PULSAR MODULAR · MASTER-BUS STABILIZATION LIMITER
P21Atlas
Atlas delivers coherence. Loud, without the peaks being flattened.
The engine holds the program coherent across its full length.
INTERACTIVE PANEL
The interface at a glance
Hover any control to see what it does.
CHAIN TOPOLOGY
Where Atlas sits
Two approaches to Atlas in a chain are coherent.
Atlas standalone
Atlas is the final stage.
Atlas driving a clipper
Place a dedicated clipper downstream.
!
A limiter downstream of Atlas is not the correct chain.
FIRST SESSION
A first listening protocol
Run a single isolation session on familiar material.
1
Bypass everything after Atlas
Bypass every plugin downstream.
2
Load the matching preset
Load the preset whose source character matches.
3
Activate MATCH
Engage MATCH for equal-loudness comparison.
4
Toggle BYPASS and listen
Listen for the absence of limiter artifacts.
TIP
Tune Atlas with downstream stages bypassed.
GAIN → ENGINE → TRIM
One signal path. Learned by listening.
Gain feeds the engine, the engine does the work, TRIM lifts the post-engine level. The seven controls fall into three groups.
ENGAGEMENT · HOW HARD THE ENGINE WORKS
GAIN
Permission, not instruction. Drives signal into the engine.
CEILING
Sets the upper bound on program peaks.
CHARACTER · WHAT THE WORK SOUNDS LIKE
COMPOSURE
DYNAMIC → COMPOSED
Anchors the sustained body of the music.
GRIP
LOOSE → TIGHT
Shapes material firmness and the character of the bass region.
ENERGY
CALM → ENERGETIC
Allows the music to breathe along its long-form arc.
FORESIGHT
REACTIVE → ANTICIPATING
Anticipates incoming peaks, with no added latency.
OUTPUT
TRIM
Lifts the level after the engine.
READING THE PANEL
What every readout means
The panel mirrors the signal flow.
INPUT
Bar meters show signal arriving.
Engine output
Tapped before TRIM.
TRIM and TRIM PEAK
The dial sets the post-engine shift.
Post-TRIM loudness
These describe the file leaving Atlas.
Reset and transport
The reset button clears every readout.
WORKFLOW
Working with Atlas
MATCH for fair comparison
MATCH delivers fair A/B.
MATCH and TRIM differ
Don't use TRIM for level-matching.
Verse and chorus
Automate Composure between sections.
Driving a clipper
Push TRIM until the clipper shows depth.
PRESET LIBRARY
Starting points, tuned by ear
Choose by source character, not the name alone.
| Preset | Use it when | Params |
|---|---|---|
| Default | Source character not yet identified, or a universal starting point on unfamiliar material. | 0·34·29·30·40·0.0 |
| Country Acoustic | Sparse and dynamic, vocal forward with natural acoustic envelopes. LRA roughly 6–10. | +4·23·22·17·24·0.0 |
| Sparse Acoustic | Solo or near-solo with no rhythmic density. Solo vocal with acoustic guitar and reverb tails. LRA 8+. | +1.5·0·0·20·54·0.0 |
| Country Pop | Pre-treated with moderate transient density and a forward vocal. LRA roughly 4–7. | +4·14·34·22·24·0.0 |
| Rock Solid | Full-band rock with dynamic verse-chorus contrast and a vocal above the arrangement. LRA roughly 5–8. | 0·54·31·35·44·0.0 |
| ATMOS Launchpad | An Atmos master entering the final stabilization stage, at typical delivery loudness (−18 LUFS-I). | +1·28·25·28·50·0.0 |
| K-Pop Verse / Chorus | Heavily produced with wall-of-sound density and marked verse-chorus contrast. LRA roughly 3–5. Two presets demonstrate paired verse/chorus management. | +4·25–38·39·60·69·0.0 |
| Orchestral | Naturally captured ensemble with wide dynamic range and minimal upstream loudness management. LRA 12+. | +10·77·25·14·64·−2.0 |
| EDM Depth | Already mastered, arriving loud and dense with peaks near 0 dBFS. LRA roughly 2–4. | +2·14·60·20·29·0.0 |
| Hip-hop | Kick-led modern hip-hop or rap, around 85–95 BPM, kick and sub-bass dominant. LRA roughly 3–5. | +4·38·40·44·64·0.0 |
| Jazz | Naturally recorded acoustic ensemble with wide dynamics, no upstream loudness management. LRA 8–12. | +4·35·29·34·60·0.0 |
| Drum Bus | A drum bus or percussion stem, not full program. Transient-dominated with little sustained content. | +2·46·4·36·5·−6.0 |
BUS USE
Atlas can also be used on individual buses.
SHORTCUTS
Interface conventions
A few interactions are consistent across the interface.
| Action | Result |
|---|---|
| Click any readout row | Resets that row's accumulated value |
| Double-click a control | Returns it to the loaded preset's default (not zero) |
| Shift-drag a control | Fine adjustment, reduced sensitivity |
| Right-click a control | Type a value directly |
| Click the preset name | Opens the preset browser; arrows step through presets |
| DAW play / stop | Play resets and starts fresh; stop freezes the readouts |
PRESET MANAGER
The preset browser
Hover any element below to see what it does.
FOLDERS
★ Favorites
▸ Presets
▸ My Masters
PRESETS
★Default
☆Hip-hop
★Orchestral
☆Rock Solid
Hover any element above to learn what it does.
MANAGING PRESETS
Saving, protecting, backing up
The preset browser
Two panes.
Protecting factory edits
Save under a new name before updating.
Backing up
Presets are files that can be copied.
Windows
C:\Users\Public\Documents\Pulsar Modular\P21 Atlas\Presets
macOS
/Users/Shared/Pulsar Modular/P21 Atlas/Presets
UNINSTALLING
Removing P21 Atlas
Delete the plugin files for each format.
Windows
VST3
C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\Pulsar Modular\P21 Atlas.vst3
AAX
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Avid\Audio\Plug-Ins\Pulsar Modular\P21 Atlas.aaxplugin
Shared files
C:\Users\Public\Documents\Pulsar Modular\P21 Atlas
macOS
AU
/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/P21 Atlas.component
VST3
/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/Pulsar Modular/P21 Atlas.vst3
AAX
/Library/Application Support/Avid/Audio/Plug-Ins/Pulsar Modular/P21 Atlas.aaxplugin
Shared files
/Users/Shared/Pulsar Modular/P21 Atlas