RME Audio Fireface UFX+, User Manual

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84 User's Guide Fireface UFX+ © RME
27.7 MS Processing
The mid/side principle is a special positioning technique for
microphones, which results in a mid signal on one channel and
a side signal on the other channel. This information can be
transformed back into a stereo signal quite easily. The process
sends the monaural mid channel to left and right, the side
channel too, but phase inverted (180°) to the right channel. For
a better understanding: the mid channel represents the function
L+R, while the side channel represents L-R.
During record the monitoring needs to be done in 'conventional' stereo. Therefore TotalMix also
offers the functionality of a M/S-decoder. Activation is done in the Settings panel of the Hard-
ware Input and Software Playback channels via the
MS Proc button.
The M/S-Processing automatically operates as M/S encoder or decoder, depending on the
source signal format. When processing a usual stereo signal, all monaural information will be
shifted into the left channel, all stereo information into the right channel. Thus the stereo signal
is M/S encoded. This yields some interesting insights into the mono/stereo contents of modern
music productions. Additionally some very interesting methods of manipulating the stereo base
and generating stereo effects come up, as it is then very easy to process the side channel with
Low Cut, Expander, Compressor or Delay.
The most basic application is the manipulation of the stereo width: a change of the level of the
side channel allows to manipulate the stereo width from mono to stereo up to extended.