Thank you so much! That means a lot 💙

!!! I'm gonna have to try this 😲

It can? Lol

@@kingkyoga9263it absolutely can. Though, many things can destroy a mix when done heavy-handedly on the master.

Great question. There will be tradeoffs for everything we do when mixing or mastering. The biggest thing is to trust our ears and do everything in our power to serve the song, even if it's untraditional. But in terms of stereo depth, that is usually accomplished in the songwriting/composition and mixing phase moreso than mastering in my experience. There are tools that offer mono compatibility. One trick I like to use that is also mono compatible is to simply increase the volume of the "difference" or side channel. But very quickly it can move the stereo components in front of the main center elements in the song, so you have to be very careful. Hope that helps!

I like mid/side processing during mix on troublesome panned individual tracks, cut the low end of mids and slightly boost in side at similar freq can clear up space for the bass elements in the center because the lows of the instrument will be panned away from center. So this usually helps me with mono compatability, because when you listen in mono these troublesome tracks no longer swamp the lows when in mono... Although my opinion probably shouldnt mean much tbh just a thought 👍

based

Glad you found it helpful!

This is a great point and I should have done a better job explaining. It's a fine line using more simplistic language at the expense of what is technically correct. Glad though that you made this comment so others that want more details have this as a resource.

If something is hard-panned L or R, it WILL NOT show up in the middle on a Mid EQ (or a Side EQ) bc the math will prevent that. You could play with a Mid EQ placed on a hard-panned instrument track all day, and whatever you do will have zero effect as to where that instrument ends up in the panorama. The reason? If we think of the level in the L channel as '1' (full level) and the level in the R channel as '0' (no level), a Mid EQ can only change the combination of L+R. If L = 1 and R = 0, L+R still = 1, regardless how you adjust a Mid EQ. If L = 0 and R = 1, L+R will also still = 1, regardless how you adjust a Mid EQ. IOW, the panorama won't change at all, and the level won't change unless you mess with the full level output. It will remain fully hard-panned. You can also turn knobs 'til blue in the face on a Side EQ placed on such a track, and it will always have the same result. Why? Because if L = 1 and R = 0, L-R (which is what a Side EQ does) is still going to be 1, regardless. And you can probably guess what the result will be if L = 0 and R = 1. That's about the simplest math you can imagine. So there is nothing 'confusing or unpredictable' about what M/S is capable of if you understand what this gentleman is saying about what they actually do. It's not even math. It's 2nd-grade arithmetic: Mid being a version of A+B=C, and Side being a version of A-B=C. What could be confusing (if you let it) is that even though it's referred to as equalization, which we think of as independent control over sections of the frequency response, M/S is not about freq response at all. It's only about panorama. If it effects freq response, it only does that dependent upon where something is panned. Mid effects what is center-panned, Side effects what is hard-panned, and both effect everything panned partly off center, but how far they are panned off center is what determines how much Side EQ will effect it or how much Mid Eq will effect it, and closer to center will be effected more by Mid than Side, while farther from center will be effected more by Side than Mid. It all goes back to that simple math: L+R and L-R. They might change the levels (but not the pan) of a hard-panned track, but that is not what a M or S EQ is for. We have channel-gain sliders and regular EQs to handle that. Using a M/S EQ to change frequency response is like trying to get orthodontic advice from a plumber. Or plumbing advice from an orthodontist. The right tool is what should be used for the right job. M/S will never be the right tool for LCR.

That's because Fabien is awesome!

@@rocketman374 He really is though.

So help me understand. Pure mid is MID, and the left side + right side = SIDE, no? Am I wrong?

Depends on the song. Sometimes I do! You have to be careful because it can pull all the bass out of your toms. No hard rules here but I tend to pull out 100 Hz or less out of the sides. You could also consider using a low shelf instead of a HPF. Hope that helps!

One can't isolate the mid channel - that is the entire point of the video. Your comment is literally "What most people get wrong about mixing in mid side".

@@RaytownProductions ohh okay thanks

No, mid - side = right, mid + side = left. Centre extraction is a bit more complicated.

Technically (M+S)/2 and (M-S)/2 if you're encoding LR to MS at unity gain, otherwise you'd get 2L and 2R on the outputs.