> Step by step

2. Navigating the plugin

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With Maximal 3 CM installed, load up an instance and get acquainted with its controls. The top bar includes the preset navigator, access to the manual, the settings cog (see below) and an option to check for updates. Over on the right hand side you’ve also got the overall plugin bypass button. 2

The settings cog opens a small panel and here you can access the GPU hardware acceleration (on/off) and also the window scaling. You have a choice of six settings for the latter, so it easily caters to different screen sizes and resolutions. 3

Maximal 3 CM includes a maximiser graph display, which is a fold down panel below the top bar. This features a frequency analyser and gain reduction curve. To open and close this panel use the graph icon on the Maximiser panel. 4

Maximal 3 CM’s key controls are in the main Maximiser section. There are four parameter knobs and two sliders. The knob controls are Attack (0% to 100%), Release (1ms to 10sec), Lookahead (0.0ms to 5.0ms) and In Gain (-24 to +24dB). 5

Limiting is set using the Threshold slider (0dB to -24dB) and Ceiling (0dB to -24dB) slider next to the meters. These meters also indicate gain reduction in pink. Next to the graph icon you’ve also got an individual bypass for the Maximiser section, and this leaves just the In Gain control active. 6

In addition to the Maximiser meters, Maximal 3 CM also has proper stereo input and output meters on the right hand side. These are twin tone meters that indicate both RMS and peak levels as well as various loudness unit readings, and we’ll look at these on the final page.