Electronic Music 411 - Reaktor M/Spatializer

Here's an effect that does a little spatialization. link
(Update: M/Space Lite verision 1.027pre3.14159: link - this version is very easy on the CPU, but no frills, that means no meters and no interpolation on the parameters, so it'll click if you play with the controls. It's the "set it and forget it" version.)

The very best application for this effect is on a stereo signal that has been constructed by mixing panned mono samples/recordings. Most panning algorithms are fairly basic, and the resulting stereo signal feels flat. This adds some depth.

It's fairly transparent, nothing drastic, but it has a noticeable effect, and makes the Resynth sampler module I'm using sound better. It's like a very subtle reverb that makes the sampler sound "bigger", though it can be used on any stereo signal.

There's two main parameters:

- "S Level" applies a gain to the side channel of a stereo signal. This is for making audio that's panned left or right quieter or louder without effecting the audio that's centered.

- "S Delay" applies a delay to the side channel of a stereo signal. This is for making audio that's panned left or right seem like it takes a little while longer to reach your ears than audio that's centered. This parameter also has no effect on audio that's centered.

Now, I don't use the instrument provided here. I use only the macro within the instrument, and I have it connected directly to the back end of a Resynth module. This is because the instrument is only monophonic, but the macro within the instrument is potentially polyphonic, so the sound quality is better (to my ears).

Venture even deeper into the patch and you'll find a Core Cell that does all the audio processing - this Core Cell is useful if you want this effect in your own instrument, but don't want the GUI.

See this previous blog for a little more on the theory behind it. link

Here's a couple of core cells for converting between L/R stereo signals and M/S stereo signals (you'll need both): link and link .

Any kind of effect can be applied to the M or S signals, since they're really just mono audio signals. Reverb and EQ are fun, apparently compression can be rewarding too. Feel free to experiment, it's easy and fun!