Welcome to the CYANO Platform

Welcome to CYANO Platform.

CYANO Platform is a family of professional audio processors built around the common DSP engine CyanoCore™.

All products share the same processing philosophy, sonic character, and DSP quality while offering different workflows.

This manual introduces the complete CYANO Platform before detailed docs for each product.

In CYANO, delivery target is not loudness measured around peak. In Stage A, Threshold you set becomes musical Reference Position, used as basis for Output Gain in Stage B. Therefore peak in Stage B is result, not control variable.

Reference → Translation → Delivery

Legacy: Peak → Limiter → Loudness / CYANO: Reference → Translation → Delivery.

Displayed target is not a value to chase but coordinate where your musical Bed was delivered.

Welcome to CYANO Platform — professional audio processor family based on CyanoCore™. Shares same philosophy and quality with different workflows. Delivery target is defined as translated reference position, not peak.

CYANO is dynamics processor designed from fundamentally different premise. Musical cohesion (Glue) is not achieved by compressing mix uniformly over time, but by preserving musical Foundation. While conventional compressor applies single gain envelope to entire mix signal whenever threshold is exceeded, CYANO splits signal into two domains and processes independently.

Name comes from compound cyanoacrylate known as instant adhesive. Like instant adhesive that forms strong bond without adding volume or deforming objects, CYANO creates powerful musical Glue where instruments blend harmoniously without collapsing musical Bed.

In audio, Glue means cognitive effect where mix instruments interact consistently like single organism. Traditional compression tries to mimic by attenuating all elements simultaneously, but result transforms music via unwanted envelope alteration. CYANO achieves true Glue by controlling only Crest region above threshold that breaks proportional relationships, while continuously maintaining Bed.

• Bed Preservation: All signals below threshold pass without alteration.
• Crest Optimization: Gain reduction only to excessive energy above threshold.
• Musical Glue: Cohesion achieved by preserving, not collapsing, relationships.
• Visual Topology: Check split state in real time.

This document serves as both professional user guide and technical white paper. Reader is assumed professional engineer familiar with gain reduction, attack/release, loudness normalization.

Most widespread misconception is that compressor only reduces peak signal exceeding threshold. In reality it never works that way.

What actually happens: Moment transient peak exceeds threshold, gain reduction is applied equally to entire signal coexisting in mix at that moment. Compressor cannot distinguish peak instrument that triggered event from other instruments in bus signal.

When -3 dBFS kick exceeds -6 dBFS threshold, vocal, reverb, strings not exceeding threshold are uniformly attenuated, envelope deformed.

• Envelope deformation, Loss of spatial depth, Cognitive density distortion, Relationship distortion

Fundamental architecture problem: Traditional compressor compresses everything whenever peak occurs. Larger gain reduction, more Bed damaged, structural limit unsolvable by attack/release tuning.

CYANO excludes global attenuation and achieves perfect musical Glue. Inspired by fact that arbitrary audio signal can be perfectly modeled as sum of two components.

A = B + C
A: Entire original signal
B (Bed): Sustained source below threshold, harmonics, root
C (Crest): Headroom-exhausting peak energy

Instead of shaving A, CYANO isolates: Output = B + C′
B: Passes without alteration, actual output uses B
C′: Optimized Crest

When kick transient occurs, gain reduction applies precisely only to Crest region exceeding threshold. Vocal or room (Bed) untouched, so no pumping.

Glue Through Preservation and Loudness is final stage only — musical optimization and delivery level perfectly separated.

Threshold as Partition Boundary

In traditional compressor threshold is 'point where compression starts'. In CYANO definition is different and more precise: Partition Boundary dividing Bed and Crest domains.

Bed: Musical Foundation

All components below threshold such as instrument sustain body, reverb tail, noise floor, reaching output without gain reduction.

Crest: Excessive Peak Energy

Signal soaring beyond threshold such as transient hits, only region subject to dynamics operations. Also target for full utilization of headroom because peak is controlled.

Precise Split Process

B/C split calculated in real time at internal oversampling rate. Dual EMA smoothing blocks noise, ensuring clean sound during automation.

Steady-State Identity

With fixed threshold, split satisfies B + C = A at every sample, output perfectly matches input when no crest energy.

Bed: signal below threshold, always preserved foundation. Crest: signal above threshold, excessive energy peak subject to dynamics. Threshold: partition boundary level. Glue: natural cohesion obtained by protecting foundation. Target: final platform loudness spec and input/output gain adjustment guide.

1. Loop most energetic part
2. Select CYANO engine mode
3. Attack minimum for clear Crest operation
4. Ratio 5:1+ to find threshold boundary
5. Lower threshold to control only excessive Crest peaks. Stop just before Bed shakes. Must be natural sound with no noise
6. Check Glue by ear. Foundation identical to input
7. Adjust Output Gain to create desired target

Signs of Correct Glue

• Kick and snare tight and clear
• Bed spatial reverb and sustained instruments maintain original
• No artificial pumping

All visual elements help check and monitor Bed/Crest split state in real time. Header: BYPASS, Preset Slots A/B/C/D, Clipper OFF/Transparent/Soft/Medium/Hard, TruePeak, Oversampling 1X/2X/4X/8X, Utility, License, UI THEME 10 colors, BYPASS MODE GAIN/UNITY, TOPOLOGY STATUS, Ratio Mode. Core: Large threshold knob, DELIVERY TARGET RMS-based, THRESHOLD -40~-0.1 dBFS, Visualizer FIELD/SCAN/RADAR, Engine Selector CYANO/CLASSIC seamless fade. Output Panel: Threshold Line amber, GR Fill salmon overlay only above threshold in CYANO proving preservation, ZOOM via wheel. Engine Panel: INPUT/OUTPUT GAIN, -20dB Pad, RATIO/KNEE, ATTACK/RELEASE, CEILING/MIX, DETECTOR SOLO OFF/BED/CREST. Topology Status: Bed%/Crest%/Threshold/Reduction, Bond/Lock/Flow/Density, GR/True Peak/Headroom/Crest Factor, Integrated/Momentary/Short-Term/LRA/PLR, H2/H3/THD/Center/Recovery. Spectral Balance: 5-band, TIMELINE 2D/3D. Goniometer: Lissajous CORR +1.0~-1.0, SPREAD butterfly 31-band.

CYANO Mode: A = B + C topology, preserves sustain and reverb, maintains proportional relationships, builds best musical glue.

CLASSIC Mode: Traditional feed-forward compressor applies uniform gain reduction to entire signal. Use for pumping stylization.

Target Guide: Interactive UI Reference — Not continuously varying DSP meter but interactive UI guide when setting final output level. Reacts only to Input/Output Gain manipulation (UI event). Tracks real output loudness while moving knob, holds after 400ms stop. Detection starts only when signal >= -30 LUFS, otherwise "TOO LOW". Turns salmon when exceeding target. Preset change, A/B/C/D slot change or reset resets detection.

SPECTROGRAM shows input and output spectrogram. TOPOLOGY OCCUPANCY TIMELINE shows output history. REALTIME/OFFLINE: Full Version supports offline. Select offline, menu bar appears, Open audio file, waveform appears in Input Spectrogram/Waveform History, transport RTZ/Play/Stop/RPT, selection and region designation, Export supports fixed/float WAV, AIFF, MP3, FLAC.

Pumping Essence

Traditional compressor's global attenuation pushes entire mix volume down when peak engaged then forced recovery during release, creating pumping artifact where reverb fluctuates. CYANO does not shave Bed in first place so there is no reverb to recover, structurally blocking pumping.

Envelope Collapse Mechanism

Existing compression applies attenuation curve to entire source during compression time, transforming even envelope of instruments below threshold. CYANO's Bed preservation delivers waveform envelope of below-threshold source to output 1:1 without alteration, delivering touch and texture original.

Crest and Headroom Exhaustion

Sharp momentary peaks not contributing to perceived loudness monopolize digital ceiling and hinder overall volume. By precisely handling only wasteful Crest peaks, average loudness (Crest Factor control) can be safely expanded without damaging musical foundation. Because Bed below peak moment is preserved, aggressive Crest control is possible.

Guarding Instrument Relationships

Humans perceive mix by comprehensive analysis of relationships. While traditional compressor inevitably distorts this balanced balance at every peak by compressor operation, CYANO keeps spatial ambience and reverb harmonics immovable like concrete and cleans only upper peaks, inducing overwhelmingly natural and musical result.

Engineers evaluate CYANO-processed sound as 'only solidity mounted as mix itself without stuffy or artificial smell unique to compressor' — possible because artifact factor where instrument foundation was unfairly shaved and envelope collapsed was structurally excised, core sound engineering aesthetics of CYANO.

Founding Principle

Essential reason for CYANO existence is not to make loudness thug that indiscriminately crushes sound. It is to perfectly preserve musical deep structure (Relationships) while wisely optimizing only excessive Crest energy destroying headroom. Loudness is following bonus, musical emotion is guarded by Bed preservation. Used innovatively in delivery stage of modern mastering that controls overall loudness while controlling only peaks and reducing dynamic range.

Is CYANO compressor or limiter? Neither in traditional sense. CYANO is Bed preservation and Crest optimization processor. Includes compressor stage applying gain reduction, but unlike conventional compressor, reduction applies only to Crest region above threshold. Bed never compressed or limited. CLASSIC engine mode provided for special situations requiring traditional compressor-limiter behavior and comparison.

Does CYANO split frequency bands? No. B/C split is in level domain, not frequency domain. At each sample, regardless of frequency, energy below threshold is Bed, exceeding is Crest. All frequencies processed in same pass.

Can CYANO be used on individual tracks as well as mix bus? Yes. Applicable to stereo and mono channels. On individual tracks where transient Crest and sustain Bed distinction is clear like drums, bass, piano, powerful effect of Bed preservation architecture controlling only peaks without shaving instrument body. Of course CYANO CH can be used for light desired operation.

Does changing output gain change timbre or texture? No. Use target guide for input/output gain adjustment to reach loudness spec to create master of desired size, this process does not affect all compression-related parameters like threshold, ratio in previous Stage A at all, musically perfectly identical even if output to different Target in same session.

Digital noise occurs when monitoring Crest solo. Digital noise occurring from sample split during Crest solo monitoring is not error or bug, but inevitable part of arithmetic structure. Heard only in Crest solo monitoring.

How to use CYANO effectively? Most important is to set threshold level to position where Bed part is heard without any damage and only peak can be reduced. Then use output gain to match desired target.

Does CYANO support oversampling? Yes. Oversampling can be selected in CYANO core settings. Higher ratio reduces aliasing artifacts in gain computation stage.

Sound pumps unnaturally or over-compressed Cause: Threshold too low, body (Bed) that should be protected classified as Crest. Solution: Raise threshold until stable. If persists check mode is CYANO not CLASSIC.

No gain reduction, plugin seems not working Cause: Threshold higher than source peak, no signal crosses boundary, Crest not detected. Solution: Lower threshold until Topology Status GR indicator reacts to peaks. Check engine mode and BYPASS.

Output louder or quieter than expected Cause: Input Pad applied or output gain too large. Solution: Check Topology Status TARGET column whether Current converges to Target. Play enough to stabilize. To adjust manually change to Unity target then adjust Output Gain directly. Reset button or A/B/C/D sets also good for comparison.

Noise or artifact when manipulating threshold Cause: Too fast automation beyond EMA smoothing range or DAW sending stepped automation. Solution: CYANO threshold equipped with dual EMA smoothing circuit preventing normal operation noise. If still occurs increase automation density or reduce stepwise operation.

Tonal shift in Spectral Balance after processing Cause: Frequency band of Crest energy unbalanced. If high-frequency Crest proportion high, more compressed, resulting in low emphasis. Solution: Adjust threshold to reduce inter-band Crest proportion difference or balance with EQ before application.

Unexpected phase artifact in goniometer Cause: When inter-channel Crest energy differs greatly, high Ratio and short Attack cause extremely fast gain variation. Solution: Slightly slow Attack to soften formation and use Knee to make attenuation start gentle.

Full version includes only compressor part and Spectral Balance section, can be used as innovative dynamic processor replacing existing compressor in channel. Sidechain supported so other input can be used as trigger. Utility window includes necessary options.

Very simplified version of full version's professional engineer configuration, supports CYANO ENGINE and input/output waveform window. Simple but powerful mastering tool by setting input threshold and adjusting output gain. Attack fixed minimum, Ratio 8:1, Release 80ms fixed. Utility window includes necessary options.

The word Glue has been used in professional audio engineering for decades.

Engineers often describe a good bus compressor by saying:

“It glues the mix together.”

However, very few explain what is actually being glued.

CYANO approaches this question from a different perspective.

• Glue is not the act of making sounds louder.
• Glue is not excessive compression.
• Glue is not coloration or harmonic enhancement.

Instead, Glue is the process of preserving the natural relationship between musical elements while improving their overall stability.

A musical mix is composed of many independent sources.

• Kick
• Bass
• Snare
• Vocals
• Guitars
• Strings
• Reverbs

Each source has its own dynamics, timing, and envelope.

Although every instrument behaves independently, our hearing ultimately perceives the entire mix as a single musical event.

The stronger this perception becomes, the more listeners describe the mix as

tight
cohesive
solid
glued together

CYANO calls this property Musical Cohesion.

Traditional bus compressors create Glue indirectly.

They reduce dynamic range, causing peaks to become more controlled and making the overall mix appear more unified.

However, compression itself is not the definition of Glue.

In fact, excessive compression can reduce cohesion by damaging the natural relationships between musical elements.

CYANO therefore separates the concept of compression from the concept of Glue.

Compression is only one possible tool.

Glue is the final perceptual result.

The Bed represents the continuous foundation of the music.

It contains:

• body
• sustain
• ambience
• density
• musical continuity

The Bed forms the structural foundation of the mix.

The Crest contains transient energy.

Examples include:

• drum attacks
• pick attacks
• consonants
• accents
• short peaks

These elements provide punch and articulation.

Instead of processing the entire signal equally, CYANO treats these two components differently.

The Bed remains preserved whenever possible, while only the Crest is controlled when necessary.

This minimizes unnecessary changes to the musical foundation.

Listeners rarely describe a great mix by saying

“The peaks are 2 dB lower.”

Instead they describe it as

• smoother
• tighter
• more connected
• more stable
• easier to listen to

These impressions arise because the temporal relationship between musical elements has become more consistent.

The objective is not simply lower peaks.

The objective is greater musical stability.

CYANO is designed around one simple principle:

Move the loudness of the music without changing the music itself.

Rather than continuously changing gain throughout the song, CYANO aims to preserve the musical structure while controlling only the energy that requires protection.

The result is a mastering process that maintains the original musical flow while providing the stability expected from modern production.

Many processors attempt to create Glue by increasing compression.

CYANO instead attempts to preserve the relationships that already exist within the mix.

When those relationships remain intact while excessive transient energy is controlled, the entire mix becomes more coherent.

That coherence is what musicians and engineers have traditionally described as Glue.

CYANO defines Glue as:

The increase of musical cohesion through stabilization of temporal and dynamic relationships while preserving the fundamental structure of the mix.

In practice, this means:

• Preserve the musical foundation (Bed)
• Control only excessive transient energy (Crest)
• Maintain the natural flow of the performance
• Improve perceived stability without unnecessary coloration

This philosophy forms the foundation of every processor built on the CYANO Platform.

Signal Routing Path

Audio Input (A) → Input Pad Circuit −20 dB pre-attenuation → B/C Precise Topology Split Process → Crest Independent Compression (C → C′) → Signal Restoration Recombination Stage (B + C′) → Delivery Target Guide / Target LUFS Gain Adjustment Guide → True Peak Limiter Ceiling Guard → Final Output Gain Trim → Final Output

DSP System Spec