Orinj Effects

Orinj version 7.0.0

The Orinj effect framework

Orinj effects use a strict programming framework that allows Orinj to operate with or without the effects and allows new effects to be developed and added to Orinj without modifying Orinj itself. This means that external developers can prepare their own Orinj packages with effects in addition to the effects that are included in the Orinj installation. All effects can be installed or updated separately, without modifying Orinj or its installation.

Effects in the Orinj installation

Orinj offers the following effects.

Delay

Bass chorus
Bouncing echo
Chorus
Delay
Echo
Flanger
Multitap delay
Phaser

Reverb

Reverb
Simple reverb

Dynamics

Aural exciter
Compressor
Distortion
Gain
Limiter
Noise gate
Side chained compressor
Simple compressor

Equalization

Graphic equalizer
Parametric equalizer
Simple equalizer
Wah wah

Filtering

Band pass filter
Band stop filter
Convolution
High pass filter
Low pass filter
Notch filter
Notch filter 2
Shelving filter

Other

DC Removal
Dither
Phase oscilloscope
Spectrum monitor
Vibrato and tremolo

These effects can be used on wave audio data in tracks in the multitrack session view, on single waves in the single wave view, on auxiliary channels in the session, and on the master channel in the session.

Using Orinj effects

To see all digital signal processing effects in Orinj, click on the Effect menu in the multitrack view or the single wave. Orinj effects are organized in six groups: delay, reverb, dynamics (e.g., compressors), equalization, filtering (e.g., a high pass filter), and other (e.g., a dither). Scroll through the menus under the main Effect menu to see all effects.

To add an effect to a track in the session or a wave in the single wave view, click on the corresponding menu. For example, to add the Orinj Delay, click on Effect, then Delay, and then Orinj Delay.

See Orinj Working with effects or Orinj Working with auxiliary channels and the master channel if you want to add effects to the auxiliary or master channels in the session.

Whenever you add an effect, you will see a dialog with parameters specific to that effect. The following example is the dialog for the Orinj Delay.

Example effect dialog – the Orinj delay

Common effect controls

Although each effect has its own specific parameters and corresponding controls, some parameters are the same for all effects.

  • Title: The title allows you to identify the effect (i.e., to remember what effects were added and for what purpose). Type any title or leave the title as it is. In the multitrack view, for example, the title will show up in the track control panel to the left track. The track control panel contains a drop down box that lists all effects added to the specific track. The following picture shows the track control panel for an example track with the Orinj Delay added to the track. The title of the Orinj Delay is "Orinj Delay". It is the first effect in this track.

Track control panel with a delay

  • Track: Each effect dialog shows the title of the track to which this effect was added (if you are working in a view with many tracks – the multitrack view or the loop building view). The track cannot be changed. It is there so that you can make sure you are working with the right track.
  • Presets: Each effect allow you to select from a predefined set of values for parameters. Those sets either come with the Orinj installation or are something that you created within Orinj after the installation. The effect presets are loaded in the effect dialog every time you create an Orinj effect or modify an already existing Orinj effect. You do not have to use them, but they may give you interesting ideas of how to use the effect.
    • Use the drop down box to select a preset. The preset selected in the delay dialog above, for example, is the "quick bounce" preset, although controls may be changed after the preset is selected. When you change the drop down box, the remaining controls of the dialog will change to show you what is contained in the preset.
    • Use the Save button to create new presets and save it in your Orinj installation. All presets are loaded every time this dialog is opened. This includes presets that are part of the Orinj installation and additional presets that you may have created. The preset will be saved with all effect parameters as they are currently set in the effect dialog.
    • Use the Delete button to delete presets. You can delete both presets that are part of the Orinj installation and presets that you may have created. Once a preset is deleted, it is completely removed and cannot be used again.
  • Bypass: Click on the bypass checkbox to bypass the effect. If this box is checked, the effect will not be used, although it will remain in the track or wave to which you added it.
  • Lock channels: This checkbox exists in some effects – effects that handle left and right channel audio data separately. Click on this checkbox to make sure that the left channel and right channel always have the same values for all effect parameters. When you check this box, the right channel will be changed to match the left channel. If this box is checked, when you change the controls in one channel, the other channel will change automatically to match.

Using boxes and sliders

Many Orinj controls use a box and a slider at the same time for the same value. For example, both the box and slider for the left channel delay in the example dialog above control the left channel delay amount – the difference in time between the original signal and the delayed signal in the left channel. As you change the value of one of these controls, the other one will change automatically. The slider is usually easier to use, but the box allows you to specify more precise values. Use the one with which you feel most comfortable.

Effects on mono and stereo waves

A number of effects have separate controls for the left and the right channel. This is so, as some effects become more interesting when the settings applied to each of the channels are different. When working with mono waves, the left channel controls are used and the right channel controls are ignored.

Using effects during playback

Effect dialogs, such as the delay dialog above, are non-modal – they do not have an OK or Cancel button and do not require you to do anything before returning to Orinj. You can use the rest of Orinj while the dialog is opened. This also means that the values of the actual effect will change at the moment you change the controls in the dialog, whether or not you close the dialog. You can also keep the dialog open and adjust controls during audio playback to get a better idea of how the effect will sound. The output signal of all Orinj effects is recomputed during playback (and not before) and so the effect that you hear will change as you change the controls.

Since effects take a lot of computing power, you have the option of premixing some of the tracks (see Orinj Working with session tracks). When a track is premixed, it is mixed into a single wave file before playback. All effects are applied. You can choose to premix a track to reduce the computations done during playback. You should do so for tracks that are approximately complete in terms of production and, usually, only when you need more computational power. You cannot change the effects of a premixed track during playback. You can still change these effects when there is no playback (in which case the track will automatically be mixed again).

Effect times

Every effect is equipped with a start and an end time and the effect works only between the start and end time. By default, the effect starts at the beginning of the session (or loop), at time 00:00:000 and ends at the end of the session, wave, or loop. You can change that in sessions and in waves. There are two ways to do so.

If you want to add the effect to only a portion of the session or wave, select that portion and then add the effect.

Alternatively, add the effect and click on Effect and then on Times. You will get the following dialog.

Effect times dialog

Set the beginning and end time of the effect and click OK when you are done. If you want the effect to end at the end of the session, check the end of file/session check box.

When the effect starts or ends in the middle of the wave, the effect crossfades the original signal and the output of the effect. That is, when the effect starts, the amplitude of the original signal slowly decreases and the amplitude of the processed signal increases. When the effect ends, the amplitude of the processed signal slowly decreases and the amplitude of the original signal slowly increases.

Crossfading happens over 5 milliseconds. In the current version of Orinj, this cannot be changed by the user. This is short enough to not be noticeable, but it is always best to start and end effects where the amplitude of the signal is low (e.g., between syllables in a vocal recording), especially since many effects must introduce some (very short) delay in the processed signal.

While effects distributed with Orinj crossfade, there is no guarantee that effects developed by others with the Orinj effect framework will do so.

Some effects are designed to introduce large delays in the signal. The Orinj Echo is an obvious example. If you apply this echo to a wave between 1 second into the wave and 2 seconds into the wave, you will hear the echo of the signal between 1 and 2 seconds into the wave. The echo itself may start after 1 second (i.e., if the echo delay is 0.5 seconds, the first echo repetition will be at 1.5 seconds) and may continue after 2 seconds (i.e., until the last decayed repetition of the signal at 2 seconds). This is the design of all Orinj delay effects.

Effect channel

Effects can be applied to both channels or to each channel separately (even on mono waves, as Orinj sends the mono data separately to each channel). Some reverbs, for example, may send left channel data to the right channel and some right channel data to the left channel, to create better perception of space. In a mixed song, where instruments are panned left or right, much of the panning may be lost because of the reverb. In this case, you can apply the reverb separately to the left and right channels to preserve the panning.

To select the channel, to which the current effect should apply, click on Effect and then on Channel in the single wave view menu. You will see the following dialog.

Effect channel dialog

Select the appropriate channel and click OK.

Dry and wet mix

Some effects have dry and wet mixes. In these effects, the original signal and the signal computed with the effect are kept separately. In these effects, the dry mix controls the amplitude of the original signal in the mix between the two signals and the wet mix controls the amplitude of the effect signal in the mix between the two signals. In the Orinj Delay, for example, the original signal remains separate from the delayed signal. The dry mix controls the amplitude of the original signal and the wet mix controls the amplitude of the delayed signal.

When an effect is added, both its dry mix and wet mix are initially set to 100%. This means that the original signal (the dry signal) will be present with full amplitude. In some effects, such as the Orinj Distortion, you must lower the dry mix to make the wet signal more audible.

To change the dry mix, click on Effect and then on Dry Mix. You will get the Dry Mix dialog shown in the picture below.

Effect dry mix dialog

Click on Effect and then on Wet Mix to change the wet mix of the current effect in the current track. You will get the Wet Mix dialog shown in the picture below.

Effect wet mix dialog

Adjust the dry mix or wet mix of the effect and close the dialog when you are done. The dialog is centered on the track to which it applies.

You can also type the new dry mix or wet mix straight into the dry mix control in the track control panel to the left of the track (a picture of the track control panel in the multitrack view is shown above). Alternatively, you can also click on the dry mix control or wet mix control in the track control panel to get the Dry Mix or Wet Mix dialogs shown above.

Some effects do not have dry and wet mix and some effects do. The Orinj Delay, as described above, has dry and wet mix. Some compressors, on the other hand, do not have a wet and a dry mix. The original signal is replaced by the compressed signal when the compressor is computed. To figure out whether a specific effect has dry/wet mix or not, select the track that contains the effect and then select the effect in the drop-down box in the track control panel to the left of the track to select the relevant effect. If the effect has a dry and wet mix, the dry mix envelope button (Dry mix envelope button), the wet mix envelope button (Wet mix envelope button) and the overall dry and wet mix controls in the track control panel will be enabled. Otherwise those controls will become disabled (grayed out).

Dry and wet mix envelopes

If you want to change the dry mix or wet mix of an effect for a portion of the track, you have to use the dry mix envelopes. To see the dry mix envelopes, click on the dry mix envelope button (Dry mix envelope button) in the track control panel to the left of the track or click on Effect and then on Show Dry Mix Envelopes. To see the wet mix envelopes, click on the wet mix envelope button (Wet mix envelope button) in the track control panel to the left of the track or click on Effect and then on Show Wet Mix Envelopes.

The dry and wet mix envelopes appear as lines over the track if the track contains waves. The dry or wet mix of the track will increase for the portions where the corresponding line goes up, decrease where the line goes down, and stay constant where the line is horizontal. The places where the line changes direction are the envelope points, which will be marked by small squares and labels with values. Initially, the envelope line will be horizontal and will have only two envelope points - one at the beginning and one at the end. You can add, delete, and move envelope points to adjust the dry and wet mix.

To add or move envelope points, first, click on the draw mouse pointer button (Draw pointer) at the bottom of Orinj. To add envelope points, click on the track at the position at which you want to have a point. To move points, click on them and drag them.

To delete envelope points select the track over the points that you wish to delete and click on Track and then on Delete Envelope Points.

Effect stacks

You can save all effects in a session track, a wave in the single wave view, or a loop track in a separate file. This file can then be imported into another track or wave. This is the easiest way to copy effects from one track to another or from one wave to another. The effects will be added to the new track in the same order and with the same parameters.

To export an effect stack from the session, click on Track, Effect Stack, and then Export in the menu. To import an effect stack into the session, click on Track, Effect Stack, and then Import. The single wave view menu contains similar commands.

To export or import effect stacks from an auxiliary channel, click on Track, Groups / Aux Channels, and then on Aux Channel Controls in the menu. In the auxiliary channel control dialog, use the Export and Import buttons.

To export or import effect stacks from the main session channel, click on Track and then on Master Channel in the menu. In the master channel dialog, use the Export and Import buttons.

See also:
Orinj Working with effects

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