Fixing recordings with off-center audio/vocals

[Popmarter]

Here is a livesituation that I still do not have found a good way to fix. Or better, know if any better exist.

See the picture, my mics are on the left. Schoeps MK41 (super cardioids) DIN specs: 20cm @ 90°.



You see, the location from the stand was not 100% in the middle of the room, but slightly to the right. From that position the sound from the right PA was slightly louder resulting in having the vocals most in the right channel on the recording. I checked it during the soundcheck and moved myself to dead centre, where the vocals were indeed in the middle. So nothing wrong with PA levels, mics are matched and work well.

That said, the fact the vocal is not in the middle of the audio imaga, bugs me. What is the best way to fix this? I have tried several options:
- left channel +db, no help
- playing with phase plugin (this works)
- stereo imaging
- playing with panning

All help a bit, but in the end it feels like i am doing more harm to the overall sound.

I guess we all know this problem, so I hope someone can say something clever about this. Thank you.

Full song sample to work with
https://www.swisstransfer.com/d/b08883c8-8f39-4e00-8931-8b7908c97388

[nulldogmas]

Split to stems and pan the vocal to the middle. If that's the part that's bugging you, that's the most direct fix.

[rumbleseat]

I have a couple of previous posts dealing with off-center recordings.  I deal with it by adjusting channel EQ, then balance the channels, then add delay to one of them.

First, split the channels and adjust the EQ of one channel to match the other, especially in the low frequency region.  Voxengo's free spectrum analyzer, SPAN is very useful routed as "dual mono" with "right underlay". https://www.voxengo.com/product/span/.

Then carefully adjust the channel balance so they match in volume. (if the EQ is off, that can skew the apparent volume of the channels...)

To adjust the timing, Voxengo's free Sound Delay VST plugin works well in real-time https://www.voxengo.com/product/sounddelay/.  Again, select "dual mono" routing (channels do not have to be split). Then spin the "Audio Delay x0.1" dial.  This dial gives you up to "a foot" of delay (1 msec) and that will probably be sufficient (unless you have really widely spaced mics...) If adding delay makes things worse, switch from Left to Right.  If you want to shortcut, skip the first two steps and just try the delay trick.

If you can run simultaneous VST plugins, then Voxengo's Correlometer https://www.voxengo.com/product/correlometer/ is useful (aim for positive correlation across the frequency range as you dial in the delay).  MAAT's 2BusControl https://www.maat.digital/2buscontrol/ is also handy as it has a button to "flip" left and right – your soundstage should stay centered.  Use the "mono" button to reference your center.  Headphones are your friend for this adjustment.
Delaying one channel, even by 0.07 msec (~ equivalent to moving one microphone an inch back) will move the apparent center of the sound stage.

All of these plugins are free, and they're the ones I stumbled upon and got working.  I'm sure there are dozens of others that will get you to the same endpoint.

Hope this helps you out!

[rumbleseat]

And here's the result with your sample -

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Qeq8gArxffD2Cay4nb5Wkgq0yPCI7ozW/view?usp=sharing

I didn't change the EQ - the channels matched well enough.
Boost the left channel by 1.5 dB
Delay the right channel by 0.3 msec

I've also got "TP Basslane" running - another free plugin that centers the lowest frequencies.  Settings - Low Pass Cut 150 Hz, 6 dB/octave, width "9:00", "0 gain" (although there is some gain with the zero setting...)

Very nice recording, by the way!

[Popmarter]

@Rumbleseat, listened to your sample, I am so happy! THANK YOU! This is really what I needed to know! It sounds great with the vocal on the right spot and still maintaining the stereo image.

Now i am going to try and recreate this myself, I might send you some DM's (or post here) if I stumble on things. Thanks again my friend!!

[Gutbucket]

Great suggestions by rumbleseat!

I have tried several options:
- left channel +db, no help
- playing with phase plugin (this works)
- stereo imaging
- playing with panning

It's about manipulating level and delay. Level adjustment and panning are doing essentially the same thing, with somewhat different routings.  EQ is a fine-grained extension of level adjustment by specific frequencies. Phase manipulation and delay are essentially doing the same thing, at least within the range under discussion.

Another technique that may sometimes be useful:
When you want to center the "central stuff" such as vocals without altering the stereo balance off to either side, you might try converting to Mid/Side, make a pan adjustment of the center channel as needed, and convert back to L/R.  That's somewhat similar to splitting to stems and panning the vocal as needed as nulldogmas mentions, but will target everything that inhabits the center image rather than just the vox.  If a large change is needed and the stereo content off to the sides starts to get shifted too far in the same direction, you can nudge the balance of the Side channel in the opposite way somewhat.  Listen closely when doing all this, yet relatively small changes shouldn't be problematic.

Taking a step back and correcting the problem beforehand:
When setting up, close your eyes and listen to the balance as heard from the recording position, ignoring all visual orientation aspects as much as possible.  Listen for and identify the direction of the the acoustic center from which the vocals and other centered sources seem to emanate, then rotate the stand so the mic pair faces in that direction.  Don't worry if it looks misaligned, it only maters how it sounds.  When recording using a near-spaced pair, doing that corrects level and phase using the mic array itself, and is likely to eliminate the need to make any correction afterward.

[Popmarter]

"First, split the channels and adjust the EQ of one channel to match the other, especially in the low frequency region.  Voxengo's free spectrum analyzer, SPAN is very useful routed as "dual mono" with "right underlay". https://www.voxengo.com/product/span/"

If someone can explain me this very simple (or make a video?), that would be very nice.

[Popmarter]

And here's the result with your sample -

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Qeq8gArxffD2Cay4nb5Wkgq0yPCI7ozW/view?usp=sharing

I didn't change the EQ - the channels matched well enough.
Boost the left channel by 1.5 dB
Delay the right channel by 0.3 msec

I've also got "TP Basslane" running - another free plugin that centers the lowest frequencies.  Settings - Low Pass Cut 150 Hz, 6 dB/octave, width "9:00", "0 gain" (although there is some gain with the zero setting...)

Very nice recording, by the way!

This can be found here: https://www.toneprojects.com/basslane.html