Centering the bass where stereo FX are used Applying stereo effects to liven or enrich a sound can work wonders in the mid and high frequencies, but often muddies up the bottom end. Using Monofilter 3 you can add stereo effects and still retain a solid centre in the bass frequencies, by reducing the width below the point at which stereo nature of the effect has ceased make significant impact. Correcting phase issues Some stereo effects use phase shifting to create the desired sound. This can cause cancellations and superpositions of certain frequencies when the channels are forced back to mono. Similar problems can be encountered with live recordings where different microphone placements have introduced phase artifacts. Using the Phase control you can adjust the phase of the L and R components being summed below the threshold frequency to correct any phase imbalance. If the input signal has a dynamic phase shift, the auto button can be engaged to automatically analyse and track the shift, adjusting for maximum phase alignment. Making a frequency split Monofilter 3 has very transparent, high performance crossover filter which can be used to split an audio signal into two frequency bands for individual processing. Split the audio into two streams (using groups/duplicate audio tracks etc.) and use two identical instances of Monofilter 3, one on each signal (slope and width control to minimum). Select the ‘Mono’ listen button on one instance for the low frequency mono information and the ‘Stereo’ listen button on the other for the stereo information above the threshold frequency. Sampling from vinyl / Restoring old masters Sound sampled from vinyl, a staple of modern music production, can also bring with it problems. Over time, vinyl deteriorates. Old recordings can also suffer from rather eccentric mixing techniques. Using a stereo analyser on an old vinyl recording will often show very high levels of stereo drift right across the frequency range. Monofilter 3 can be used to smooth out stereo image irregularities in vintage vinyl and re-centre wandering bass/sub bass sounds without affecting the rest of the mix. Taking care for vinyl Vinyl has difficulty reproducing stereo information in the low frequencies. Wide stereo frequencies in the bass can cause the needle to jump upon playback, so the track has to be cut at a lower level to compensate. It also difficult for the lathe to cut this information accurately. To quote a vinyl mastering specialist: ‘The moral for engineers is: If you are looking for hot levels or long sides, don't pan instruments like drums and percussion hard left and right. Keep the bass and bass drum in the center, and keep everything in phase. An out of phase snare or bass drum can wreak havoc. Use an oscilloscope if possible!’ Using Monofilter 3 you can centre the bass and adjust the phase ensuring that your recordings are properly prepared for vinyl pressing. During Live Recording and Performance When working with live material, giving attention to taming the unpredictable and treating the PA with respect can bring real benefits. Using Monofilter to ensure that the subs (and even the bass frequencies in general) are centred in the mix can help share the load between over worked amplifiers and speakers as well as providing a sharper level of clarity in the bottom end. Where a more subtle approach would be of benefit, Monofilter 3 can be used with individual problem instuments and groups (toms/keyboard players using global delay etc.) ‘Panning’ Bass Panning bass sounds is usually something best avoided as off-centre high energy in the low frequencies can present more problems than it resolves. However, using Monofilter 3, the low frequencies present in say a bass guitar track, can be centred, and using the L/R control, the higher frequencies (ie. much of the attack component) can be moved in the stereo field without the usual problems of the attending lows, giving the impression that the bass part has been panned, when really it is only the high, directional information carrying frequencies that have been moved.

 

Key Features

Exact WYSIWYG graphical display + filter slopes No style over content here - what you see is what you get. The accurate stereo differential waveform analysis and filter performance overlay shows you exactly what is going on. the fft spectrum analysis can be especially useful when making an initial assessment of the situation, as it can be difficult for the ear to accurately resolve directional information in the low frequencies. Using the display you can quickly assess the nature of the audio under inspection. Phase Alignment (manual and auto) Phase problems 'smearing' the centre caused by stereo FX or multiple mic. recordings can be adjusted manually, or tracked automatically using our in-built correlation algorithm. Level Trim (manual and auto) Need to tweak the bass component smoothly without any unwanted EQ 'bumps'? No problem. Auto mode can also automatically adjust for any level changes as a result of the narrowing process. Multiple Listen Modes Quickly find the desired crossover point by ear. Digital Full Scale level meter with peak hold Scaled to allow rapid optimisation of the signal path. Solid colour banding allows peak levels to be easily identified. Left and Right Clip margin Essential metering feature in a mastering situation. Filter slope adjustment Controls the rate of introduction of the effect, smooth, sharp or somewhere in between. Easy to tailor to your program material. L/R balance control After focusing the bass, this feature allows you to maintain control over the rest of the signal without affecting the low frequencies. Cutoff frequency adjustment Simply use the slider or enter a number directly. High Quality mode Where filter performance is critical, select HQ mode for the sharpest performance.