Waves CENTER explained & how to use

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Waves Center: https://waves.alzt.net/c/1321769/2868...

There are two main ways to split a #stereo signal: Left-Right and Mid Side. #Waves Center allows you to control the latter. The main controls are the sliders CENTER & SIDES. By controlling the balance of these two sliders it is possible to control the spatial projection of a stereo signal. For example, by increasing SIDES and decreasing CENTER we can widen the stereo image and by decreasing SIDES and increasing CENTER we can concentrate a signal more towards the center and make it seem more monophonic and usually punchy.

MASTER is an output volume control. In many cases manipulating the stereo image can cause the signal to lose or gain volume, use MASTER to compensate the volume to Unity Gain after the process.

CENTER controls the volume of the central signal (also known as Mid or Sum) which is the information in the middle, identical in both speakers; SIDES controls the volume of the signal that is different between both speakers, ie the one on the sides, also known as Difference.

The three remaining controls are what make this #plugin a unique tool. LOW could be seen as a balance control or a dual shelving filter that moves the lows from the center to the sides and vice versa. When both sliders are in unity the effect is difficult to listen since this control does not cut any frequency but moves them from one element to the other. But if we suppress the signal from the sides so that we only hear the center we will hear clearly as when we move LOW to the left the kick and especially the snare becomes more prominent. This is because the low and low mid frequencies that existed on the sides have been moved into the channel we are listening to: the center. When we move LOW to the right we will hear how the kick disappears almost completely and the snare becomes weaker. This is because the low and low mid frequencies have been moved towards the channel that we are not listening to: the sides. When we move LOW to the left while listening to the sides in isolation we can see how the opposite effect occurs: the kick and the snare disappear completely.

The same goes for HIGH. This controls the high frequencies and moves them from one channel to the other. Let's hear with both CENTER and SIDES channels in isolation respectively. When we move HIGH to the left as we listen to CENTER in isolation we can hear how the hi-hat (which usually has much more presence on the sides than in the center) increases in level whereas when we move HIGH to the right the hi-hat disappears almost completely. The opposite happens when we hear SIDES in isolation but in this case the hi-hat does not disappear because it covers an area much larger than the width of the filter used by HIGH.

Finally PUNCH. This controls the transients, that is, the part that is at the beginning of the waveforms which is largely responsible for the energy of the track, especially in the mid-spectrum area. If we move PUNCH to the left while listening to CENTER in isolation we can feel like the kick and the snare become more aggressive whereas if we move PUNCH to the right they lose the hardness and we can almost hear only the ambient sound or reverb that each hit leaves behind. When we move PUNCH to the left while listening to SIDES in isolation we can hear how the signal from the sides becomes all room and reverb sounds. This is because all the transients have been moved for the center channel that we are not listening to. When we move PUNCH to the right all the energy of the transients is brought from the center making SIDES sound almost identical to the original signal since the transients are one of the components with more responsibility in the sound of the drums.

Of course, as in many other Waves plugins, it is possible to draw a selection grid and move all three controls at the same time, taking the high and low frequencies and the transients easily from the center to the sides and vice versa.

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