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PINCH-76 guides

Mid/side compression: control the centre, keep the width

Compress the centre and the sides on their own. When it helps, and how to set it up in PINCH-76.

By Neva DSP · · 3 min read

PINCH-76 in M/S mode with the MID side selected

Mid/side compression treats the centre of the stereo image (mid) and the edges (side) as two separate signals. Compress the mid to steady the vocal, kick and bass; compress the sides less, or differently, to keep the width.

What mid and side mean

Any stereo signal can be split two ways. Left and right is the usual one. Mid and side is the other: the mid is what both speakers share, the side is what differs between them. Vocals, kick, snare and bass usually live in the mid. Reverbs, wide guitars, pads and room sound live in the sides.

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LeftRightM/S encodesum and differenceMidvocal, kick, basscompress for weightSidewidth, reverbits own settingsDecodeback to left and right
Encode to mid and side, compress each, decode back to left and right.

When to use it

Situation What to do
Bus where the vocal jumps out Compress the mid a little more than the sides (see also mix bus glue).
Wide pads or guitars that collapse when compressed Compress the sides lightly, or not at all.
Drum overheads with a loud snare Compress the mid; the cymbals in the sides stay open.
Room mics that need more air Compress the sides harder for a bigger room.

Setting it up in PINCH-76

Click the STEREO label and choose M/S. The keys next to it now read MID = SIDE.

  1. = (default) keeps both sides linked, with one set of controls.
  2. Click MID. The panel now shows and edits the mid only: INPUT, OUTPUT, ATTACK, RELEASE, the ratio keys and MIX. A small amber lamp marks the selected side.
  3. Click SIDE and set it on its own. The first time, it starts as a copy of the mid, so nothing jumps.
  4. Press = to copy the side you last worked on to the other and link them again.
PINCH-76 with STEREO set to M/S and MID selected
M/S mode: the amber lamp shows which side you are editing.

The revision, COLOR, the meter and the ADVANCED drawer stay shared between the two sides.

With the sides linked (=), the LINK knob in the ADVANCED drawer sets how tightly their gain reduction is tied. At 100 % both sides always move together, which keeps the stereo image stable. Lower values let each side react on its own, which can sound wider but may make the image shift.

A 30-second check before you bounce

  1. Listen in mono. If the mix sounds hollow, the sides are compressed too hard.
  2. Watch the low end. The mid carries the kick and bass, so heavy mid reduction pulls them down too.
  3. Match the level. Changing the side level changes the width, and wider always sounds better at first. Use AUTO GAIN or ☰ › Level-match A/B.

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