SCHOEPS VMS 5 U - Manual (Page 15)

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13. M/S dematrixing in
post-production
If the M and S channels of an M/S
recording are recorded directly, they
can be dematrixed afterward by the
VMS 5 U to produce left- and right-
channel signals. The recorded signals
can simply be fed into the inputs (with
phantom power turned off!) and the
OUTPUT switch set to the "MATRIX"
position. The stereo image width can
then be adjusted with the WIDTH con-
trol. Typically the GAIN knob <2>
would be set to the 4 dB or 10 dB
position.
This capability is especially valuable
because monitoring a live recording
over headphones may not allow the
engineer to find an optimal setting for
the stereo image width as it would be
reproduced through loudspeakers.
In addition to experimenting with
various width settings, it can some-
times be very useful to equalize the M
and S channels separately. For exam-
ple, boosting the frequencies below
100 Hz in the M channel prior to
dematrixing can increase the sense of
spaciousness in a recording without
upsetting the accuracy of its overall
stereo imaging (not recommended for
LP recordings, or where there is exces -
sive low-frequency noise or “room
rumble”).
14. M/S side inversion
switch
Whenever a pair of microphones is
suspended overhead, the sense of left
and right can become reversed. In M/S
recording with the “M/S side inversion
switch” <5> the output channel
assignments can be corrected if this
should occur.