M/S Mastering technique – Mid Side Processing

The mid side mastering technique will help you get a punchy and bigger sound. The M/S technique is not only used in mastering but can also be used during recording, by using two microphones (a cardioid and a figure-8 [condenser]). For all the beginners this might not sound amusing or may sound like it’s difficult, but this will enhance the stereo content and above it all it is 100% mono compatible. For an example, your kick or bass guitar will be 100% in the center of the stereo image.


But that’s not what we are going to focus on today, our main focus is using this powerful technique during the mastering stage. The application of the mid side processing can be pretty diverse. Imagine a situation, during mastering, whereby you only want to eq the snare drum of a mixdown. Do you think that’s possible??? Think again, you can by using the m/s mastering technique.

You can even raise levels or presents of certain instruments without affecting any other part. Basically what you will be doing here is separating your mix to two parts. One part will be your mono (this is where you find your kick, bass, lead vocals etc) and the sides is where you will find your wide sounds and reverb.

You will need dedicated plugins in order to use mid side processing. I have uploaded a video to show you how to do the mid side compression using the Fairchild 670 compressor. You can also use plug ins such as the Izotope Ozone, Voxengo MSED, Flux Alchemy, Brainworx and the Flux Pure Compressor.

People may know the Fairchild 670 as one of the best mono and stereo compressor, but did you know that it has a unique feature that lets you compress the mono signal separately from the stereo signal? Watch the video below to learn how.

M/S Mastering technique – Mid Side Processing