User Guide

Chapter 7 Imaging 123

Direction Mixer

You can use the Direction Mixer plug-in to decode middle and side (MS) audio

recordings (see “What Is MS?” on page 124), or to spread the stereo base of a (left/right)

recording, and determine its pan position.

Â Input buttons: Use the LR or MS buttons to determine whether the input signal is a

standard left/right signal, or if you’re dealing with an MS encoded (middle and side)

signal.

Â Spread slider and field: Determines the spread of the stereo base.

Â Direction knob and field: Determines the direction from which the middle of the

recorded stereo signal will emanate from within the mix, or in less complicated

terms, its pan position.

Using the Direction Mixer

The Direction Mixer is a simple plug-in to use, as it only offers two parameters: Spread

and Direction. Each alters the incoming signal differently when either the LR or MS

Input buttons are active.

Using the Spread Parameter on LR Input Signals

At a neutral value of 1, the left side of the signal is positioned precisely on the left, and

the right side precisely on the right. As you decrease the Spread value, the two sides

move towards the center of the stereo image. A value of 0 produces a mono signal

(both sides of the input signal are routed to the two outputs at the same level—a true

middle signal). At values greater than 1, the stereo base is extended out to an

imaginary point beyond the spatial limits of the speakers.

Note: If simply using the Direction Mixer to spread the stereo base, monaural

compatibility decreases with Spread values above 1. Once a stereo signal has been

processed at an extreme Spread setting of 2, the signal will be canceled out completely

if played back in mono—after all, L–R plus R–L doesn’t leave you with much.

Using the Spread Parameter on MS Input Signals

When you alter MS levels with the Spread parameter (above a value of 1), the level of

the side signal becomes higher than that of the middle signal. At a value of 2, you will

only hear the side signal (on the left, you’ll hear L–R and on the right, R–L).