From the course: Audio Mixing Master Class

Let's hear it for mid-side processing - Pro Tools Tutorial

From the course: Audio Mixing Master Class

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Let's hear it for mid-side processing

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- [Instructor] Mid-Side recording has been around since Alan Blumlein created it in the 1930s. But it's only been in recent years that we've used the process for mixing. If you're looking for a novel way to add air and space and move frequencies out of the way of other instruments, you've got to try MS. And here's what we're going to do, we're going to add a couple different modules that have MS processing built-in. Not every module has it, so we'll only pick out a few that I have on board that do. First of all, listen to the track without any processing. ♪ Every day is a gift ♪ ♪ Every day is a lesson how to live ♪ ♪ Every day is a chance ♪ Okay, now we're goin to add an MSEQ, which stands for mid-side, across the stereo bus, and a real good one is by UAD and it's the dangerous backs EQ. What we're goin to do first thing is unlink this and hit the MS button, and going to pick a frequency, in this case, I'm just going to pick 3.4 kilohertz because it's something that we'll be able to hear a lot. Now, listen to it first, and then I'll add it in. ♪ Every day is a gift ♪ ♪ Every day is a lesson how to live ♪ Let me goose it a little more so you can hear what happens. Listen out to the sides, you're going to hear the high end come up long the sides. Not in the middle, like we're used to, not across the whole stereo spectrum, just on the sides, hard left and hard right. ♪ Every day is a gift ♪ ♪ Every day is a lesson how to live ♪ ♪ Every day is a chance, Ooh ♪ Pretty cool, right? That's the S of the MS, or sides. MS stands for mid-sides. Now let's listen to the mids. We'll do the same thing, 3.4, and watch as we bring it in. ♪ Every day is a gift ♪ ♪ Every day is a lesson how to live ♪ ♪ Every day is a chance, Ooh ♪ That's just in the middle, it's not out to the sides. We can do some pretty cool things with this, we can actually go the other way where what we'll do, is we'll take all of the 3.4 out in the middle, and we'll just leave the 3.4 kilohertz boost on the side. Now listen. ♪ Every day is a gift ♪ ♪ Every day is a lesson how to live ♪ ♪ Every day is a chance, Ooh ♪ ♪ to sit it out or join the dance ♪ ♪ Every day is a choice to lift your voice ♪ MS processing can give you control over different parts of your stereo spectrum and gives you a sound that you just can't get any other way. First thing, is insert an MS enabled processor either on the track that you want to process or on the bus. Now, all processors are not MS enabled, only some of them, so you're going to have to track some down that work with the MS. In other words, mid-side, is what MS stands for. Choose the S or the side processor in order to just affect the edges of the stereo spectrum. In other words, what you can do is EQ or compress just the edges, the hard left and the hard right. On the other hand, if just want to affect the middle, all you have to do is select the M or the mid part of the processor. And remember, using a combination of both the mid and the side can be really dramatic. In other words, you might want to crank up the M and decrease the side or vice versa. And that can be a really dramatic effect.

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