DeEdger — Manual

Edge reduction processor for transparent hardness control.

Background

Some of the most difficult problems in mixing and mastering are not spread across the spectrum — they sit in a single band. The sting of a ride cymbal, the bite of brass, the overshoot of a picked string, the sibilant edge that survived the de-esser, the harsh resonance of a kick beater. These are the moments that turn an otherwise excellent take into a fatiguing one. Static EQ can dial them out, but it takes the character with them: the same band that carries the hardness also carries the detail, presence, and life of the source.

What such material asks for is something narrower than an EQ and gentler than a compressor — a tool that isolates a tunable frequency region and acts only on the brief, bright overshoots within it that the ear interprets as harshness. The detection has to be independent of absolute signal level so that the same setting works across quiet verses and loud choruses, and the reduction has to leave the underlying tone, dynamics, and air untouched. In effect, a finely tuned resonance tamer: minimal in its footprint, surgical in its target, and stable enough to "set and forget" once the band is dialled in.

The Concept

DeEdger introduces a new way of reducing the hardness of audio signals without negatively altering the original signal qualities.

The plugin operates in a threshold free manner, thus can comfortably handle any input signal level, type, and dynamic range. Where other plugins might under or over process, DeEdger only applies processing if any hardness is detected. Once detected, the hardness will be smoothed with remarkable elegance. After initial setup, DeEdger can be left in a "set and forget" configuration without further attention.

Intricate time and frequency dependent mechanisms allow DeEdger to provide a very transparent process throughout. Developed and fine tuned by a professional mastering engineer, the initial concept focused on the demands of modern audio mastering and has also turned out to be equally useful for mixing.

Controls

Active #

When active, applies edge reduction to the target frequency band. When disabled, the signal still passes through the plugin (no audible bypass click), but no edge reduction is applied.

Tip: Use with Focus Listen to A/B the processing effect on the target frequency.

Frequency #

Determines the center frequency where edge reduction is applied. The Q parameter below controls the bandwidth around this frequency.

Q #

Determines how wide or narrow the frequency range around the target frequency is affected. Higher Q values create narrower, more focused processing.

Depth #

Sets how strongly DeEdger reduces harsh edges in the target frequency band. Higher values result in more reduction.

Channel Mode

L+R | L/R | M/S #

These three buttons set the channel mode that DeEdger operates in.

L+R (Linked) — Both left and right channels receive identical edge reduction, maintaining stereo balance in the target frequency range.
L/R (Unlinked) — Left and right channels are processed independently, allowing different amounts of edge reduction in each channel.
M/S — Targets edges in the Mid (center) and/or Side components of your signal. Each click cycles through three states: Mid + Side → Mid only → Side only → back to Mid + Side. The button's center indicates Mid is active, the ring indicates Side is active.

Compensate & Focus Listen

Compensate #

When active, dynamically compensates for loudness changes caused by the edge reduction in the target frequency band, maintaining perceived level.

Focus Listen #

Solos only the frequency range being processed, allowing you to hear exactly what DeEdger is affecting. Toggle the Active button to compare processed vs. unprocessed in this focused range.

Reduction Meter

Shows in real-time how much DeEdger is reducing the signal in the target frequency band, measured in dB. The meter responds dynamically to the actual processing applied — peaks indicate the strongest moments of edge reduction. A mark remembers the strongest reduction and sinks back slowly; click the meter to clear it.

The display is per-channel and reflects the active channel mode. In L+R both bars move together. In L/R the left bar shows the left channel, the right bar shows the right channel. In M/S the left bar shows the Mid channel and the right bar shows the Side channel.

Immersive & Surround

DeEdger processes any channel layout from mono up to 9.1.6. Each symmetric channel pair — the front L and R, the side and rear surrounds, the height (ceiling) channels — is handled together and inherits the channel mode you have selected. The LFE channel is treated as its own set as well; like the other sets it passes through untouched until you switch it on. Surround and immersive layouts are supported in the VST3, AU and AAX versions.

By default only the front L/R pair is de-edged. Additional channel sets are switched on individually, so a surround mix stays predictable and CPU is spent only where you actually want de-edging. All per-channel controls and meters live in the Channels panel, opened from the toolbar.

Note: The Channels button only appears in the toolbar when the plugin is on a surround bus (more than two channels). On mono or stereo it stays hidden, and if the host narrows the bus back to stereo the panel closes on its own.

The Channels panel groups the layout into channel sets — LR, C (centre), LFE, Surr (surround) and Ceil (ceiling). Each set present in the current layout shows a real-time reduction meter per channel, plus its own controls:

On — enables de-edging for the set. When off, the set passes through unprocessed.
Depth Scaling (D) — scales how strongly the set is de-edged relative to the main Depth: 100% = full reduction, 0% = none.
Solo (S) — mutes all other sets so you hear only this set's channels.
Link (L) — ties the channels within a multi-channel set (Surr, Ceil) together so they share one reduction, from 0% (independent) to 100% (fully linked), for a stable surround image.

The ALL toggle in the panel header switches every set on at once, or back to L/R only.

Note: In surround layouts only L and R are processed until you switch on more sets — either one at a time or with the ALL toggle.

Control Behavior

Reset to default — Double-click directly on the control.
Edit by text entry — Click the displayed text value, type a new value, then press Enter.

Toolbar

Undo / Redo #

Use the undo/redo buttons to recall previous/next parameter changes. The exact event is shown in a tool tip.

Note: certain parameter changes are not tracked by this function (e.g. "Bypass").

Preset Management

The preset drop-down list offers quick access to factory settings and user presets.

The next/previous buttons allow you to cycle through the presets. The mouse wheel over the preset box does the same, one preset per notch.

Advanced preset management options are available from the context menu (Right-click). Where an option needs a name or a confirmation, it asks inside the plugin window.

Reset to Original State — resets the currently active preset to its original state.
Save As New Global User Preset… — asks for a name and creates a User Preset. These persist across sessions and DAWs (saved on your machine). Total user presets are limited to 20.
Overwrite/Rename Selected User Preset… — overwrite or rename presets.
Delete Selected User Preset — delete the current user preset.
Save As Default State — replaces the plugin's default preset with the current parameter state.
Revert Default State To Factory Setting — deletes an overwritten default state.
Copy State (Ctrl+C) — copies the current control states to the clipboard. Apply across instances and hosts using Paste State.
Paste State (Ctrl+V) — pastes the control states from the clipboard.

The A/B group with A active: the copy arrow points to B

The same group with B active: the arrow has turned to point to A

A/B Control #

A and B are two parameter states to switch between. They start linked: every change writes to both, so B holds whatever A holds until you separate them — and the first press on B is what separates them. A keeps your edits, B falls back to the state a freshly loaded instance has. That is the comparison the pair exists for: what you built against what the plugin does untouched.

Between them sits a single copy arrow, and it always points the way the copy goes: while A is active it copies A into B, while B is active it turns round and copies B into A.

Right-click A or B for Reset A to Initial State or Reset B to Initial State. It puts that one slot back where a fresh instance starts, without switching to it, so you can clear the slot you are not listening to. Undo takes it back.

That starting point follows your own saved default state, not the factory one — “untouched” means a fresh instance as you have set it up. Once the two are separated, B is an ordinary second state and behaves like A.

Channels #

Opens and closes the Channels panel for surround and immersive layouts: per-set controls and meters, described under Immersive & Surround.

Note: This button only appears in surround setups. It shows when the plugin sits on a bus with more than two channels, and stays hidden on mono or stereo.

Delta Mode #

When active, outputs only the signal that DeEdger removes. Use this to verify that only unwanted harshness is being attenuated.

Right-click on the Delta button for options: Include Compensate controls whether the compensation is included in the delta signal.

Oversampling Quality #

Controls the internal oversampling factor.

Off — No oversampling.
Normal — 2× at 44.1 / 48 kHz.
High — 4× at 44.1 / 48 kHz, 2× at 88.2 / 96 kHz.

Higher settings improve audio quality at the cost of CPU usage.

On a bus with more than two channels, DeEdger runs without oversampling, whatever the Quality is set to.

Theme #

Opens the color theme selector. Choose from different visual themes to customize the plugin's appearance. Each theme offers a unique color scheme for interface elements and curves.

The selected theme is automatically synchronized across all open instances of the plugin and saved with your preferences.

Help #

The dynamic help mode offers detailed information about the various elements of the user interface. Click "?" to activate the online help and move the mouse cursor over the control of interest. A small info bubble will appear displaying the function and details of the item. Help mode can also be switched on from Settings → Help → Help on the interface; a bubble at the "?" button then confirms it for a few seconds. Click "?" again to leave help mode.

Settings

The settings button opens a dialog which gives control over additional plugin options. Its pages come in three groups: Controls, Interface, Processing and Compatibility; Updates, Registration and Local data; Help, About, What's new and Credits.

Controls — how knobs and control points respond to the mouse.
- Continuous drag — when Velocity is enabled, knob and controller movement relies on mouse speed. When Linear is enabled, knob and controller movement is proportional to mouse movement.
- Drag sensitivity — a slider from 1% to 200% that scales how far a control moves for a given mouse movement. Double-click it to return to 100%.
- Mouse configuration — Left-click & drag (Continuous) and Right-click & drag (Stepped, snapping to values) by default. Swap continuous / stepped buttons swaps the two mouse buttons. Mouse wheel steps to snap values makes the mouse wheel turn in snap steps; holding Ctrl while turning gives the other mode. Mouse wheel clicks buttons (off by default) lets a turn of the wheel over any button act as a click on it, in either direction; pause briefly before the next one. Inside the settings and shortcuts panels the wheel scrolls as usual. These settings apply to all Ohlhorst Digital plugins.
Interface
- Refresh rate — how often the meters and analysis displays redraw: Auto, 60, 90, 120 or 144 Hz. It changes nothing about what is measured. Auto follows the monitor the plugin window is on, up to 240 Hz on monitors that run that fast. The setting is shared by all OD plugins; windows that are already open pick it up the next time they are opened.
- VSync — on by default. Ties every redraw to the screen's refresh: the smoothest motion, and never faster than the screen, so a rate above the screen's is capped at the screen's.
- UI scale — sets the size of the plugin window, up to the largest size that fits your screen (at most 200%). The smallest size depends on the display: 75% on a standard display, down to 50% on high-resolution ones. Double-click the value to type an exact one. You can also drag the bottom-right corner of the plugin window — there is no visible handle, the cursor changes when you are over it. Only your own choice is saved: opened on a smaller screen, the plugin is drawn smaller there and the saved scale stays as it was.
- Quick scale presets — the sizes the context menu offers, 100%, 125% and 150% by default.
Processing — Status shows the plugin's latency and the sample rate.
- Offline rendering — Highest quality rendering automatically uses High oversampling when your DAW renders offline (bounce / export), regardless of the toolbar setting.
- Messages — Show a banner when the plugin latency changes: a short note with the new latency in samples whenever it changes, for example after an Oversampling Quality switch. Off by default; the setting is shared by all OD plugins.
Compatibility — Hold left click for context menu: Auto, On or Off, Auto by default. Some hosts don't pass a right click on to the plugin — DaVinci Resolve is one. With this setting on, holding the left mouse button still for half a second opens the menu a right click would open at that spot, such as the context menu, the preset options or the Delta button's options. It does not act on knobs (a press there starts a drag) or on toolbar buttons, which act as soon as they are pressed. While it is on, the preset list opens and the Delta button switches when you release the mouse button. Auto switches it on in DaVinci Resolve only; the panel shows whether it is on in the host you are using. The setting applies to all Ohlhorst Digital plugins and is never saved with a preset or project; other OD plugins pick up a change the next time their window opens.
Updates — under Latest version, Check now looks for a newer version, and Download appears with its version number when there is one. Automatic check looks once per day.
Registration — shows who the plugin is Registered to, with the offline and online registration options. With Register all OD products ticked, the online sign-in also installs the keys of every other Ohlhorst Digital plugin your account owns; each of them is registered the next time your DAW loads it. Deregistering asks for confirmation.
Local data — Data folder opens the folder where your preferences, presets and keys are stored, Export saves them as a zip file (keys optional), and Import restores such a file, replacing what is there. These operations affect all TDR plugins.
Help — Online: this manual, Support — bug reports, installation, licences and other questions; the support form opens with plugin, version, format, OS and DAW filled in — and the newsletter. In the plugin: the keyboard shortcuts, and help on the interface — point at any control to see what it does.
About — version, format, build, authors and copyright, and the trademark notice of the plugin format in use.
What's new — the changes in the installed version, taken from the plugin's changelog. The tab only appears when the changelog has an entry for that version. Earlier releases are listed in the version history.
Credits — what the plugin is built with, and the testers who evaluated it.

Context Menu

Additional options can be accessed using the standard context menu. This is opened by Right-clicking on a blank area anywhere in the UI. A click outside of the menu closes it.

Shortcuts… — opens the keyboard shortcuts configuration dialog.
UI scale — switches to one of the quick scale presets from the settings dialog (100%, 125% and 150% by default). A preset your screen cannot fit is left out, and the greyed line Larger scales do not fit this screen says so.
Copy state (Ctrl+C) — copies the current control states to the clipboard.
Paste state (Ctrl+V) — pastes the control states from the clipboard.
Save screenshot to desktop — captures the current plugin window and saves it as a PNG to your desktop.

Shortcuts

DeEdger supports configurable keyboard shortcuts for quick parameter access. Open the shortcuts dialog via right-click → Shortcuts… anywhere on the plugin interface.

Keyboard shortcuts require the plugin to have keyboard focus. Click anywhere on the plugin interface to grab focus. When "Mouse Focus" is enabled (default), shortcuts are only active while the mouse cursor is over the plugin window — they deactivate automatically when the mouse leaves the UI, preventing accidental triggering from other windows.

Enable — Enables or disables all keyboard shortcuts globally.
Show Focus — A coloured border appears around the plugin when shortcuts are active.
Mouse Focus — Shortcuts are only active while the mouse cursor is over the plugin window.

All shortcuts — including Focus Listen — are fully rebindable. Each shortcut has its own enable checkbox. To reassign, click on the key slot in the dialog and press the desired key. You can also assign Shift or Alt on its own to any slot, or hold Ctrl or Alt while pressing a key to bind a combination such as Ctrl+B. Right-click a slot to reset to default or clear. Conflicts are resolved automatically — assigning a key already in use will clear the previous assignment.

Default shortcuts:

Active (toggle): E
Delta (toggle): D
Depth (− / +): Q / W
Q (− / +): A / S
Frequency (− / +): Y / X
Focus Listen (hold): Alt (Option on Mac)

Step keys increment or decrement the parameter using snap values for stepped control. Focus Listen is a hold key — the effect is active only while the key is held down.

Note: Keyboard shortcut availability depends on the host application. Some DAWs may intercept certain key events before they reach the plugin.

Adaptive Load

DeEdger continuously monitors the incoming signal and its internal state — filter memory and the like — and releases processing resources whenever they are not needed.

On a track that only plays during part of an arrangement, DeEdger detects the silence and bypasses its filters and processing entirely, dropping to almost 0% CPU within a few milliseconds. Processing resumes the moment audio returns, with no change to the sound or to your settings.

In practice: more instances per project, and shorter export times.

Acknowledgements

DeEdger was conceived and developed by Jan Ohlhorst.
Original documentation by Shane Johnson.

Software evaluation by:

Ady Connor, Aleksi Vuolevi, Andrew Boult, Bob Olhsson, Castle Mastering, Clément Bastiat | Storm Mastering, Cyril Meysson, Dan Suter | echochamber, Dan Worrall, Dax Liniere | Puzzle Factory, Dean, Dennis J Wilkins | Studio 12 Below, Diogo C. Borges, Eden Puder | Why Giacomo, Eric Recourt, EvilDragon, Ezequiel Morfi | Titanio Studios, Greg Reierson, Gregg Janman | Hermetech Mastering, Helmut Erler | mastering.heyrec.org, Ilya Orlov, Janne Hatula, Jean Dante, Jeffrey Rippe, Jerry Anthony Mateo, Joe Caithness Mastering, Joseph Lyons, Juan Carlos Sotelo | Campo Estéreo, Justin Perkins, Karl Mohr | Multibeat, Kosher Butcher Studios, Laurent Sevestre, Marco Vincis | Tera Mastering, Mark den Hartog | Zownd, Michael Wynne, Miro Pajic, Murray Campbell | Beatworld, Niklas Silen, Nil Hartman Mastering, Pete Grandison, Resoundsound Mastering, Rich Prewett, Richard Pentrose, Robi Bulesic, Roger Baltensperger | flameworks, Roland Löhlbach, Ronny Pries, Ruairi O'Flaherty, Sean Diggins, Sergey Makeev, Thaddeus Moore | Liquid Mastering, Uri Grzenda | Titanio Studios, Valentin Viktorovich | Zvukofor Sound Labs, Vitaly Zolotarev.

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