The latest addition to RJ Studios’ SideMinder series has arrived, and is said to be the range’s most advanced processor yet. SideMinder Max is a spectral-based plug-in that offers some comprehensive stereo widening capabilities while avoiding the mono compatibility issues that can occur with alternative techniques and processors.
The plug-in divides the incoming audio signal into thousands of frequency bands, and applies its processing on a per-band basis. It employs linear-phase filtering in an effort to preserve the source audio’s transients and offer the cleanest and most neutral sound possible. The company say that it can be used on individual sources or across buses and entire mixes with equal success, and will be useful to engineers working in video or audio post-production as well as music mixing and mastering.
A large visualiser display occupies the left-hand side of the GUI, offering a detailed view of how the signal’s frequency range is distributed in the stereo field, and is joined by a correlation meter. A set of four Width Gain Contour controls centred at 20kHz, 2kHz, 200Hz and 20Hz allow users to influence how much processing is applied to different areas of the frequency spectrum, while a Master Width control ranging from Mono to 300% governs the overall effect.
Compatibility
SideMinder Max is supported on PCs running Windows 7 and above, and Macs running macOS 10.11 or higher. VST, VST3, AU and AAX plug-in versions are available.
Pricing & Availability
SideMinder Max is available now, and is currently (25 July 2024) priced at $39.95 reduced from its full cost of $49.95.
www.raisingjakestudios.com/sideminder%20series.html#SideMinder:32Max
