Fairlight · FX & Plugins
Fairlight FX and audio plug-ins in DaVinci Resolve
A practical guide to where Fairlight FX live, when to apply processing to a clip or a whole track, how plug-in order works, how to save and reuse chains, and how Resolve connects to VST, Audio Units and external audio processing. This page is the entry point to the Fairlight FX encyclopedia. Individual effects branch into separate guides only after their current Blackmagic behavior has been verified.
Build the chain for the problem, not the preset
Live Resolve 21 interface
Fairlight FX are organized by processing category
The current mixer insert menu groups processors into Channel, Delay, Distortion, Dynamics, EQ, Instrument, Metering, Modulation, Monitor, Multi Effect, Pitch, Restoration, Reverb, Spatial and Tools. We use this live menu as the map for the effect encyclopedia instead of inventing a catalog from memory.
1. What Fairlight FX are
Resolve includes a native audio-processing system, not just a few filters
Blackmagic currently states that DaVinci Resolve includes more than 25 Fairlight FX plug-ins for audio repair, creative sound design and mixing. Confirmed examples in current documentation include De-Esser, De-Hummer, Noise Reduction and Reverb; Studio adds additional Fairlight FX on top of the standard edition.
The useful way to think about FX is by problem: repair a defect, shape the sound, control movement, create space, or build a special effect. The name of the plug-in comes after the diagnosis.
Repair
De-Esser, De-Hummer and Noise Reduction are examples of dedicated tools for specific defects. Use the smallest processor that fixes the actual problem.
Creative processing
Reverb and other Fairlight FX can shape space and character, but creative processing is easier to control once the source is already technically clean.
Mixing
Track inserts let one chain follow all clips routed through that mixer channel, which is useful for consistent dialogue, music or bus processing.
Studio additions
Blackmagic explicitly says Resolve Studio includes additional Fairlight FX and Neural Engine audio tools. Do not assume every Fairlight effect is present in the free edition.
2. Clip or track
Choose the processing scope before choosing the effect
Current Blackmagic documentation allows Fairlight FX to be dragged onto a clip for local processing or onto a mixer channel to process the entire track. Track channels provide six realtime plug-in insert slots; clips can hold multiple plug-ins as well.
Apply processing only as wide as the problem
Useful for one damaged sentence, one noisy edit or one special sound-design moment.
Mixer channels provide six realtime insert slots, so one processing chain can follow the whole track.
3. Processing order
Plug-ins run from top to bottom
Blackmagic explicitly documents top-to-bottom plug-in processing. This is why effect order matters: a de-esser before compression receives a different signal than a de-esser after compression, and a reverb placed before cleanup will also be processed differently from reverb at the end of the chain.
Fairlight lets you open, delete and reorder plug-ins in the Inspector. You can also copy and paste effects between clips or tracks and save an entire effect chain in the presets library for reuse in other projects.
Build the chain for the problem, not the preset
4. Third-party plug-ins
Fairlight is not limited to its native effects
Blackmagic supports third-party Steinberg VST plug-ins and macOS Audio Units. They behave as normal plug-in inserts inside the Fairlight workflow, with the custom interface opening when the effect is added to a clip or track.
External Processing is a separate workflow. Resolve can bounce a clip, open that rendered version in a configured external audio application such as RX, then place the saved result on a new layer above the original.
Fairlight can stay native or extend outward
Built into Resolve
Third-party Steinberg plug-ins
Third-party plug-ins on macOS
Send a bounced clip to an external audio app
5. Performance
Cache and bounce are part of a professional FX workflow
A complex repair or sound-design chain can be expensive in realtime. Blackmagic documents cache and bounce options specifically for processor-heavy plug-ins that begin to affect playback.
Bounce is also useful when you want a rendered audio result, to consolidate tracks or to generate finished audio files. A bounced mix follows the channel configuration of its source bus.
Heavy processing does not have to break playback
Keep adjusting while mixing
Preserve the workflow but reduce playback load
Render processing when realtime playback becomes expensive
6. Resolve 21 effect map
The live Mixer menu confirms the current Fairlight effect set
The table below follows the current Resolve 21 insert menu and shows where each category is explained in this encyclopedia: dedicated effect guides for deeper processors, and related metering or spatial guides for smaller utility tools.
Spatial зависит от текущего формата и контекста сессии, поэтому его инструменты рассматриваются вместе с Panner и Surround & Immersive, где понятнее их связь с channel layout и monitoring.
Multiband Compressor
Frequency-selective dynamics without inventing uncaptured controls.
Soft Clipper
Soft peak shaping and its boundary with Limiter and Distortion.
Foley Sampler
Studio workflow for performing Foley from keyboards or drum pads.
Chain FX
Reusable chains of up to six effects with presets.
7. Guide structure
Choose the guide by task, not by menu length
Dialogue repair
De-Esser, De-Hummer, Noise Reduction and related repair workflows already connect naturally to the dialogue section.
EQ & Dynamics
Track EQ and Dynamics are built-in channel processing and deserve their own logic apart from insert plug-ins.
Creative FX
Reverb, delay/modulation-style tools and sound-design processors should be documented by real tasks and parameters.
Utility & workflow
Ducking, caching, bouncing, presets and external processing are workflow tools, not simply 'effects'.
Verified Fairlight FX guides
The Fairlight FX encyclopedia now follows the verified Resolve 21 menu
Processors with substantial controls and workflow have dedicated guides, while smaller utility tools are explained inside the metering, surround or gain-staging sections where their purpose is clearer.
Six-band Track EQ with a dedicated live-interface guide
Frequency, Gain, Q, edge filters, Track EQ vs Clip EQ and the current Resolve 21 band layout.
Peak control with Ceiling dBTP, Release and gain-reduction monitoring
A live Resolve 21 insert view, sidechain strip and a clear distinction from the limiter inside channel Dynamics.
Six dialogue stages in one insert: De-Rumble through Excite
Live-interface guide to De-Rumble, De-Pop, De-Ess, Compressor, Expander and Excite with a conservative speech workflow.
High Pass, three-band EQ and Compressor in one compact channel strip
A control-by-control guide to the current Vocal Channel UI, graphs, Gain Reduction and when separate processors are a better choice.
Independent L/R delay time, feedback, filtering and stereo blend
A live-interface guide to the current Delay plug-in, including signed feedback, High Ratio, Dry/Wet and practical stereo workflows.
Feedback Delay and explicit L→R / R→L cross-feedback
Per-channel Delay Time and Feedback Delay, signed feedback, cross-channel routing, filters and controlled echo-tail design.
Filtering, non-linear shaping, Ceiling and Dry/Wet control
A live-interface guide to the current Distortion plug-in, including the two visible character modes, Level, Ceiling, output matching and signal-chain placement.
Short delay, voice separation, width, modulation and blend
A live-interface guide to Chorus timing, pitch movement, feedback and stereo thickening without turning the source into a long echo.
Rate, Depth, width expansion and resonant signed feedback
A live-interface guide to moving comb-filter color, feedback shaping, mono checks and the practical difference between Flanger and Chorus.
Frequency, amplitude, filter and spatial rotation from one modulation engine
A full live-interface guide to Shape, Rate, phase relationships, filter/tone movement, L/C/R rotation and audio-rate modulation.
Detect, Learn and control background noise
When noise profiling is the right repair method, how to choose a representative range and when to process a clip versus an entire track.
Frequency, Range, Amount, reaction time and Ess-only monitoring
A dedicated live-interface guide for controlling vocal sibilance without darkening the entire voice.
50/60 Hz, Variable, Amount, Slope and harmonic notch repair
A dedicated live-interface guide for removing structured power-line hum without treating it as broadband noise.
Build space with clip, track or shared-bus processing
Room matching, depth, FlexBus routing, dialogue and Foley placement, plus a listening-first approach to reflections and reverb tail.
Rebalance voice, drums, bass, guitar and other music components
AI Track FX for instrumental-style versions, arrangement refocusing and automated component changes in a finished music mix.
Semitones, cents and parallel Dry/Wet pitch shifting
A live-interface guide to coarse transposition, fine detuning, parallel blends, SFX layering and automation.
Spectrum and Waterfall views for frequency diagnosis
A live Resolve 21 guide to Full Spectrum, frequency/level scales and using analysis before EQ, Noise Reduction or De-Hummer.
True Peak, Short, Range and Integrated programme loudness
A live Resolve 21 guide to the Loudness Meter, BS.1770 standard selection, Pause/Reset and a measurement workflow that leads into final mastering.
Read L/R signal level without confusing it with programme loudness
A live Resolve 21 guide to left/right level bars, dB scale, channel imbalance, overload risk and how this meter differs from Loudness Meter.
Choose the monitored source without confusing monitoring with recording input
A live Resolve 21 guide to the Source selector, monitor path, troubleshooting silence and the distinction between monitoring, track input and mixer routing.
Position a signal across the C/L/R/Ls/Rs surround field
A live Resolve 21 guide to channel-based panning, panning vs routing, automation and the distinction from Studio's immersive 3D Panner.
Keep human voice clear while suppressing competing room and background sound
Neural Engine dialogue cleanup, conservative processing, A/B checks and comparison with conventional Noise Reduction and Dialogue Separator.
Rebalance Voice, Background and Ambience inside a location recording
Three-component dialogue separation for busy locations, room continuity and controlled remixing instead of simply drying out the voice.
Related Fairlight sections
Use FX inside a larger signal-flow workflow
Dialogue cleanup explains repair tools; Automatic Ducking covers the current Ducker Track FX; EQ & Dynamics covers built-in channel processing; Mixer & Routing explains where track and bus processing sit in the signal path.
Current Fairlight documentation is the source for the 25+ Fairlight FX statement, clip/track plug-in application, six track insert slots, top-to-bottom processing, presets, VST/Audio Units, external processing and cache/bounce workflows. Official Resolve 20 Fairlight training is used only for learning order and exercises, not to override current interface facts.