Topic: M-S Processing in TotalMix... any clue?
Hey all!
Sorry to start my "forum history" with a "problem article", but you guys are my last hope!:-]
I`m a RME long time user... I bought my first RME interface more than 10 years ago and I`m still happy with RME.. wonderful tools for professional tasks.
Recently I needed to do some comissioned work using M-S microphone technique. "Well", I tought - "since M-S encoding seems to be implemented in TotalMix already, I wouldn`t have any problems with such microphone setup".
Voila. I tried it again and again. I read the RME latest manual about M-S Processing. I asked Daniel Fuchs about it. Daniel is always a nice guy, but this time his answers didn`t solved my problem regarding M-S in TotalMix, unfortunately.
Now I`ll tell you how I try to set it up.
1) On Multiface, I use digital SPDIF inputs 9 and 10 for line signal coming from my external A/D converter.
2) Outputs form my mic preamps are connected to this external converter. I "see" the incoming signals in TotalMix.
3) I checked my mic setup double and triple and n-ple. Left channel (input 9) contains signal from Middle (cardioid) and Right channel (input 10) contains signal from Side (Figure 8).
4) Wonderful. Now in TotalMix I switch M-S Processing On for this input pair 9/10. I do it for routing to headphones and I do it for outoing to outputs 9/10 as well. Here is how it looks like:
[img align=C]http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/8581/msencodingproblem.png[/img]
Using setup like that, what I hear in headphones is mono mix and what I see recorded in Nuendo is unprocessed M-S = Cardioid in left channel and Figure eight in right channel.
Ok, I ask Daniel about it. Daniel says, that Loopback mode should be activated to be able to record encoded M-S stereo signal.
In the User Manual fo TotalMix there is nothing about Loopback Mode regarding M-S. But ok. I switch on the loopback mode for outputs 9/10 and try to record like that.
Now the recorded signal is mono (identical signals in L and R... everything is summed). I`m confused.
And now I just don`t know what else should I do.
Maybe some of you have experience with M-S setup and Totalmix?
I wish there was detailed explanation about this topic in User Manual. But this is not the case - unfortunately.
I would be happy about any clue. The idea about buying a hardware M-S encoder seems not too tempting for me if I still believe that somehow this M-S Processing in TotalMix is intended to work.
best regards
Girts