Hey folks!
I was just thinking about how useful it would be to have an M-s comp as a buss compressor option. Would be sweet to see one in a firmware update down the line!
What do you mean by M-s compressor? MS as in Mid-Side? How would that be implemented and controlled?
I use MS a lot in my mixing in post, but don’t get how it would be useful in live mixing. Like to hear why you want it!
Great questions all around! It think it would have to re-matrix l/r to m-s on a stereo buss as part of the insert/compressor, on the input side. (So maybe as an FX rack unit?) (And on that note, m-s eq would also be useful.)
I probably wouldn’t use it a lot, but I can think of at least a few scenarios m-s would be useful live: a) as a buss processor for bGV: make the mid bounce a bit to create a pocket of movement around a central lead vocalist. (Or really anything you want to create some stereo movement in by way of compression.) b) Mastering comp later on down the line. c) When I use m-s mics (Audience, for instance, it’s one of my favorite uses of M-s on the input side.) re: that last one, I kind of get away with using Ganging my 3 m-s channels for that right now, but a single compressor, with one interface for both fields would be significantly easier, and arguably more coherent.
I suppose under the current format one could always burn channels and make it happen the more complicated way: L+R = M, L-R = S, then matrix and compress using ganging. Lot of unnecessary routing to make that happen though.
<—all of these options are me thinking about doing this without going outside the console. Obviously I could also just burn an insert point, add a signal chain to my outboard DSP server (hosted on DANTE network,) and use something like Pro-C, or my UAD Fairchild. Be cooler if I could do it in the box though. 