high frequencies. (On / Off  ·  Default: Off)

7. Presets and settings

• Preset menu: save and load your own settings, set a default that every new instance starts from, or reset to the factory default.
• A / B: hold two complete setups and switch between them. A > B copies the current one across.
• Undo / Redo: step backwards and forwards through changes.
• Settings menu: interface size from 50 % to 200 %, the About panel with your licence information, and licence management.

8. Specifications

EMPress User Manual · Belgrave Audio Mastering