I am in Nashville managing
Historic RCA Studio B. I have been picking the brains of Glen
Meadows and Bob Olhsson whenever possible... In fact Bob Olhsson
turned me on to the Algorithmix stuff and thus the plug-in version
of K-Stereo...
The process is exceedingly natural and seems more of a cure
rather than a treatment or correction. I don't like to think
that I may use any one processor on every master I release,
but in my short association with the K-Stereo process, I
don't know how many masters I wouldn't use it on...
I appreciate the MS processing as well. I got a "non-remix"
request to bring up the lead vox on a track and was able
to use the MS faders to do just that. I was able to high-pass
low-end out of the side channel which made the master super
lean without sacrificing punch and low-end in the center
channel. The execution of the plug-in version seems exemplary.
There seems no trace of veiling or smearing. It sounds as
neutral as a fine hardware processor... In my world of in-the-box,
plug-in based mixes, the K-Stereo Process offers a big,
huge, SAFE, undo button that breathes life and excitement.
I appreciate your research and development.
I tested the plug-in extensively
in an attended session. We all know that things tend to break
when a client is present. I was able to shift settings during
play back, bypass and enable the plug in, and bring up numerous
instances without any problems.
I would also like to take this opportunity to say how convenient
the visual GUI is vs. the hard ware unit. I don’t want this
to sound negative against the hardware, but having all of
the controls available at once – plus the visual of the
width and depth fields — really make this plug-in a wonderful
transfer from analog to plug in world.
Next step is some automation, but I really tried to make
the K-Stereo crash for hours on end and had zero issues
— plus clients were watching!
Since years K-Stereo was
in the first place of my personal wish list for the most desired
hardware units to be modeled as plug-ins. Now this wish came
more than true.
Algorithmix's K-Stereo is even more convenient compared
to the hardware because of the smart user interface. I love
the opportunity to reduce undesired muddy lower midrange
ambience without touching the dry signal with the K-Stereo
EQ in the ambience signal path.
In the past I used a good reverb to improve the depth in
the mastering process with the tendency to an undesired
side effect (room in room effect or muddiness in the lower
midrange). With K-Stereo I can improve the depth without
any side effects. It´s a must have for any modern mastering
studio...
The K-Stereo plug-in from
Algorithmix is a very helpful tool to modify the depth and space
of a sound track without adding artificial reverberation. Using
it carefully, it can help to increase the dimension of the audio
material that sounds too narrow and small. Especially on acoustic
stuff or vocals it does a great job.
The clean visual GUI is surely much better to tweak than
the K-Stereo hardware unit. Using this plug-in is real fun;
it’s a new, remarkable addition to our arsenal of mastering
gear and software. It's definitely not a standard tool for
each track - but when it's used right, it sounds right!
