Raising Jake Studios: SideMinder Max Plug-In

Billed as a "Spectral Dynamic Stereo Width Maximizer," the SideMinder Max plug-in works on stereo tracks to adjust the width of a signal at different frequency ranges. I reviewed the original SideMinder in Tape Op #136, and since then, it’s had a few iterations and upgrades. As I noted in my original review, “SideMinder adjusts the ratio between left/right side audio and the sound in the center that shares L/R, while retaining the same average output volume. It also looks ahead at the audio for phase incoherencies, and dynamically narrows the stereo image where issues occur. But still, keep in mind that stereo width can also be increased.” The point of all this is to create/control stereo width while staying mono compatible, because if the stereo width is increased too far, information on the sides will cancel out when summed. Whereas the original SideMinder versions could increase width by 200%, SideMinder Max goes up to 300% for extremely wide imaging. To do this, the signal is divided into thousands of frequency bands via linear phase filters. There are four Width Gain Contour, and one Master Width Gain slider that goes from mono to 300% width. It's not clinical; the band controls adjust wide ranges of sound, and the results (mono to wide) are visible on the Signal Width display on the left side of the plug-in's GUI.

What do I use the SideMinder Max for? Placing it at the end of a spatial effects aux return when mixing allows me to wrap the reverb, room sound, or delay around the original signal – putting less of a hazy tone of a plate reverb in the center of a stereo mix can work wonders for clarity. On textural synths, such as strings or pads, this plug-in can clear up the middle image again while allowing extra space on the sides for the elements to sit in the mix. I'll use SideMinder Max on a bass mix bus when I have situations featuring left/right doubled electric bass (like when I remixed Poison Idea's Feel the Darkness) or big, buzzy stereo synth bass. In both cases, bringing the lower frequency's width to mono makes sure that no information is bouncing back and forth between the speakers – something that would be detrimental to later vinyl cutting or certain playback systems.

I love that companies such as Raising Jake are led by working engineers who create smart, effective tools such as SideMinder Max to get our jobs done properly. Thanks!