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Plug-in, or workflow for balancing stereo tracks in a DAW?


A. Einstein

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A stereo track is not always in the wanted balance.


How do you balance stereo tracks in todays DAW which have only stereo faders?

 

 

Well first you check to see if the channels levels of the stereo track are even according to the meters.

If they are, then its a matter of playback speaker position.

 

If they arent, most daws have a stereo balance pan adjust on the mixer strip. You can also split the stereo track to two mono tracks.

If I have an unbalanced stereo track I use a plugin in my Waves bundle called S1 which will allow you to adjust balance, position and stereo width.

There are many free stereo balancing tools you can use the gain on either track.

I've seen plenty of simular free plugins on the KVR site and they seem to work the same.

 

I have to pay attention to my meters because my right ear is a little weak. Too many years of playing with a drummer chrashing his cymbals in my ears.

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In Pro Tools you can split a stereo track into two mono tracks in one move. Or you can throw up one of a bazillion plug ins with a trim setting, unlink the two channels, and tweak to your heart's content. Or you could destructively normalize from the audiosuite menu.

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Anyone knows where to buy motorized chairs?

 

 

Watch out for the autopan chair. It sounds like a great idea but I get quesy...

 

I just use the pan / balance controls in Pro Tools. Sometimes that doesn't quite get, then I'll split to mono mention but Ken above. Oh, and sometimes the Waves S1 can get an interesting take on balancing a stereo file over to one side more.

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In Pro Tools you can split a stereo track into two mono tracks in one move.

 

 

so an interleaved stereo track divides at click of a button to two faders?

 

you pan the two faders hard left and right and then simply balance the level of the interleaved track with the faders?

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so an interleaved stereo track divides at click of a button to two faders?


you pan the two faders hard left and right and then simply balance the level of the interleaved track with the faders?

 

Yes, kind of. Pro Tools doesn't even use interleaved stereo files- all audio files in Pro Tools are mono, regardless of what kind of track you choose. If you import a stereo WAV file into Pro Tools, it will be converted into two mono files for playback in the Pro Tools mix engine. For a long time there were no stereo tracks at all in Pro Tools and you would just group together two mono tracks when you wanted a "stereo" track. Nothing precludes you from continuing to work that way. Also many of the free plugins that come with Pro Tools have trim faders that can be used on a per-channel basis.

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Philter, thanks for the ProTool post.

 

All that balancing stereo tracks in Nuendo is way to slow of a workflow.

 

And the old Logic where you can split a stereo fader into two fader with one click on in the stereo fader, that software is just to old to work with, doesn't have the latest plug-in standards.

 

Importing the L+R channel of a stereo track on two fader as disconnected single channel file, that would end up in a huge mess during editing, except the two single channels can be linked and then moved.

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I use the "balance" knob. It looks just like a "pan" knob, but works by fading the left or right channel, same as the "balance" knob on a home stereo, and same as splitting the track into two mono tracks, panning wide apart, and drawing back one fader or the other. Simple problem, simple solution. (Yes, it can get complicated because different people like different balance laws, e.g., constant power, constant volume when summed to mono, etc., etc.)

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Move closer to the other speaker
:)

 

 

Alternately, you could move the other speaker farther back; either way you get the benefit of the Haas Effect. :D

 

 

I could never figure out why Sonar decided on single pan controls when they introduced stereo tracks. I suppose the addition of the Channel Tools module was a way to maintain backward compatibility -- and it's certainly deeply appreciated, I always groan when I read tales of woe from those on other platforms who are left behind or cut off from old material by lack of such backward compatibility -- still, if they'd done it right in the first place (individual pans for each channel)...

 

The Channel Tools utility is very handy and, if it doesn't make up for the lack of proper separate pans for the track 'halves' for such a long time, it's sure nice to have now. (Previously, I used the Moneo plugin for full control of panning in stereo tracks. Of course, it doesn't have a M/S matrix, etc.)

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