New mid-side VST decoder - free from Zoom

Throwback

Throwback

Well-known member
Well the title says it all, really. Aimed at the H2n, today's release of the new VST plug-in is a free download from Zoom's website. I find it has a much better interface (esp. in regard to a less fiddly level/gain controls) than, say, the Voxengo MSED plug-in, but the functionality is otherwise the same for decoding (but, without the encoding or inline options, it means use is slicker if you are after decoding MS recordings only).

Roland
 
This may sound terribly dumb but what exactly are the decoders doing? I have a couple rack dual pres with the ms decoder on them but don't use em. I am used to busing the one side of the bi mic, flipping the phase of one, panning, blah blah... Manual labour. I assume this is what it auto does but wasn't sure. I hardly use ms but I know on my 302 I can use ms mode, is it doing the same thing?
 
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Mitch: yes, the decoder plug-ins are doing what you do manually and, yes, the 302 can decode in MS link mode (though, of course, you may not want it to). Roland
 
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it's just to make it easier....

But I do wonder, know the phase reverse is 180°, what if it was more or less?
 
Well, it likely does pretty much the same thing, with the following caveats:

1. M/S is nice to do in post rather than at recording time because it gives you flexibility in post to vary the stereo width.

2. The 302 I think has a fixed M/S ratio; you can adjust the input gains to adjust this ratio, if doing this in post you can RECORD each signal at a more optimal level independently of the final ratio.

3. In a theoretical sense, the analog summing done by the 302 might have a slight benefit over summing digitized signals later.

4. There are various things you might want to do in post to only the mid or side signal... in fact, many effect plugins will convert stereo signals to M/S and back as part of their processing. Recording the direct mid and side signals gives you the best quality for this, but indeed, you can convert a stereo signal between L/R and M/S in post if needed.
 
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dre83 said:
it's just to make it easier....

But I do wonder, know the phase reverse is 180°, what if it was more or less?
Click to expand...

Well, you'd lose clarity, stereo image quality, and mono-compatibility. The M/S process depends on the positive and negative images of the bidirectional signal exactly canceling out. If you changed phase by other than 180 degrees, you'd get phasing effects, and the summation with the mid signal would no longer produce a proper stereo image. Perhaps this could be interesting as an "effect" - but it would not be M/S.
 
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