This is just an add function. It can add up stereo or mono signals as a mixer does. If you add up to many correlated audiosignals, an audiosignal starts to clip. Most of the time this gives an unwanted/unpleasant sound. This sound tries to make a smooth transition between normal and clipped signal. The range in which this smoothing works is adjustable.

In Kyma audiosignals are in the range -1 and +1 (infact +1 is not allowed!). Within the AddHardLimit sound the signals can reach further then this range. For example: if one inputs two times the same sound the internal range could become -2 until <+2 ("<"= means alsmost). If the LimitRange? is 1 then this complete range is compressed to the -1 and <+1 range. This is done via an non-linear operation, which introduces distortion. This distortion is however less anoying then normal clipping. If the LimitRange? would be 0.5 for this same example it would work a bit different: the samples in the range -0.5 and 0.5 go through without any processing, the samples in the range -1.5 and -0.5 plus 0.5 and 1.5 are non-linear processed to become between -1 and -0.5 plus 0.5 and 1. All the rest is hard clipped.

Most of the time one can guess if the addition will clip or not. If heavy clipping is to be expacted, one can simply counteract this by attenuation of the inputsignals. Due to implementation isues I have chosen to do this attenuation in steps of -6 dB (= signal*0.5). The attenuation is done with the InputShift? parameter. With a value of zero, there is no attenuation. If this value is 1, attenuation is -6dB, and if this value is 3, attenuation is (3*-6=)-18dB. The used assembler instruction for this function is called an "arithmatic right shift". That is why this parameter has this name.

-- ChristiaanGelauff - 08 Oct 2005

This could is a really great element of a mastering chain, to be used as a brickwall limiter!

-- CamilleTroillard - 20 Apr 2007

It took a long time for you to realise this! It was the sole purpose of this module!

-- ChristiaanGelauff - 20 Apr 2007

He he, that's right! I first thought of this sound as a utility for building synthesis sounds, not for mastering applications. Today, I was reviewing all the sounds of each CAG releases, and I thought I would be good to tell you this. Actually, I think even prefer CAGDistortion5.

-- CamilleTroillard - 20 Apr 2007

I also prefer CAGDistortion 5 for mastering - but the AddHardLimit is great at the end of live performance patches so that the sound system really kicks no matter what happens during the performance.

-- CristianVogel - 03 May 2007

For live performanceses I would also like to have a compressor limiter with attack and decay times in it. But this is just in an ideal world. Maybe one day I will be able to create this. First create a seperate dual channel compressor...

-- ChristiaanGelauff - 04 May 2007