M/S Decoding required in Field Mixer and/or Recorder?

[sinnlicht]

Hi all,

Setting up a M/S system for a film production with a MKH 418 S to a Cooper CS102 and Edirol R4 Pro. Does one need M/S decoding in the Cooper, or is it enough to use the M/S decoding in the R4 Pro for monitoring purposes on location?

Thanks

Richard

[Constantin]

What are your headphones connected to?

[pindrop]

I never bother with MS decoding in the field and just monitor raw MS or often, with occasional checking, don't monitor the S at all, but that's just me.......

I am however very familiar with MS decoding in post and know what's possible, especially using the Waves S1 stereo imager plug in which is excellent, and makes MS manipulation very versatile and easy.

http://www.waves.com/plugins/s1-stereo-imager

 

Edited August 16, 2015 by pindrop

[sarcanon]

I am however very familiar with MS decoding in post and know what's possible, especially using the Waves S1 stereo imager plug in which is excellent, and makes MS manipulation very versatile and easy.

http://www.waves.com/plugins/s1-stereo-imager

 

The Waves S1 plug-in looks cool, but I'm wondering how much more you get for the $129 compared to Voxengo's free MSED plug-in.

I'm just starting out with FX and ambiance stereo recording and M/S in particular, so I'm thinking I may not need all of S1's bells and whistles (e.g., EQ, shuffling, etc.) straight away.

Have you looked at MSED and found it lacking in any significant way? Which of S1's features would I be wishing I had for the types of recording I mentioned (viz., FX and ambiance)?

Many thanks.

 

[pindrop]

The Waves S1 plug-in looks cool, but I'm wondering how much more you get for the $129 compared to Voxengo's free MSED plug-in.

I'm just starting out with FX and ambiance stereo recording and M/S in particular, so I'm thinking I may not need all of S1's bells and whistles (e.g., EQ, shuffling, etc.) straight away.

Have you looked at MSED and found it lacking in any significant way? Which of S1's features would I be wishing I had for the types of recording I mentioned (viz., FX and ambiance)?

Many thanks.

 

Hi, the S1 seems to do a lot more than just vary the stereo width, it kind of sculpts the acoustic space very smoothly somehow, I'm not sure how it does it but there seems to be much more going on under the hood than a simple increase or decrease in gain of the side component, and has a graphic representation of the space. It's very useful with music and effects mixing, positioning in stereo space, and creating space for mono effects, without a full surround setup.

It's a pity they don't offer a trial, but if you're patient it comes up in the weekend sales for less than half price. It's possible to sign up for the Waves weekly offer email.

[sarcanon]

Thank you, pindrop.

 

[sinnlicht]

Thanks Pindrop, also for the tip about S1. If you can do all you need in post, what if anything would be the advantages of having M/S decoding in your field mixer?

[pindrop]

For me decoding in the field is only needed when post doesn't want raw MS and for you to deliver normal left right stereo in which case you need to make a judgement about stereo width there and then on location, in which case you'd need to decode MS in the field, and also if you're panning in spot mics you'd need to have a sense of the stereo space, though these judgements can be somewhat misleading on headphones when the result is to be heard ultimately on speakers, so best avoided I think.