news:slrnjs7i4...@charlotte.encs.concordia.ca...
> On Fri, 25 May 2012 13:26:30 -0400, Soundhaspriority wrote:
>
>> ... A room is recorded with a stereo mike pair. In mix, some left
>> channel is subtracted from the right, and right from left, in an
>> attempt at crosstalk cancellation.
>
> Sounds like something I could at least experiment with, but presumably
> should be used only on selected components of a recording. (I would
> expect to hear phase cancellation in the center of the "image"
> otherwise, for example if used on a full mix).
>
>> A plugin such as
>>
http://www.synthtopia.com/content/2009/03/30/free-stereo-enhancer-plugin/
>> might be beneficial.
>
> Interestingly, I'm not sure I'd *want* to use that, as by the
> description I wouldn't expect the result to sound very natural. What
> I'm trying to understand is how some mix engineers have accomplished a
> "wider-than-the-speakers" perspective, in days before computer plugins
> were the norm, while still retaining a mostly very natural sound. If I
> could cite an example recording, I'm sure this would be a lot easier ...
>
I know what you're talking about, and most/all of us have experienced it.
Nevertheless, "wider than the speakers" is one of the most elusive claims of
stereo. It isn't part of the basic concept of stereo, because the scientific
models of sound localization have nothing to say about it. Scientifically
speaking, all we have to build a stereo image are:
1. Intensity differences
2. Inter-aural time delay differences
3. Phase differences
4. Comb filtering caused by the outer ears.
5. Law of first arrival.
The above is what is scientifically known. As for sound coming outside of
the speakers, that occurs when, while someone is mixing and plays with
phases and L-R subtraction, it just happens. The wise mixer is happy when it
does.
>> But with individually recorded tracks, there is no stereo.
>
> I'm not sure that's necessarily true, from the point of view of a final
> mix of those tracks. I suppose it opens the debate to "what is stereo",
> and that's something I honestly don't believe we need to debate and
> convince each other of.
"What is stereo" sounds like a troll, but in recent years it has become a
real question.
>Ultimately, if we can get the recordings we're
> after (and in this case, I'm hoping to understand a technique that I
> believe will improve the final mix of a recording I'm working on),
> whether we agree or not about what "stereo" means and whether the
> recordings are truly stereo recordings becomes a rather minor issue.
>
I didn't say, "there is real stereo." There isn't any fake stereo either,
unless the inter-aural time delay is similar to the real thing. By
panpotting individually recorded tracks in a dead room, only intensity
differences appear in the final recording -- unless the room is
synthetically recreated for each track.
> It really only matters from the point of view of the expectation setup
> in the listener's mind, when I say "listen to this stereo recording."
> Does it mean the same thing to that listener as it does to me?
>
The above statement negates every scientific discovery related to sound
since and including Blumlein. Perhaps your assumption of the listener makes
it irrelevant. You might be right. But it saddens if it is true.
>> ... If there is no room, it has to be manufactured in the DAW. ...
>
> ... or by other artificial means, but yes, ok ...
>
Keep asking the question.
Bob Morein
(310) 237-6511