3.5

160MainStage Effects
XYrecordings tend to be balanced in both channels, with good positional information being
encoded. XYrecording is commonly used for drum recording and is also suitable for larger
ensembles and many individual instruments.
Typically, XYrecordings have a narrower sound field than ABrecordings, so they can lack a
sense of perceived width when played back. XYrecordings can be mixed down to mono.
MSmiking
To make a Middle and Side (MS) recording, two microphones are positioned as closely
together as possible—usually placed on a stand or hung from the studio ceiling. One is a
cardioid (or omnidirectional) microphone that directly faces the sound source you want
to record—in a straight alignment. The other is a bidirectional microphone, with its axes
pointing to the left and right of the sound source at 90° angles. The cardioid microphone
records the middle signal to one side of a stereo recording. The bidirectional microphone
records the side signal to the other side of a stereo recording. MSrecordings made in this
way can be decoded by the Direction Mixer.
When MSrecordings are played back, the side signal is used twice:
• As recorded
• Panned hard left and phase reversed, panned hard right
MS is ideal for all situations where you need to retain absolute mono compatibility. The
advantage of MSrecordings over XYrecordings is that the stereo middle is positioned
on the main recording direction (on-axis) of the cardioid microphone. This means that
slight fluctuations in frequency response that occur off the on-axis—as is the case
with every microphone—are less troublesome, because the recording always retains
mono compatibility.
MainStage StereoSpread
StereoSpread is generally used when mastering. There are several ways to extend the
stereo base (or the perception of space), including using reverbs or other effects and
altering the signal phase. These options can sound good, but they can also weaken the
overall sound of your mix by ruining transient responses, for example.
StereoSpread extends the stereo base by distributing a selectable number of frequency
bands from the middle frequency range to the left and right channels. This is done
alternately—middle frequencies to the left channel, middle frequencies to the right channel,
and so on. This greatly increases the perception of stereo width without making the sound
totally unnatural, especially when it is used on mono recordings.