PSPaudioware: PSP stereoController2

There are many stereo field processors out there, but they are usually simply fixer tools or effects processors. Among the effect types, most of them do only one thing – meaning if you don't need that approach the plug-in is not applicable. Purchasing too many plug-ins to cover my main production tasks is frustrating and costly. PSP stereoController2 combines both utility and creative powers in one plug-in.

There are fundamental controls for Gain, channel Swap, polarity switching (both channels), Balance, solo auditioning, and M-S decoding. The metering is presented intuitively – correlation and balance use horizontal bar displays. At the same time, the center of the GUI holds a goniometer oscilloscope that displaces the center image, a stereo content "data cloud" along with pure mono indicator, and polarity inversion, all with the ability to zoom in 10x for detailed inspection. It can process entire channels (L/R or M/S) or divide them into Low and High Frequencies customizable by crossover frequencies for creative adjustments. A simple example would be making lower frequencies more mono and centered while spreading higher frequencies across the stereo field.

I found numerous uses in my first week of use. An X-Y drum overhead was off by about 1.2 ms. (It turned out they did record X-Y but didn't have the mics on the same stand.) The delay control can provide up to 2 ms offset, sufficient to lock those mics where they belonged. Obviously, I could have split the stereo source, nudged one of the channels, consolidated them back into a stereo track, and resumed, but it was so much faster and simpler to use the delay control. Instead of being interrupted, risking the possibility of messing up, and spending time (this issue was on several tracks, with different times on three of the songs), I kept working and stayed in the flow.

Some plug-ins can even out the left and right loudness balance but do so at the expense of shifting the center image. PSP thought of this and included a solution. Labeled Stability, the control adjusts the balance of the left and right channels without moving the centrally panned content. A dedicated Center control is like a steering wheel for the mono/center content, providing the power to reposition that content. The Width controls start at 0% (mono) and go to 400% (triple stereo). In a mastering context, some of my gear tightens a track – often at the expense of the width of a song; I don't want to undo the mixing engineer's work. In this situation, it's less of an effect and more of a lifesaver. I get tone-sculpting benefits of some vintage gear, while stereoController2 cleans up any stereo issues some leave behind. I would buy this plug-in for this feature alone.

I really enjoy the PSP stereoController2; it combines so many tools and effects in one title. It handled production tasks that would have otherwise required three different plug-ins. One may still want some exotic and heavy-handed stereo processors in the toolbox – I know I'm keeping mine – but this plug-in will get 80 percent of your daily use. It's straightforward, streamlined, and helps get records done. Those are essential requirements among audio professionals, and it's clear that PSPaudioware understands our needs.