MS Decoding

[HKC]

Thanks for the reply, and I just realized that my last post doesn't make any sense in the last part so here is what I meant:

How can it not cancel out the R side when you record a signal at the same distance but a different angle (S opposed to M) and then phase reverse it and pan it to the R while maintaining the original 8 signal on hard L? There's got to be a lot of equal transients that will cancel out big parts of the Mids sound in the right field.

 

[Peter Ostry]

usual level difference between the two mics at the input and the mid/side difference on the output

If the source is fairly small ... and the room is reasonably dry, then the side rejection of the S ... considerably lower than the M microphone. I get this using a MS pair to record the room in which a single instrument is being played. OTOH, using a MS pair to record a concert in a reverberant setting such as a church, the side signal may be at a very similar level to the middle.

When you have M and S at almost equal level and there is nothing else in the mix, doesn't the overall sound get much quieter when you switch to mono? There is nevertheless one of two mics missing. I see this effect with my small sources and narrow MS, does it not happen with an orchestra or choir or has one just to accept that?

 

[Markdvc]

When you have M and S at almost equal level and there is nothing else in the mix, doesn't the overall sound get much quieter when you switch to mono?

Sure, it does get quieter - not least of all due to the S signal dissapearing. My perception is more "smaller" than quieter - all the stereo/spatial info has of course dissapeared. Mind you, I just about never have a MS only recording - there are spot mics involved as well, be it a concert, or a drumset or other instrument. I can certainly take a look at some project again from this point of view, it's an interesting thought.

 

[JuanTahnahmahrah]

Great thread!

Great discussion, wish I had read it before I tried M-S recording myself. The direction mixer I discovered after the fact, but the gain insert is a welcome surprise: it lets you know the R side is inverted, for sure. I recorded M and S onto two mono channels, then copied both. The two M channels I panned hard L and R. Ditto for the two S channels. Then I used Sample Editor > functions > invert -- to change the phase of only the R side channel. However, what I discovered was having to deal with four channels was messy. In my case, I had recorded four guitar tracks, so there were sixteen channels for only four instruments. And it was difficult to tell whether or not the signal for right figure 8 track had been inverted or not. The M/S examples in the thread are obviously much preferred, and I will be using them in the future. However, by having two mid (cardioid) channels, panned hard L and R (in addition to two figure8 side [+ and -] channels), adjustment of the signal anywhere in the soundstage was possible.