Pro Tools: Multiband Splitter

When you insert Multiband Splitter onto a track, Pro Tools will automatically create a new bus for each frequency range.

Multiband Splitter opens up a whole new world of processing options.

Amazingly, the Avid Pro Series of plug‑ins that come bundled with Pro Tools is over 10 years old. They still feel fresh, and despite having some top‑flight alternatives, I use them in every session. But there are some which I’m sure get overlooked by most people. The AudioSuite Pro Limiter Loudness Analyser, for example, makes an excellent partner with Pro Limiter and offers offline loudness analysis, while Pro Multiband Dynamics also has a close relative, Multiband Splitter. This simple plug‑in presents a set of crossover filters, which split the full frequency input into up to four bands at customisable crossover frequencies. These can then be routed via dedicated buses out to other destinations in the Pro Tools mixer.

Perhaps because it presents a blank canvas, it would benefit from some suggested uses. After all, plug‑ins have to solve real‑world problems!

The manual doesn’t provide specific details about the filters used in Splitter, but Pro Multiband Dynamics employs eighth‑order Linkwitz‑Riley crossovers, so it’s safe to assume that Splitter uses the same. These steep 48dB/octave filters have great band separation, and both Multiband Dynamics and Splitter report zero latency, confirming that they are not phase‑linear. The Pro Multiband Dynamics plug‑in actually offers the same facility for outputting each band via automatically created buses, so you could use Pro Multiband Dynamics to split and route audio without engaging the dynamics processing, and the results would be identical.

When The Split Goes...