CONTOUR v1.0.0

Professional Harmonic Coloring Processor

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1. Overview

Quick Start Guide

Get started with Contour in 4 simple steps to enhance your tracks with pristine analog harmonic character.

Step 1: Insert Contour on an Audio Track

Insert Contour onto an individual track (Vocal, Bass, Drums, Guitar) or a bus/master track in your DAW.

Step 2: Adjust Central Harmonic Knob

Turn left (Negative values) for Odd Harmonics (x³) to add edge, grit, bite, and punch. Turn right (Positive values) for Even Harmonics (x²) to add tube warmth, fullness, and smooth body.

Step 3: Fine-Tune Control Range

Click the RANGE toggle button to select between 10%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% sensitivity for delicate mastering adjustments or aggressive sound design.

Step 4: Enable Oversampling & Monitor Solo

Use 2x, 4x, or 8x oversampling to eliminate digital aliasing, and toggle SOLO to hear the isolated generated harmonics.

Key Features

Single Morphing Knob

Seamlessly morph between pure odd and even harmonic saturation with one intuitive central control.

64-bit Double Precision

Ultra-high-fidelity DSP core delivering maximum detail preservation without fundamental signal degradation.

Multi-Rate Oversampling

Selectable Polyphase IIR engine (Off, 2x, 4x, 8x) for completely aliasing-free harmonic distortion.

Plasma Metering Engine

Real-time Peak & RMS metering, peak-hold decay tracking, and actual generated harmonic dB display.

Precision Range Scaling

5-stage sensitivity button allowing 0.1dB micro-coloring during mastering or full-scale saturation.

AAX

Hardware Controller Mapping

Includes dedicated AAX Page Table XML for Avid S6, S3, Dock, and Control hardware surfaces.

System Requirements

Operating System	Architecture	Formats	RAM / Storage
macOS 10.15 (Catalina) or later	Apple Silicon (arm64) & Intel (x86_64) 64-bit	AU, VST3, AAX Native, Standalone	4 GB RAM (8 GB recommended), 100 MB disk space

2. User Manual & Interface Guide

Harmonic Morphing Knob

The central large knob is the heart of Contour. It allows continuous adjustment from pure odd harmonics on the left to pure even harmonics on the right.

Odd Harmonics (-1.0 to 0.0)

Generates pure 3rd harmonic content (x³ waveshaping). Adds edge, bite, presence, and tape-like punch to drums, snares, basslines, and vocals.

Center Neutral (0.0)

Passes audio cleanly without harmonic coloration.

Even Harmonics (0.0 to 1.0)

Generates pure 2nd harmonic content (x² waveshaping). Imparts tube warmth, richness, fullness, and organic body to vocals, acoustic instruments, and master buses.

Inner Circle Touch Detection

To prevent accidental perimeter clicks, the main knob only responds to mouse click and drag actions within 60% of its inner radius.

Range Sensitivity Control

The RANGE button located below the main knob scales the maximum output intensity of the harmonic exciter.

Control Range Modes:
• 10% Range: Sub-dB subtle saturation (Ideal for Mastering)
• 25% Range: Gentle track coloring
• 50% Range: Standard mixing saturation
• 75% Range: Strong harmonic drive
• 100% Range: Full-scale exciter drive (Aggressive sound design)

Solo & Dry/Wet Mix Controls

Contour provides dedicated auditioning and parallel processing controls.

HARMONIC SOLO: Clicking the solo indicator outputs ONLY the generated harmonic signals, completely muting the dry fundamental audio. Essential for critical listening of harmonic content.
DRY/WET MIX: Linearly blends the original dry input signal with the harmonic-processed wet signal.

Plasma Metering System

Contour features high-definition plasma-style meters driven by a 120Hz refresh engine.

Input & Output Peak / RMS Meters

Displays real-time signal levels with dynamic Peak-Hold tracking and logarithmic decay.

Actual Harmonic Level Meters (dB)

Independently measures and displays the exact physical decibel level of generated Odd Harmonics and Even Harmonics before downsampling.

Oversampling Engine

Non-linear waveshaping generates high-frequency harmonics above the Nyquist limit that can fold back into the audible spectrum as aliasing. Contour integrates a 64-bit Polyphase IIR Oversampling Engine.

Mode	Description	Recommended Use Case
Off (1x)	Zero latency, lowest CPU footprint	Tracking / Low-latency live recording
2x Oversampling	Linear phase anti-aliasing filter	General mixing
4x Oversampling	Pristine harmonic purity	Vocal & Instrument mixing
8x Oversampling	Maximum anti-aliasing suppression	Critical Mastering & High-sample rate projects

Utility Panel & License Management

Access global plugin configurations, preset manager, theme selection, and license activation.

License Manager

Supports offline license key activation and online server token validation without blocking DAW startup scans.

UI Themes

Switch between Dark Mode, Ivory Marble, and Silver Metal user interface themes.

3. Audio Theory & DSP Deep-Dive

Odd vs. Even Harmonics Theory

Harmonic distortion creates integer multiples of the fundamental frequency (f₀).

3rd Odd Harmonic (3f₀)

Adds a musical interval of an octave plus a fifth above the fundamental. Creates edge, brightness, and dense texture akin to tape saturation or driven push-pull amplifiers.

2nd Even Harmonic (2f₀)

Adds an exact octave above the fundamental. Blends seamlessly into the original sound, creating warmth, fullness, and tube-like sweetening without sounding harsh.

Mathematical Waveshaping Model

Contour uses hyperbolic tangent (tanh) non-linear transfers specifically configured for zero fundamental leakage.

// 3rd Odd Harmonics Transfer Equation:
Odd(x) = tanh( x³ * (20 + 80 * Amount) ) * Amount

// 2nd Even Harmonics Transfer Equation:
Even(x) = tanh( x² * (5 + 20 * Amount) ) * Amount

Anti-Aliasing & Polyphase IIR Filters

When non-linear functions produce harmonics exceeding half the sample rate (fₛ / 2), aliasing occurs. Contour upsamples the signal up to 8x using Polyphase Half-Band IIR filters, processes waveshaping at double precision (64-bit), and downsamples with steep anti-aliasing low-pass filtering.

4. Reference & Support

Parameter Reference Table

Parameter ID	Name	Range	Default	Description
`knobValue`	Knob Value	-1.0 to +1.0	0.0	Main harmonic morphing knob (-1.0: Max Odd, 0.0: Clean, +1.0: Max Even)
`controlRange`	Control Range	0.0 to 1.0	1.0	Sensitivity scale (0.0=10%, 0.25=25%, 0.5=50%, 0.75=75%, 1.0=100%)
`dryWet`	Dry/Wet	0.0 to 1.0	1.0	Mix balance between dry signal and harmonic wet signal
`harmonicSolo`	Harmonic Solo	Bool (Off/On)	Off	Mutes dry fundamental to output pure generated harmonics
`oversampleMode`	Oversample	0 to 3	1 (2x)	Oversampling factor (0: Off, 1: 2x, 2: 4x, 3: 8x)
`bypass`	Bypass	Bool (Off/On)	Off	Hard DSP bypass switch

Production & Mixing Applications

Lead Vocals

Set Range to 25% and turn main knob to +0.3 (Even Harmonics) for intimate tube warmth. Add a touch of Odd Harmonics (-0.2) to help vocals cut through dense pop mixes.

Bass Guitars & Synths

Set Range to 50% or 75% and turn main knob to -0.6 (Odd Harmonics) to add 3rd harmonic upper-mid bite, making bass audible on small laptop speakers.

Master Bus & Mix Bus

Set Range to 10% or 25% with 4x or 8x Oversampling. Subtle Even Harmonics (+0.15) glues the mix together with analog richness.

Troubleshooting & FAQ

Q: Why doesn't the main knob respond when clicking the outer edge?

A: Contour features Inner Circle Touch Protection. Click and drag within 60% of the inner radius of the knob to adjust parameters.

Q: CPU usage is high during playback. How can I optimize it?

A: Lower the Oversampling factor from 8x to 2x or Off during real-time tracking, then switch to 4x or 8x during final rendering.