This manual will change and be updated during the Early Access period.

Introduction

The SM Monitor Controller is a tool specifically made for professional stereo audio mastering. It offers an easy way to switch between up to three different audio sources with automatic loudness matching. It also has useful monitoring features like Mono, Solo Left/Right etc. The meters (Loudness/LUFS, VU, Peak and Phase Scope) show relevant information about the stereo material.

Overview of the features

Input select 1-3

These three big buttons let you select which input to listen to.

ALM – Automatic Loudness Matching

This is one of the main features of this plugin. The goal of the ALM is to always keep Input 2 and 3 at the same loudness as Input 1.

To do this, the loudness of all three inputs are continuously measured by the plugin and a suitable compensation gain for Input 2 and 3 are calculated. This compensation gain is shown to the right of the ALM buttons on Input 2 and 3. Note that the plugin need to measure for a few seconds before the compensation gain is stabilized.

Whenever you switch from Input 1 to Input 2, for example, the compensation gain for Input 2 will freeze at the current value and then be applied to Input 2. This makes the audio on Input 2 appear to be as loud as Input 1 at the moment of the switch. This will make it much easier to hear the actual difference between the signals without loudness bias.

ALM is enabled by default, and you can switch it on and off for Input 2 and 3 using the small red buttons labeled “ALM.

Set the level of the individual Inputs using Trim. Use it for additional gain compensation on top of the Automatic Loudness Matching, or for manually setting the loudness matching if ALM is turned off.

Important, please note:

The compensation gain used by the ALM can be more than 0 dB, which means that Input 2 and 3 can sometimes be much louder than you might expect (up to +20 dB).

The best way to avoid most surprising scenarios is to treat Input 1 as the main input where you do most of your work, and temporarily switch over to Input 2 and 3 when you want to hear how they sound. If you make it a habit to always return to Input 1 after listening to the other inputs, then the plugin will have a chance to keep the compensation gain updated and relevant to the actual material.

Future updates of the plugins will have safety measures for avoiding any surprises, but for now during the Early Access period you will need to keep track of this yourself.

Setting the Output Level

Since the compensation gain of the ALM can be more than 0 dB, this also means that the peak levels can go above 0 dBFS after loudness matching. In order to avoid clipping you can decrease the Output Level, located in the top right corner of the plugin. The default value for the Output Level is -10 dB, which creates 10 dB of headroom for the Automatic Loudness Matching before there is any risk of clipping. We have found this to be a setting that works fine in most real-world scenarios.

Lowering the Output Level makes the output of the plugin always be 10 dB quieter when enabled, so beware of this potential difference in loudness if you should bypass the plugin.

Stereo monitoring features

Dim and Mute

Dims and mutes the signal. The dim is set at -12 dB and makes it easy to quickly check the sound at a quieter volume.

Mono and Pol

Mono sums the left and right channel so you can listen to the mono signal. Pol flips the polarity of the right channel and makes the signal appear “out-of-phase”. This can sometimes be good for troubleshooting, but it is most useful together with the Mono button since pressing both of them will let you hear the Side (Difference) signal.

Solo L/R

Solos the left and right channel respectively. Use it together with the Mono button to quickly hear any tonal differences between the left and right channel.

Flip Stereo

Flips the stereo image, i.e. lets left and right trade places. Makes it super easy to check if the stereo image is tilting to the left or right.

Meters

…More info coming soon…

Installation and registration

Close your DAW, run the installer and follow the instructions.

Open your DAW and add the SM Monitor Controller to a plugin chain. The plugin will initially start in a demo mode where it is fully functional, but will occasionally remind you to register the plugin while making the output 20 dB quieter.

To register the plugin, press the button labeled “DEMO MODE – Click to activate”.

Paste your license key into the text box. Note that to paste from the clipboard you might need to right click in the text box and select “Paste”. After pressing “Unlock” the plugin will be registered, if the license key is valid.

Now the SM Monitor Controller is activated and ready to use!

Getting started in Reaper

Add the SM Monitor Controller to the Monitoring FX plugin chain. This will make sure that it only affect what you hear and won’t affect any renders.

Make sure that there are at least 6 channels in the MonitorFX plugin chain.

Create three stereo tracks.

Press the “Route” button on the first track. Let this track be routed through the master, as it is by default. This will make the audio on this track appear on the first input of the SM Monitor Controller.

Close the routing window for track 1 and press the “Route” button for the second track. For this track, disable the master send and instead add a new hardware output set to 3-4. This will route the audio on this track to the second input of the SM Monitor Controller.

Do the same thing for the third track, i.e. disable the master send and add a new hardware output, this time set to 5-6.

Now you have three tracks, each routed to the three inputs of the SM Monitor Controller. Place the audio items you want to listen to onto each of the tracks. You can for example work on your master on the top track, keep a copy of the original mix on the second, and a reference recording on the third. Then you can easily switch between the master, the mix and the reference using the input select buttons on the SM Monitor Controller. When ALM is enabled, Input 2 and 3 will automatically be loudness matched to Input 1.

More DAW specific setups coming later