SSL Fusion: Stereo Shuffling

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SSL Fusion: Stereo Shuffling

Post by siderealxxx »

I'm experimenting with my mix bus for a project and as always it's time to fire up the SSL Fusion.

I always get nervous about messing with the stereo image section so avoid it. My mixes tend to be quite wide/spacious anyway.

But I played with it and whilst the Width knob can be dialled relatively safely the Space knob is much more pronounced in a tonal/spatial manner.

What I actually found though was dialling it back actually had the effect of reducing muddiness (low mids) in a reasonably pleasing manner (when dialled subtly). Boosting increased heavy mono/ambience which sounded unpleasant to me.

Then I read about it and the manual (and the SOS review) refers to the concept of stereo shuffling. Totally new to me, and I'm not sure if I understand it entirely; is it effectively boosting/attenuating/phase-shifting low frequencies in the side channels?

Does anyone have any practical experience of this technique and the pros/cons? I'm still debating whether to just mute the stereo imaging section!
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Re: SSL Fusion: Stereo Shuffling

Post by Hugh Robjohns »

The Shuffling term is used to mean slightly different things in different contexts, but fundamentally it involves frequency-selective stereo widening/narrowing with the intention of sharpening the stereo image and/or improving the sense of spaciousness.

My advice re the Fusion is to play with the controls. If you can make the mix sound better, that's good. If not, bypass it!

Ideally, use an MS meter or Goniometer (vectorscope) to make sure you're not adding excessive width.
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Re: SSL Fusion: Stereo Shuffling

Post by siderealxxx »

Hugh Robjohns wrote: Mon Dec 05, 2022 10:49 pm The Shuffling term is used to mean slightly different things in different contexts, but fundamentally it involves frequency-selective stereo widening/narrowing with the intention of sharpening the stereo image and/or improving the sense of spaciousness.

My advice re the Fusion is to play with the controls. If you can make the mix sound better, that's good. If not, bypass it!

Ideally, use an MS meter or Goniometer (vectorscope) to make sure you're not adding excessive width.

Yes thanks, I will test it more and with meters. You definitely start to get a sort of phasing issue when pushed too far.
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Re: SSL Fusion: Stereo Shuffling

Post by Hugh Robjohns »

siderealxxx wrote: Mon Dec 05, 2022 11:21 pmYou definitely start to get a sort of phasing issue when pushed too far.

Yes, that can happen when the Sides signal significantly exceeds the amplitude of the Mid signal — something which is easy to see on an MS meter, Goniometer or even a standard Phase meter.
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Hugh Robjohns
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