How do I read a phase on a plugin?

[Loren Littlejohn]

I know how to hear listen for phase, and I know how to check for phase as far as the wav goes but I am noticing on a couple of plugins I have they actually have a phase reader on them (in the form of an axis).

So what does +-R and what does +-L mean? And where should the mass that I assume is my phase lie? Where should it not go out to?

 

[SpewChunks]

I've been trying to find out about this too.

What i've found out is from phase scope's, where the correlation of similarity between the left and right channels is drawn on the horizontal axis -1 to +1, and the correlation of similar amplitudes between left and right channels is drawn on the Vertical axis +-R +-L. When the two channels are more similar/mono compatible/in phase the readout on the axis will draw towards the + positive side of the meter (100% positive on horizontal axis would essentially be mono) . In general most proffesional recording's lie in the 0 to +1 range, and the pattern displayed in the phase scope should be tall and veritcal standing with a little bit of body spread to the left and right. And it's also normal to get some breif readings into the negative side (0 to -1), but it's not usually a problem, as long as it dosen't spend too much time there.
I think if you had %100 +R and 100% -L your phase scope would look like / and you'd have verything coming out of the right speaker...

Anyway all that bodge is mostly only useful if you plan on releasing your music to be compatible with mono am radio it seems.

 

[greyskull]

I've been trying to find out about this too.

What i've found out is from phase scope's, where the correlation of similarity between the left and right channels is drawn on the horizontal axis -1 to +1, and the correlation of similar amplitudes between left and right channels is drawn on the Vertical axis +-R +-L. When the two channels are more similar/mono compatible/in phase the readout on the axis will draw towards the + positive side of the meter (100% positive on horizontal axis would essentially be mono) . In general most proffesional recording's lie in the 0 to +1 range, and the pattern displayed in the phase scope should be tall and veritcal standing with a little bit of body spread to the left and right. And it's also normal to get some breif readings into the negative side (0 to -1), but it's not usually a problem, as long as it dosen't spend too much time there.
I think if you had %100 +R and 100% -L your phase scope would look like / and you'd have verything coming out of the right speaker...

Anyway all that bodge is mostly only useful if you plan on releasing your music to be compatible with mono am radio it seems.

what he said....
Basically it should be between 0 and +1 all the time
dont worry if it occasionally dives over to -1 and back... but if you find it spending a while there; you're in trouble

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

Well I figured it out.

Honestly I should have just done this to begin with:

This is what the graph looks like when the signal is in perfect phase (and you should aim for as close as you can to this):
Perfect phase:

This is what you should avoid at all costs (and if you put this signal into mono it is silent!)
180 degrees out of phase:

Hopefully this helps others besides me.

 

[Brett - K A L I S I A]

Sorry what you just called "perfect phase" is just a mono signal and that's not really what you want...

 

[slashvanyoung]

Shouldn't it clock in at around "0" for being "the perfect phase"?