what's the go with the "phase" button on analog and digital systems

[lukejay]

coming from an ableton background i'd never seen such a thing until i recently went into a analog recording studio(yea did it to tape...no protools etc to be seen (until the end ) an on the neve (something number) console i saw what i now know as a "phase" button. I do all my tracks in mono and all my mixes/masters (dodgy master's) in mono, is this button any help to me....i don trust stereo imaging in my room due to crappy speakers/acoustics...i leave the 'cool' stuff till i head to the studio

the reason why i ask is cause i just bought sonar 7 studio and it has one of these on each track
..feel free to link me to whatever...i'm keen to know and dont know what to search for the answers

[Blast9]

Well - it should really say "polarity" but thats 4 syllables instead of 1

Useful for checking that the mics on your multi-mic'd sources are in phase with eachother.

Say you have a snare or gtr cab with 2 mics on the same spot.... you're checking to see if the combined signal is suffering from cancellation.

So... each mic goes to a separate track... listen to them in mono and engage the phase button on one of them. Does the signal disappear or get much quieter/thinner? If so, the mics are in phase, and your recording will sound nice and full-bodied

[lukejay]

oh, thanks very much, but i never record with more than one mic! i have an re15 (for most things) and a shure sm57 for guitars etc, still i mostly use the re15 for everything, and i mean, i record maybe 4 or 5 tracks of acoustic guitar, same with piano, except i'm in diff positions, and i don touch tha mic, same wit drums and altho i usually don double track my vox, does phase in these situations count, especially if i'm doing 4 tracks of ac guit, 2 track of elec, 8+ tracks of snares etc etc (whether be actual snares or claps watever) ...i'm trying to get that wall of sound, aka phil specktor, when i'm not in a studio an everything is in mono...and i leave the output/mastering period in mono and no panning whatsoever? ( as i said earlier i dont trust my speakers not stereo imaging for anyone in that matter)

[filin]

Phase/polarity shouldn't really come into play in the situations you describe: But if in doubt, press the phase button: does it sound better like that? leave it pressed. does it sound worse? don't leave it pressed.

Keep in mind that you have to make these checks when you have all of you tracks (of that instrument at least) playing: polarity switching is inaudible on soloed tracks, because it only affects the way different sounds interact (basically).

It's worth learning to recognise the sound of partial phase cancellation. An easy reference point is when you mess around with the polarity button, the way round that gives the most bass is generally speaking the most in-phase.


And just so you no: Ableton does have a polarity switch button, it's on the utility device.

[lukejay]

Originally Posted by DISCERN

yeah, the button should technically be called "polarity". Search "phase cancellation" to check out how this button maybe helpful.

well i dunno if i'm shootin at a dead end, but will it i get "phase issues" when" i record say 4 or 5 acoustic guitars in tha same chamber but in different distances to tha microphone an all i mono a playing roughly the same chords..ps

thanks guys i've read about phase cancellation...yet i'm stil not sure if i can/will expecrience this in my, (lol) lino kitchen ( i love the sound..no vst can emulate it imo)
hopefully this topiic makes sense, i tried to ask my friend who did audio engineerin at college but he cannot work out how bad it is to record a "wall of sound" all in mono

[lukejay]

ahh i take it, on ableton its called, utility:phase, hmmm was wondering about those other presets, i only grab the mono one when i'm working with reverb, anyway guys thanks alot for yr help. i'm going to have a but of study to do besides my med/health exams! damn i hate uni just wanna be a muso!! thanks all! ps anyone one with more links i'm appreciative!
Sam.

Australia.