Wide mixes

[Kevin Killen]

especht,

I may pick one or two elements and run it thru my Howard Hughes SRS spatial box. It was designed for cockpit voice recognition and it totally ****s with the phase. Sometimes I would put a number of effects in series, ultimately ending in the SRS and adjust the "width" control so that it appeared outside the speakers, to the left and right of the outermost edge of the speakers. Its certainly fun,not mono compatible and usually gives the artist a woody and the mastering engineers a feeling of naseau.

Don't try this if your project is going to vinyl....

In the DAW world, same principle, just try using the S1 image maker .

On headphones , its like someone is turning your brain inside out....

And put down that weed , when you do this, It may alter your life forever



KK

[stevep]

I may pick one or two elements and run it thru my Howard Hughes SRS spatial box. It was designed for cockpit voice recognition and it totally ****s with the phase

Nice !!!! cant stop laughing,.... great post



thanks for sharing your experience with us


peace,


steve perkins


.

[dokushoka]

I had that Hughes box! It was so weird!

[Shawn1272]

Can you tell us some more about this SRS spatial box? Sounds pretty sweet.

thanks.

[seb37000]

Hello kevin,

Thanks for sharing all this !

Which elements of the mix do you find pushing the width works best on ?

[Methlab]

Kevin,

When you say 1 or 2 elements..what are you usually going with? Something like a pad or background vocal?

How much is too much when it comes to spreading things out like this in your experience?

[Kevin Killen]

SRS THREADS

Usually its either backgrounds or maybe just the effects i use on them, sometimes a volume swell, a weird percussion moment, just some "ear candy".

[Shawn1272]

Kevin, thanks for the info. Are you using the SRS Labs MegaWide box? I'm curious what box you're actually using to get "outside the speakers".

shawn

[Kevin Killen]

Shawn

I am not using it this week as my current project is in the box. For that I use the Waves S1 Image maker.

I will pull the SRS out of its box next week to get the exact model numer.

Keep listening....

KK

[Shawn1272]

Thanks Kevin.

[themish]

Hi kevin,

why can the hughes srs box not be used for tracks that will end up on vinyl? can the s1 be used for vinyl?

thanks,

h

[Kevin Killen]

themish,

Basically those boxes and software plug ins do alter the phase coherency of the stereo track. Trying to cut an acetate with such a significant phase anomaly would cause the cutting head to lift up during the mastering. It would mean a remix at the very least.

CD's are much more forgiving in terms of duplication.

Kevin

[Fuel]

Thanks again!!

[Ecktronic]

Hey Kevin,
Would it be normal to use a stereo expander on guitars alone? Its just that when listening to some CD's guitars sound alot wider than mine do.

Cheers,
Eck

[Ecktronic]

When listening to the band "Deftones" I notice that the guitars sound a bit wider compared to my mixes. Would using a stereo expander like "Waves Imager" on the guitars alone be a good idea to acheive a wider stereo spread? Or would this muck about with the phasing too much?

Cheers,
Eck

[Kevin Killen]

Ectronic,

Not to sound evasive, I guess one could but what the result would be is totally dependent on the input source and tha application itself.

Might be better off trying to discern what it is you like about the guitars you describe, tone, parts, position and see if you can come close to replicating them in your own music.

Kevin

[Shawn1272]

Kevin, did you get a chance to pull out your SRS box yet? I'm dying to know what it is.

thanks,
shawn

[Kevin Killen]

Shawn,

Not yet as that session got postponed, but i should be able to get it this weekend. keep bugging me, Iam happy to reveal whatever it is.

KK

[Kevin Killen]

okay its an SRS AK -100

kev

[Kevin Killen]

okay its an SRS AK -100

kev

[Killahurts]

Oh, how I loved that box! But like an idiot I sold it a few years ago...

At the time it came out, the other thing out there was the Bedini Audio Spacial environment (BASE). I liked the AK-100 better, and it was way cheaper. It has a sort of gritty warmth to it - and as was stated earlier, it's best used on elements, not an entire mix, IMO.

btw Kevin, this is my first post in your guest forum. Thank you Soooo much for doing this with us!

[Tomer1]

It may seem out of place but to me it seems funny to use high end convertors and a million dollar console only to end up degrading the final signal with a 40$ unit


Whats the N:S ratio on that thing

[Cymbals]

When doing the same thing in-box, using Waves s1, are you talking about the width control, or are you also adjusting symmetry control also? I'm just making sure I'm understanding you correctly. No flipping of tracks, and phase, then, right?

[Kevin Killen]

Originally Posted by Tomer1

It may seem out of place but to me it seems funny to use high end convertors and a million dollar console only to end up degrading the final signal with a 40$ unit


Whats the N:S ratio on that thing

That is often the irony of mixing but you just have to use your ears to judge what is right for the mix. But probably no worse than the $35 foot pedal you use for the guitar or the $300 speakers you mix thru !

No idea ... sorry