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Published in SOS May 2007
Dither & DP Technique : Digital Performer Notes
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DP's Dithering
Plug-ins If you're serious about digital audio you need Remember me
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Command Dither is one of the trickiest concepts that we digital audio users
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ever have to get our heads round. It's inextricably tied up with the
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Wormhole & Rax off from the start! It also has the whiff of high-end hi-fi hogwash
about it — like those £500 kettle leads. That said, it's important to
know about it and how Digital Performer (or Audiodesk, for that
matter) applies it.

When?
The need for dither arises when you reduce the resolution of a Dither is a de rigeur process when making a
digital recording, the most common situation being when you're 16-bit copy of a sequence recorded at 24-bit.
working on a 24-bit DP project and need to make a 16-bit bounce Here an iZotope Ozone 3 plug-in running on
a Master Fader Track is shown applying
of it, ready for burning to CD. If the bounce is done without dither,
MBIT+ dither to a classical multitrack mix.
the last eight digits of every 24-bit sample is simply discarded,
along with all the precious and subtle audio information they
contained. You'll still end up with a playable, recognisable 16-bit file, but one which doesn't sound as good as
it could or should, and quite possibly has acquired some grainy distortion, particularly on low-level signals.

What?
Dither is a process, then, that aims to preserve the sonic attributes of a high-resolution recording when it's
converted to a lower resolution, like the 24-bit to 16-bit bounce just mentioned. It does this by adding an
element of randomness into the resulting digital signal which we perceive as very low-level noise, and which
not only 'masks' the distortions caused by the drop in resolution but actually manages the seemingly
impossible trick of extending dynamic range in the lower-resolution format beyond theoretical limits. For this
reason (amongst others), it's always worthwhile recording at 24-bit resolution in DP, even if your final goal is
distribution of your work on 16-bit CD.

Dither & DP
As a digital audio workstation capable of recording and playing audio at 24- and 16-bit resolution (and with
32-bit processing resolution) DP needs to be able to dither: and it can, in several different ways, all of which
we'll look at in a moment. First, though, a word of warning. The otherwise commendable DP5 manual (and
other DP manuals before it) is a little short on dither detail, and contains a mistake which can lead to much
confusion. Again, we'll look at this in a moment, but until MOTU clear this up, or actually re-configure DP to
behave as the manual suggests, it's best to ignore it and stick with this column instead!

DP's Dithering Plug-ins

In recent versions of DP, two dither plug-ins, Quan Jr and Master
Works Limiter, are included as part of the standard plug-in
bundle. Both utilise the same unspecified dither algorithm, can
reduce bit depth right down to 1-bit (which is loud, so be careful!)
and have switchable dither and noise-shaping. This makes them
useful not only for making a typical 16-bit bounce of a 24-bit
recording, but also for preparing audio for lower-spec devices
such as 12-bit samplers or those grungy 8-bit telephone 'hold
music' systems. Master Works Limiter is clearly designed as a
final mix-bus limiter and dither solution, whereas Quan Jr is more
suitable for 'utility' tasks, such as dithering incoming or outgoing SOS FREE SERVICE —
If you're after a freebie, you could give
ADAT transfers, or doing the kind of 'creative' bit-depth reduction MUSICIANS: BUY & SELL
MDA's Dither a try. This is a Power PC-only
heard in some glitch music styles, in which case dither is best left VST plug-in that will run in Audioease's VST YOUR USED GEAR
off. Wrapper on Mac G4s and G5s. It includes a 1000s of gear bargains for
More flexibility and possibly better audio quality is delivered by a similar TPDF dither algorithm to some of the sale TODAY in SOS Reader
few third-party plug-ins. Perhaps the best known, and something more heavyweight offerings, but without Ads — Keyboards, Synth
additional bells and whistles. Modules, Samplers,
of an industry standard, are Waves' L1, L2 and L3 limiter plug-ins
(www.waves.com), which incorporate their IDR (Increased Digital Software, Mics, Monitors,
Resolution) dither algorithm. In fact, two alternative algorithms are on offer, along with variable noise-shaping PA, Computers, Guitars,
curves and a range of preset destination bit-depths. Wave Arts offer something similar in the form of Final Plug, Amps and more... CLICK
which has the snappily entitled Triangular Probability Density Function, dithering down to 4-bit resolution, and a FOR INFO (FREE listing).
range of different noise shapes (www.wavearts.com). More configurable still is the dither module in iZotope's
Ozone 3 (www.izotope.com), which boasts, amongst its three dither algorithms, the latest version of the very
Digital Performer Courses
highly regarded Mega Bit Max, which is arguably better sounding than other dither heavyweights such as UV22
More info...
or POWR. As well as the usual noise-shaping options there are also more sophisticated facilities such as auto-
blanking, which turns off dither noise in periods of digital silence, and harmonic suppression, which aims to O c to b e r 2 0 1 0
maintain audio quality when bit-depth reduction takes place without (or with very low levels of) dither.
On sale now at main
newsagents and bookstores
Dither Plug-ins & Bouncing (or buy direct from the SOS
GLOSSARY: Tech Terms
explained Web Shop)

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/may07/articles/dpworkshop_0507.htm 02.10.2010 03:10:46

Understanding Dither In Digital Performer Pagina 2

These days the most common scenario where dither needs to be applied in DP is when you've mixed your 24-
Get help in our Discussion
bit project and are about to make a 16-bit bounce or copy of it. This can be achieved in several ways,
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depending on how you like to work:
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Firstly, there's DP's built-in 'faster than real-time' Bounce to
IBC 2010: Azden (Video) Disk function. This handy function, residing in the Audio
IBC 2010: Sony NEX- menu, presupposes that you've already rendered to disk any
VG10 (Video) Virtual Instrument or external device tracks, and can then
IBC 2010: Sonodyne BMS make a mono, stereo or multi-channel bounce of the entire
205 (Video) mix in a variety of useful audio formats. Just make sure
Keycontrol 25 XT you've selected 16-bit as the resolution (or bit depth, as it's
IBC 2010: Rotolight RL48- referred to for some of the audio formats).
Click image for October 2010
A (Video)
More... Secondly, you could make a manual, 'real-time' bounce to Other recent issues:
another application. Here you'd utilise some sort of inter- September 2010
application audio link (perhaps Cycling 74's Soundflower, or This graph is taken from iZotope's 'Dithering with August 2010
Gear Reviews
the open-source Jack) to route the output of DP to an input Ozone' guide, available from www.izotope.com/ July 2010
Technique
in another audio program, such as DSP Quattro or BIAS products/audio/ozone/guides.html (a good read, even June 2010
Classic Tracks if you don't own Ozone). The graph shows the
Peak, which is running at 16-bit resolution. You could also May 2010
Secrets of the Mix distortion (the tall spike) acquired by a recording of a
use a self-contained solution like Audio Hijack Pro. >> Access All Issues
Engineers sine wave when converted from 24-bit to 16-bit
Keyboards+Synths resolution without dithering.
Thirdly, your audio interface's digital outputs could feed a 16- SOUND ADVICE: Tips/FAQs
Ableton LIVE techniques
bit hardware recorder, such as a CD or DAT recorder.
Apple LOGIC techniques Photos too small? Click on
Cakewalk SONAR photos, screenshots and
In all these cases, the steps needed for successful dithering in DP are the same:
techniques diagrams in articles to open a
Larger View gallery.
Digidesign PRO TOOLS Create a Master Fader track (if you don't already have one) which is routed to your usual main hardware
techniques outputs, and set it to the 0dB (unity gain) position.
MOTU DIGITAL
PERFORMER techniques Place any 'final' processing plug-ins you want to use on this, and then place your preferred dither plug-in in
Propellerhead REASON an insert slot beneath them. Set its bit depth to 16, and dial in your desired dither algorithm, noise-shaping
techniques and other options.
Steinberg CUBASE
techniques Now play or bounce your sequence.
Microphones
This method should produce a perfectly dithered 16-bit copy of your 24-bit sequence, with better low-level
Mastering
detail and arguably a better overall sound than could have been achieved if the actual project was recorded at
Sound Advice
16-bit. However, it's important that the 16-bit file or copy that is produced doesn't end up being processed
People
further — even for something as simple as a change of gain — as that would in a sense undo the usefulness
SOS Podcasts of the dither process. Use it directly for producing a CD.
Video Media

Music Production and DAW Dither & The Master Fader

software courses online at
Berkleemusic
Now we're getting a touch nerdy, but hang in there, this is important! By default,
all of DP's insert slots are in a pre-fader position in the signal chain, and this
works great for most mixing tasks. It can really screw up using a dither plug-in on
a Master Fader Track, though, if the fader position is set to anything other than
0dB (unity) or if you've automated the fader, to do a fade-out at the end of a
song, say.
The reason? Your 24-bit mix passes through the dither plug-in, gets properly
dithered down to the lower resolution, but then gets processed further at a higher
resolution again by the simple gain change taking place at the fader. This is a
digital no-no: the dither must be the very last processing step in the chain.
By dragging up the tiny pre-/
There's a simple fix, though. Look to the left of the lowest insert slot on the post-fader handle found at
Master Fader Track and you'll see a tiny 'handle'. Drag this upwards to just the bottom left of an audio
above your dither plug-in insert slot and you'll see a more noticeable divider track's insert slots, you can
appear. By doing this you've configured the dither plug-in (and other insert slots place a plug-in post-fader in
below the divider) to be post-fader in the signal chain. So now your dither plug-in DP's signal chain.
is placed after the gain change occurring at the fader, just where it needs to be,
and digital decorum is restored once more.

Audio Menu Dither Command

Lurking at the very top of DP's Audio menu is a rather mysterious Dither command. By default it's selected —
it appears in the menu with a tick next to it — and if you choose it once more you simply deselect it. What
does it do, and what's being dithered?

The situation is confused. The DP manual says 'it makes Digital

Performer use dither whenever it must reduce the bit depth of audio' and
goes on to describe a 24-bit to 16-bit Bounce to Disk operation.
However, a few simple tests reveal that DP never applies dither to a
Bounce to Disk operation, unless it's been manually applied with a plug-in
as described above. So when does this Dither command apply dither?

Very simply, in three situations. The first is when you have 'Automatic
Conversion' enabled, by selecting the Consolidated Window's little
'lightning flash' button, and you import audio that is at greater than 16-bit
resolution into a 16-bit project. Here, the imported audio will be dithered.
The second is when you manually select a high-resolution audio file in
the Soundbites window, and convert it to 16-bit using the mini-menu's
Convert Sample Format command. Again, the converted audio is
dithered. The last situation is a little odd. If you select a 16-bit soundbite
in your sequence and then apply an audio plug-in via the Audio menu (ie. DP's Bounce to Disk process allows
as an offline process), the resulting processed soundbite will have also you to configure the resolution of the
acquired dithering. The most likely reason for this is because the resulting audio file. Use a dither plug-in
soundbite is being processed offline at higher resolution, so dither is if you're going from a higher resolution
required to mask unwanted harmonic artifacts when the audio is to a lower.
truncated and returned to the 16-bit environment.

Should you leave Audio menu dither on or off? My advice would be to leave it on; it can't harm any real-time
processing or a Bounce to Disk, and it's altogether useful for file conversions. There is one scenario where
you'd want to turn it off, though. Imagine you'd done a bounce of some audio with a 16-bit dither plug-in
applied, but this resulted in a 24-bit file; it's an easy enough thing to do. The dither plug-in would have
processed the dither, added dither noise, and then made the last eight digits of every sample into zeros. Now
you need DP to chop off those last eight redundant digits and write a 16-bit file suitable for feeding to a CD

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/may07/articles/dpworkshop_0507.htm 02.10.2010 03:10:46

Understanding Dither In Digital Performer Pagina 3

burning application. The Soundbite window's Convert Sample Format command is perfect for this task, but
you need DP to only truncate the meaningless digits, not apply a second round of dither. In this case,
deselecting the Audio menu Dither is the perfect option, and the soundbite can be converted without fear of
'double dither'.

Other Scenarios
One or two other situations will cause you to think about dithering. One
is the digital transfer of a 24-bit DP project to a multitrack hardware
recorder (like an ADAT tape recorder or hard disk-based workstation)
The 'lightning flash' Automatic
which uses a lower resolution. Here, you'd hook up your audio Conversion function in DP causes
interface to the external device using some sort of multi-channel digital imported audio to be converted to the
connection, such as a 'lightpipe' optical cable. Then you'd place a project's resolution (and sample rate)
simple dither plug-in like Quan Jr, set to 20- or 16-bit resolution as when they don't match it to begin with.
appropriate, on every audio track in DP. After making the correct The Audio menu's Dither command
routings between tracks in DP and tracks on the external device, you ensures that dither is applied as part of
this process when necessary.
could start this recording, begin playback in DP, and make your digital
transfer.

Finally, consider this. If you're preparing a mix to be mastered by someone else, you mustn't touch dither with
a barge-pole, as this will be done further down the line. Instead, bounce your mix (or your stems) at 24-bit
resolution, with no level-boosting compression or limiting, and leaving plenty of headroom. The mastering
engineer will thank you for it.

Wormhole & Rax

In a stroke of bad timing that borders on the absurd, www.plasq.com has withdrawn from sale Rax and
Wormhole, which I recommended as network MIDI and audio problem-solvers in this column in the March and
April 2007 issues of Sound On Sound.
Plasq's line is that they're concentrating from now on on their visual-oriented software (which includes the very
popular Comic Life application) and that they'll continue to offer support for licensed users of Rax and
Wormhole for a short while to come. They also claim that rather than see the products wither away they'll
consider selling them to another company, offering them as unsupported freeware, or releasing them to the
open source community. As yet, though, there's no indication of which way things will go, and I personally hope
that the future is not freeware, as that way neither might make it unscathed into Mac OS 10.5, which is just
around the corner. Plasq currently have a discussion going on in their forum (www.plasq.com/forums), to which
current and prospective users are invited to contribute, and if you feel strongly enough I'd also recommend
emailing Plasq at www.plasq.com/contact.
Installers for the software are still available, but the demo version of Wormhole has been withdrawn. If and
when there's movement from the current position, I'll let you know.

Published in SOS May 2007

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http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/may07/articles/dpworkshop_0507.htm 02.10.2010 03:10:46