← Knowledge Base

Effects Guide

Master every effect in your rack. Learn the controls, understand the parameters, and discover pro tips for each processor.

📊

Dynamics

Control volume levels, reduce peaks, and add punch

Compressor AetherWave Dynamics
Thresh
Ratio
Attack
Release

Compressor

Reduce dynamic range for punch and consistency. Essential for controlling peaks and adding sustain.

🗜️
🎛️ Parameters
Threshold
-60 to 0 dB
Default: -20 dB
Ratio
1:1 to 20:1
Default: 4:1
Attack
0.1 to 100 ms
Default: 10 ms
Release
10 to 1000 ms
Default: 100 ms
Factory Presets
Gentle Moderate Aggressive Vocal Drums Bass
💡 Pro Tips
  • Threshold sets where compression kicks in - lower = more compression
  • Fast attack (2-10ms) tames transients; slow attack (20-50ms) preserves punch
  • Use 4:1 ratio for general mixing, 8:1+ for limiting
  • Match release to tempo for natural-sounding compression
Limiter AetherWave Dynamics
Ceiling
Release

Limiter

Prevent clipping by capping maximum level. The final safeguard in your signal chain.

🚫
🎛️ Parameters
Threshold
-20 to 0 dB
Default: -1 dB
Release
10 to 500 ms
Default: 100 ms
Factory Presets
Transparent Moderate Aggressive Broadcast
💡 Pro Tips
  • Set ceiling to -1 dB for streaming platforms (prevents inter-sample peaks)
  • For mastering, aim for 2-4 dB of gain reduction max
  • Limiters work best at the end of your chain
  • Use faster release for electronic music, slower for acoustic
Noise Gate AetherWave Dynamics
Thresh
Ratio
Attack
Release

Noise Gate

Cut signal below threshold to remove unwanted noise and bleed between takes.

🚪
🎛️ Parameters
Threshold
-80 to 0 dB
Default: -40 dB
Ratio
1:1 to 100:1
Default: 10:1
Attack
0.1 to 50 ms
Default: 1 ms
Release
10 to 500 ms
Default: 100 ms
Factory Presets
Subtle Moderate Tight Vocal
💡 Pro Tips
  • Place gates early in the chain before compression
  • Use fast attack (0.5-2ms) for drums to preserve transients
  • Set threshold just above the noise floor
  • Longer release prevents unnatural cutoffs on sustained sounds
Gain AetherWave Utility
Gain

Gain

Simple volume adjustment. Boost or cut levels anywhere in your signal chain.

🔊
🎛️ Parameters
Gain
-48 to +48 dB
Default: 0 dB
Factory Presets
+3 dB Boost +6 dB Boost -3 dB Cut -6 dB Cut
💡 Pro Tips
  • Use for gain staging between effects
  • Match levels before/after processing for accurate A/B comparison
  • Add gain before saturation to drive it harder
Hard Clipper AetherWave Dynamics
Ceiling

Hard Clipper

Hard distortion by clipping signal peaks. Aggressive loudness and edge.

✂️
🎛️ Parameters
Threshold
-24 to 0 dB
Default: -6 dB
Factory Presets
Subtle Moderate Aggressive Crushed
💡 Pro Tips
  • Great for drums and bass - adds perceived loudness
  • Use before a limiter to reduce limiter workload
  • Soft clip preserves more transients than hard clip
  • Popular in modern EDM and hip-hop for maximum impact
🎚️

EQ / Filters

Shape tone, remove unwanted frequencies, add warmth or clarity

High-Pass AetherWave EQ
Cutoff

High-Pass Filter

Cut frequencies below cutoff. Remove rumble, mud, and low-end buildup.

📈
🎛️ Parameters
Cutoff
20 to 2000 Hz
Default: 80 Hz
Factory Presets
Rumble Cut Bass Cleanup Vocal Clarity Telephone
💡 Pro Tips
  • Use on every track except bass and kick to clean up mixes
  • 30-40 Hz removes sub-rumble; 80-120 Hz cleans vocals
  • Higher cutoff creates thinner, more "telephone" sound
  • Essential for removing mic handling noise and room rumble
Low-Pass AetherWave EQ
Cutoff

Low-Pass Filter

Cut frequencies above cutoff. Tame harshness and create warmth.

📉
🎛️ Parameters
Cutoff
200 to 20000 Hz
Default: 16000 Hz
Factory Presets
Air Cut Warm Muffled Telephone
💡 Pro Tips
  • Essential for lo-fi aesthetics - cut above 10-12kHz
  • Tame harsh cymbals and sibilance with subtle cuts
  • Automate for filter sweeps in electronic music
  • Combine with high-pass for classic telephone/radio effect
Low Shelf AetherWave EQ
Freq
Gain

Low Shelf EQ

Boost or cut all bass frequencies below a set point.

🔈
🎛️ Parameters
Frequency
20 to 500 Hz
Default: 150 Hz
Gain
-24 to +24 dB
Default: 0 dB
Factory Presets
Bass Boost Bass Cut Warmth Sub Boost
💡 Pro Tips
  • Boost around 80-100 Hz for fullness and warmth
  • Cut to reduce boominess in vocals and acoustic guitars
  • Use subtle boosts (+2-3 dB) for master bus warmth
  • Sub boost (60 Hz) adds weight to kicks and 808s
High Shelf AetherWave EQ
Freq
Gain

High Shelf EQ

Boost or cut all treble frequencies above a set point.

🔉
🎛️ Parameters
Frequency
1000 to 16000 Hz
Default: 8000 Hz
Gain
-24 to +24 dB
Default: 0 dB
Factory Presets
Air Bright Dull Presence
💡 Pro Tips
  • "Air" boost at 10-12 kHz adds openness and sparkle
  • "Presence" boost at 4-6 kHz brings vocals forward
  • Cut highs to push elements back in the mix
  • Great for matching brightness between tracks
Parametric AetherWave EQ
Freq
Gain
Q

Parametric EQ

Surgical precision. Boost or cut specific frequency ranges with variable bandwidth.

🎛️
🎛️ Parameters
Frequency
20 to 20000 Hz
Default: 1000 Hz
Gain
-24 to +24 dB
Default: 0 dB
Q (Width)
0.1 to 10
Default: 1.0
Factory Presets
Vocal Presence Nasal Cut Kick Punch
💡 Pro Tips
  • High Q (narrow) for surgical cuts; low Q (wide) for musical boosts
  • Sweep frequency while boosting to find problem areas, then cut
  • Cut at 300-500 Hz to reduce "boxiness"
  • Boost at 2-4 kHz for vocal clarity and guitar bite
Moog Ladder AetherWave Synth
Cutoff
Reso
Drive

Moog Ladder Filter

Classic analog-modeled resonant filter. The sound of vintage synthesizers.

🎹
🎛️ Parameters
Cutoff
20 to 20000 Hz
Default: 1000 Hz
Resonance
0 to 1
Default: 0
Drive
1 to 10
Default: 1
Factory Presets
Acid Bass Warm Pad Sweeping
💡 Pro Tips
  • High resonance creates the classic "squelchy" acid sound
  • Automate cutoff for filter sweeps and builds
  • Drive adds harmonic saturation - great for bass
  • Self-oscillates at maximum resonance for synth-like tones
🌊

Modulation

Add movement, width, and texture with time-varying effects

Chorus AetherWave Mod
Rate
Depth
Delay
Mix

Chorus

Thicken and widen sound with modulated delay. Creates lush, ensemble-like textures.

🌊
🎛️ Parameters
Rate
0.1 to 10 Hz
Default: 1.5 Hz
Depth
0 to 100%
Default: 50%
Delay
1 to 30 ms
Default: 7 ms
Mix
0 to 100%
Default: 50%
Factory Presets
Subtle Classic Thick 80s
💡 Pro Tips
  • Classic on clean guitars, synth pads, and vocals
  • Slow rate + high depth = lush, dreamy sound
  • Fast rate + low depth = subtle thickening
  • The "80s" preset is essential for retro synthwave vibes
Phaser AetherWave Mod
Rate
Depth
Feedback
Mix

Phaser

Sweeping phase-shift effect. Creates swirling, jet-like textures.

🌀
🎛️ Parameters
Rate
0.01 to 10 Hz
Default: 1 Hz
Depth
0 to 100%
Default: 50%
Feedback
0 to 95%
Default: 0%
Mix
0 to 100%
Default: 50%
Factory Presets
Subtle Classic Jet
💡 Pro Tips
  • Classic on electric pianos, guitars, and synths
  • High feedback creates more pronounced "jet plane" sweep
  • Very slow rate (0.1 Hz) creates subtle, evolving movement
  • Sounds different from flanging - phaser has notches, flanger has comb filtering
⏱️

Time / Space

Add depth, dimension, and ambience with delay and reverb

Delay AetherWave Time
Time
Feedback
Mix

Delay

Echo and repeat effect. From subtle thickening to rhythmic patterns.

📢
🎛️ Parameters
Time
10 to 2000 ms
Default: 300 ms
Feedback
0 to 95%
Default: 30%
Mix
0 to 100%
Default: 30%
Factory Presets
Slapback Short Quarter Note Ambient Dub
💡 Pro Tips
  • Slapback (50-100ms): Classic rockabilly/Elvis vocal sound
  • Sync delay time to tempo: 60000 / BPM = quarter note in ms
  • High feedback = infinite echoes (careful - can run away!)
  • Dub delay: high feedback + filter = reggae sound
Reverb AetherWave Space
Size
Damp
Wet
Dry

Reverb

Add space and depth with room simulation. From intimate to epic.

🏛️
🎛️ Parameters
Room Size
0 to 100%
Default: 50%
Damping
0 to 100%
Default: 50%
Wet Level
0 to 100%
Default: 33%
Dry Level
0 to 100%
Default: 67%
Factory Presets
Dry Room Hall Cathedral Plate
💡 Pro Tips
  • Room: Intimate, realistic - great for drums and vocals
  • Hall: Larger space - orchestral, cinematic
  • Plate: Bright, dense - classic vocal reverb
  • High damping = darker, shorter tail; low damping = bright, long tail
  • Use sends to share one reverb across multiple tracks
Convolution AetherWave IR
Mix

Convolution Reverb

Ultra-realistic reverb using impulse responses from real spaces.

🎤
🎛️ Parameters
Mix
0 to 100%
Default: 100%
💡 Pro Tips
  • Uses impulse responses (IRs) captured from real spaces
  • More realistic than algorithmic reverb for natural spaces
  • CPU-intensive - use sparingly or freeze tracks
  • Can also load cabinet IRs for guitar amp simulation
🔥

Distortion

Add warmth, grit, and aggressive harmonics

Distortion AetherWave Drive
Drive

Distortion

Warm saturation and overdrive. From subtle harmonics to full crunch.

🔥
🎛️ Parameters
Drive
0 to 50 dB
Default: 20 dB
Factory Presets
Subtle Warm Overdrive Crunch Heavy
💡 Pro Tips
  • Subtle saturation adds warmth without obvious distortion
  • Great on drums, bass, and vocals for presence
  • Stack with EQ - cut lows before, boost highs after
  • Parallel processing: blend distorted signal with clean
Bitcrusher AetherWave Lo-Fi
Bits

Bitcrusher

Lo-fi digital degradation. Reduce bit depth for crunchy, retro textures.

👾
🎛️ Parameters
Bit Depth
1 to 32 bits
Default: 8 bits
Factory Presets
Subtle Retro Lo-Fi Destroyed
💡 Pro Tips
  • 8-bit: Classic video game sound
  • 12-bit: Early samplers (SP-1200, MPC60)
  • Essential for lo-fi hip-hop and chiptune
  • Combine with sample rate reduction for maximum destruction
📼

Lo-Fi

Vintage degradation, tape warmth, and nostalgic textures

Resample AetherWave Lo-Fi
Rate

Resample

Reduce sample rate for lo-fi texture and aliasing artifacts.

📼
🎛️ Parameters
Sample Rate
1000 to 48000 Hz
Default: 22050 Hz
Factory Presets
Tape Telephone Lo-Fi Vintage
💡 Pro Tips
  • 22050 Hz: Half CD quality - subtle lo-fi warmth
  • 11025 Hz: Vintage sampler territory
  • 8000 Hz: Telephone/radio broadcast quality
  • Creates aliasing artifacts that add character to drums and synths
MP3 Degrade AetherWave Lo-Fi
Quality

MP3 Degradation

Add MP3 compression artifacts for that early-internet sound.

💿
🎛️ Parameters
VBR Quality
0 (best) to 10 (worst)
Default: 5
Factory Presets
High Quality Standard Lo-Fi Destroyed
💡 Pro Tips
  • Higher number = lower quality = more artifacts
  • Creates characteristic "swirly" artifacts in cymbals
  • Popular for vaporwave and nostalgic aesthetics
  • Stack with bitcrusher for maximum degradation
GSM Phone AetherWave Lo-Fi

GSM Phone

2G cellular phone audio quality. The ultimate telephone effect.

📱
🎛️ Parameters
No Parameters
Fixed codec
GSM 6.10
💡 Pro Tips
  • Authentic early mobile phone codec sound
  • Great for vocal samples and intros
  • Creates that "call from a flip phone" vibe
  • Popular in hip-hop and R&B for effect vocals
🎵

Pitch

Shift pitch without changing speed

Pitch Shift AetherWave Pitch
Semi

Pitch Shift

Change pitch without changing speed. Transpose in semitones.

🎵
🎛️ Parameters
Semitones
-24 to +24 st
Default: 0 st
Factory Presets
Octave Down Fifth Down Half Step Up Octave Up
💡 Pro Tips
  • +12 semitones = one octave up (chipmunk effect)
  • -12 semitones = one octave down (deep voice)
  • Create harmonies by mixing original with shifted versions
  • Subtle shifts (+/- 5-7 cents) create natural doubling
🔧

Utility

Essential tools for signal routing and correction

Phase Flip AetherWave Utility

Polarity Invert

Flip signal polarity (phase invert). Essential for phase alignment.

🔄
🎛️ Parameters
No Parameters
On/Off only
Flips polarity
💡 Pro Tips
  • Fix phase cancellation between multi-mic recordings
  • Essential when combining close mic with room mic on drums
  • Check snare bottom mic - often needs inversion
  • Use to align DI bass with amped bass signal