Re: [LAU] M/S processing w/o 'convenient' plugins

From: Ralf Mardorf <ralf.mardorf@email-addr-hidden-dsl.net>
Date: Fri May 20 2016 - 09:48:51 EEST

On Fri, 20 May 2016 01:41:15 +0200, William Light wrote:
>On Thu, 19 May 2016, at 17:07, Ralf Mardorf wrote:
>> On Thu, 19 May 2016 16:18:44 +0200, William Light wrote:
>> >On Tue, 17 May 2016, at 15:45, Jörn Nettingsmeier wrote:
>> >> But: M/S processing is really only useful when you are
>> >> remastering a stereo mix without access to the individual
>> >> components, or maybe if you are dealing with stereo mic
>> >> recordings as part of a larger mix. If you are creating a
>> >> multitrack mix from individual channels, M/S buys you exactly
>> >> nothing that couldn't be done better and more precisely in the
>> >> individual channels.
>> >
>> >Disagree vehemently, M/S processing gives very natural control of
>> >the stereo image. I find that I use M/S EQing when I want to shape
>> >the stereo image subtly and M/S compression when I want to
>> >exaggerate it or make it more exciting.
>>
>> In more than 30 years of audio recording I _never_ used M/S
>> processing. M/S microphone technique is something else and is
>> useful, because it does cause a mono-compatible signal, due to not
>> being based on travel time, but instead it's based on intensity. To
>> "exaggerate" a signal by intensity with a mixing console, just pan
>> pots are required. IOW Jörn is right, if you have full access to the
>> individual components, you could use pan pots instead (more than one
>> channel completely to the left and the other completely to the right
>> is impossible), resp. you could use more enhanced techniques to
>> widen or "shape the stereo image subtly". "Natural" stereo hearing
>> is much based on travel time as well as intensity.
>
>Dismissing a technique just because you've never personally used it is
>short-sighted.

We explained that this technique due to it's nature is used on stereo
signals, assumed you don't have access to the individual original
signals and that it doesn't provide something useful, if you have full
access to the individual channels.

>
>I am curious to know what sort of "more enhanced techniques" you speak
>of. Never can know too many, after all.

It depends on the kind of music and wanted result and at what stage you
start taking care about the wanted result. I would stay away
from M/S processing to spread a stereo chorus or reverb of a mix, I
would chose another chorus or adjust the reverb instead. However, since
"natural" means that travel time is important, you could add delay
without feedback to one side of a single to spread the audio signal or
better instead of doing this, you could add early reflections by aux
send to all channels by different intensity. If you're making Moog
alike synth music you could add flanging, phasing that is not
dominating as effect, since it's masked by the synth sound filter
effects, so it quasi only makes a mono sound stereo or spreads a less
wide stereo signal. Instead of using 2 oscillators by a mono synth that
have a different fine tuning, you could use 1 oscillator and a chorus
or two of this mono synth with one oscillator with different fine
tunings. When playing two synth of that kind by the same source (MIDI
track or manually connected by MIDI), you also could use a little bit
different portamento to the left and right synth (to make it sound
similar to two synth played individually). An auto-panning effect could
be useful for several tasks, one is related to the stereo perception.
Anyway, less is more, most of the times good EQing is all that is
needed to have much impact on _all_ aspects of a mix. You might have
noticed a difference between most modern and vintage delays. Oldish
delays often are ping pong delays, while modern delays usually try to
avoid real, complete ping pong. The more stereo, the harder it gets to
keep mono-compatibility. If you're making "natural" music with violins,
guitars etc., adjust microphone positions, adjust pan pots and EQs,
usage of a reverb with early reflections might be ok too.

Regards,
Ralf
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Received on Fri May 20 12:15:01 2016

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