what you should do, is you should have him review the plugin on your main channel and talk about how close to the hardware it is.... and i'll donate a song of mine for the testing 😉
Often under-looked but the hand movements on this A/B are excellent, so many people flick switches and turn knobs and block the picture or your not sure what's happening as they jump around from knob to knob, this is super clear along with no speaking between A and B and on a loop so its consistent. Super duper.
Really appreciate that! This is exactly how I would demo a piece of gear to wrap my head around it as fast as possible, I’m glad it translated to the video!
The lack of phase issues with this makes this literally the best widening tool on the market. It sounds so good I'm having a hard time believing what I'm hearing.
Yeah. The fact that i couldnt tell if it was bypassed or not while monitoring the video in mono is pretty impressive. EDIT: oh, he did that test in the video.
but I heard demos with vocals in addition and i feel it makes the vocals diluted , less power, of course because it put things on the sides only. Thatn s the only pb i see. Perhaps mixing the instrumental part with it, and the vocals and elements that have to be in center separately ??
That’s true sometimes it takes certain material and pushes it too far to the sides and makes it kind of crispy sounding up the highs especially. But I only experienced that problem when I push it hard on a full mix. This thing really shines when it’s used to subtly
This would be a great addition to my workflow, now that I have heard what is happening. To me this sounded as if you were moving the placement of the instruments forward and back. I really didn't seem to hear any degradation of the instruments. This sounds fantastic. Thanks Colt.
It is not affecting phase when collapsing to mono because it doesn't process mid signal at all, only side. Exactly what widening plugins does so. That is why I think they perform exactly the same when clicking mono button. I believe it does stuff like saturation side channel, eq, applying delays + allpass filter in relation to mid signal. Correct me if I am wrong.
Okay, so....taking a guess. The big knob just adds side (as in mid/side). It would be cooler if it balanced between them rather than just adding sides. The range knob sounds like it could be a tilt eq, also just on the sides. Stage did work for me, and I think it's probably something like an all-pass filter trick that subtly delays either mid or side so that the wider spatial sound arrives at the listener a little early/late compared to the original. You won't hear it correctly unless your speakers/room/etc setup are damn near perfect and you're pretty close to the sweet spot. Or on good headphones/IEMs with a good HRTF crossfeed. All of those effects completely disappear in mono. The bass switch is the one that confuses me. And the YT app won't let me go back to the video while I'm writing a comment. There also wasn't a huge amount of low bass in that track to begin with and a lot of it was low end from panned instruments. So...wilder guess...it could just be a fixed elliptical filter. Maybe it depends slightly on the range knob. If I'm even half right, you can do all of that with plugins, just not really a single plugin. IDK. Maybe pro-q3 does all-pass filters too. It does almost everything else. I'm not aware of an elliptical filter plugin that sounds like that. Basslane Pro actually does that particular job even better though...again, if I'm right about it.
It's crazy how the big knob "seems" to add so much gain to the stereo signal, but in mono you can see it's not adding any. It sounds really good. Amazing technology at work.
My SPL Big just arrived and I was a little bit nervous regarding phase issues the might come to the fore as we know that stereo imaging plugins normally create problems. This is a truly awesome module - it doesn't introduce any correlation problems in the mixes (I measured it with the voxengo plugin - no negative correlations at all). It sounds great and I am very happy that I got it!
@@ColtCapperrune haha, yes, it's a stunning device. Just compared it to the good ol' waves stereo imager and there are worlds apart. I also love the bass switch (apparently a design from the SPL Iron), which also does its job without the widening engaged. It really works wonders on the bass spectrum. Love it!! :-)
There is some phase shifting going on when it is engaged. It is heard in the mids when it is dialed in at the higher values. I believe that this box is able to sense a mono input and ignore processing when it does. That is not very hard with today’s technology. For me to test the mono compatibility, I would have to test it with music that I know very well. That said, the stereo widening result does sound very pleasing.
The plugin that can do this is from Acustica Audio Space Control developed with Luca Pretolesi and Hardwell It also has multiband phase limiters www.acustica-audio.com/store/products/spacecontrol
Fantastic product and video about it! From what I heard here are some things I took away. 1. The Bass switch felt like Little Labs VOG, I wonder if it's analyzing root frequency and boosting based on that, so it boosts dynamically per the track 2. The front/back option, I really could hear it, felt like the sides become less pronounced through a form of gain reduction and maybe additional EQ boosting to compensate so it doesn't become quiet, but falls back into the mix in a musical way 3. You could achieve similar results with Ozone Imager, but likely not with the same quality These are just some takeaways I got from watching this! Great job once again.
@@LeChapeauMusic for sure, literally the only thing that I could think of that could come close. I wonder if they will drop a plug-in version (if that’s even possible).
Wow what a difference! I was just watching this on my phone and could hear the clarity of the mix just open up. Way to go SPL! Thank you for sharing this man
It’s THAT sound! Wow! I bet this little magic box will change how the world perceives stereo sound. Thanks Colt! I can’t wait to watch my clients jumping around!
It's an M/S processor using allpass filters. Which is very cool because there are very few allpass filters in the hardware world. This would be great for a mastering desk that uses an all analog workflow. Rupert Neve built a mastering desk called the Masterpiece for a company called Legendary Audio that had a very similar tool using allpass filtering. Sadly that it is no longer in production and fetches upwards of $12,000 when they come up on the used market. But congrats to SPL for making a great tool like the SPL BiG!! Now I have to buy one COLT Thanks for demoing it.
It's basically just a mid-side box with some added filtering. That's why it's mono compatible. Things may seem "wider", but the mix balance is also changing which is telling that it's a mid-side thing. A plug-in to try would be something like the Brainworx bx_digital. The bx_digital stereo width control would be the "bigness" knob. The bx_digital Mono-Maker would be the "Range". And then you could play around with the EQ on the side/stereo for the "Stage", although that's a little trickier. I'd guess brighten the top to bring it to the front and darken it to push it back. The presence shift might also work like the stage.
"Back" means toward back of stage vs. Front of stage. Right? I think SPL is utilizing its Crossfeed Time delay from the Phonitor, hence the depth control and relative phase coherency. I imagine using it on stereo channels in parallel, rather than the whole mix. Verbs, stereo mics, drum rooms, etc. Schoeps Upmix rocks as well...
10:15 I think its not phaseshifting, it may work with saturation. I Know this kind of characteristics from the vertigo vsm saturation plugin. It goes from even to uneven harmonics ( with back and open it changes the character) and the bass ''umpf'' is like a hit of even harmonics with low character on the low end.. And the big knob controles the amount of all of that. So no phase problems and a richer imige. Actually super nice idea to pack this in such a small and simple device with limited controles. b'cause you can mess your master up if you do it wrong.. :P Love it!
It's an allpass filter similar to the mastering consoles Rupert Neve designed for legendary audio back in like 2005 which had an ambiance control. It is a relatively good idea since there aren't a ton of products like this on the market under 10 grand, but some mastering consoles do have this functionality just implemented I a different way. SPL make a mastering console with this type of processing but it's $12,000 and it doesn't have the detail and control this does. We need more gear using allpass or vari-phase filtering because it sound really good. Cheers
I've been interested in this unit for a while, and this demo excellently displays what it's capable of! I restore/master quite a bit of vintage tape recordings, and often reach for stereo imaging tools. This would absolutely make it into my daily work flow. Thanks Colt and SPL! Edit: I'd like to add, the mono compatability of this unit is a game changer!
Just got this piece. It reminds me of the Base (Bedini) unit . . . but better (in some ways). The resolution between 0 and the onset of effect is VERY sensitive. Once dialed-in, it’s almost impossible to shut it off! Can’t see it used very often for mastering , as it REALLY affects reverbs and delays (I’d say, put it on the master buss at the start of a session, set very conservatively, and mix into it). I’m wondering about the possibility of using it with an Aux buss (in parallel). We’ll see. In any case, it definitely adds a 3D thing that is quite appealing. Thnx
This is absolutely mind bending how good that thing sounds! It makes the mix sound so clean and polished and powerful wow. Thanks for this video. Amazing.
Amazing 🤯the front to back knob sounds to me like a subtle M/S tilter that's also boosting the midrange.. One of the most natural sounding stereo wideners I've ever heard for sure!
I feel like the front to back treats your mix like it’s already back and the definitely brings some compressed shine to the two track to bring it forward. It’s awesome though. That mono demo!!! Wow!!!! 🤤
Great video and great product. 9:29 When the signal is converted to mono and the unit is engaged, I hear the acoustic guitar move backwards in the mix and get a little smeared. When the unit is bypassed, you hear the acoustic guitar on the sides pop back into place.
The reason why mono stays the same because it raises the gain too, that is what I can hear from this video, it brings up the gain quite a lot in comparison with other software stereo imager.
Everybody overlooks the "plain Jane" of the plugin world - Melda Productions. They have a psychoacoustic plugin called MStereospreader that I'm guessing is what SPL has done in hardware. It works by splitting the entire signal spectrum with a comb filter - the +/- of the combfilter peaks are panned Left and Right... so increasing the amplitude of the combfilter spreads the entire signal. The range control is a highpass filter that reduces the combfilter so you can have less widening on the low end. I think the "bass" switch is summing your unaffected bass back in the Mid signal (like Drawmer's 1973 compressor). You are best using it on sub groups as it can start to smear the "phantom image" of your vocals, bass, kick etc. Ultimately, the quality of the result is down to the filtering - from this demo I'd say SPL has the edge (although a comparison would be cool!).
Amazing, that’s what I was guessing it did. Pretty amazing since I can hear the width change even on an IPhone. Comb filter might be more phasey though.
Honestly, there’s not much to update. I’m using it exactly as I described in this video since the moment it came out. It lives on my mix bus, post EQ and compression.
I have a surround sound system (5.1) and it shifts a lot front the back. They are actually encoding data into the track for surround sound in a big way, plus it adds some front fill. Great product.
It’s amazing how dull the mix sounds when he bypasses it. I thought the mix sounded great already, but once you hear the AB there’s no going back!! This is an awesome piece of gear!
He made the mix deliberately dull, so that this gear shines. I own the SPL Big and it gives an unwanted high-mid range frequency boost on everything. Most of the time something you definitely don't want that. But he made this disadvantage an advantage.. Unfortunately people fall for it. I can tell you this unit is not nearly as impressive as Colt makes it out to be. He is very good at what he does though..
If you took a mono source, sent it into a stereo bus for a duplicated left and right channel, then tried to widen it, it should give a super clear picture of what it's doing 🤔
I honestly love how real and authentic you are with these reviews. So many people pretend to know every technical detail about the device and it just makes me dizzy. I love how you use real terms to describe what the device does.
There is some difference in mono with the snare if i sense correctly. But it is quite acceptable I'd assume. I think there may be some kind of saturation happening but absolutely so not understand how this sorcery is possible
Split eq and Matthew lane ds type of stuff here. Mid/side and frequency widening going on here. would say is pretty close to this. You can widen any frequency across the eq spectrum with split eq. Matthew lane allows you do do all sorts of mid/side . Really cool box. I think this can be achieved with plugins but remember it can also not be god for a whole mix. You have to be careful when using mid/side and stereo imaging. It can make sub frequencies disappear and with no understanding of what you are actually doing is another challenge. You will need to meter the frequency changes. Never the less it being analog is really cool and does sound good.
Hey Colt… I was listening to this in the car and I could feel the Stage difference better… it might be cause of the extra speakers. What I kinda feel it does is give enphasis to the Mids or Sides… Anyways GREAT piece of gear. Thanks for your vids man. You give us great value with your knowledge. Blessings
OMG, I was praying you'd tell us the Plug-in you use for stereo widening! I'm sick of Phasing issues, Izotope 10 image widener seems to be working the best when used correctly. Some people are talking about SPL Vitalizer Mk2?
Watched this video a million times over the last year. Recently decided to grab a Cranborne 500adat and the SPL big to kick off my 500 series journey. Question. A. Where is the best place in the chain to use this? I assume it shoulld be used on the master bus. But, what about when you're mastering in the box? Should you apply other master bus processing before sending the mix to the big and then bring it back to the clipper/limiter in the box? B. Should you avoid stereo imaging effects during the mixing stage like widener / imager plugins and mid/side eq when bussing out to the Big? Sure would appreciate any advice you can offer as to how I can make the most out of this thing! Eventually, my 500 rack will be a mastering chain and I won't have to worry about it. Until then, the Big is my only mod! lol
Hello Colt, I've got the BIG as well. I thing it just amplifies the volume of the sides. I tried to do it using M / S in the EQ - effect quite similar. BIG is just much smoother. That is why there is no phase issues when mono.
i agree. to me it is kinda worrying that there are no phase issues in mono because it means it's mostly amplitude, and i hear this demo the gain is big and is very sugary which is a destroyer of a mix really
What a great piece of gear. I love the fact that there’s a lot going on inside but there’s only 3 knobs. For me that’s the best kind of gear, I want one!
I have this piece of gear and quite frankly my summary of it is that it does something NO plugin I have does. It doesn’t just push things to the side…It does something intense and bizarre to the stereo image that is almost jarring. It’s easy to go too far with this thing, but whatever it does, it sounds absolutely crazy. The only thing I don’t like about it is it seems to take the highs and make them too wide and crispy if you smash it too hard. It’s also loud as hell. But If you have a 500 series rack with a couple open slots I wouldn’t think twice, there is definitely some secret sauce inside this thing that absolutely no widening plug-in I have ever used comes close to.
I read this over and it sounds kind of pessimistic lol…just to be clear, This is one of the coolest pieces of hardware I own. It has the most “3D” sounding stereo image of pretty much any other piece of gear I have. There’s nothing like it I’ve used. It is so epic and mysterious. Just saying sometimes you might have to wrestle with it a little bit and make sure you’re not pulling certain things too far to the sides when you use it on a full mix. The effect of this device is so audibly apparent. I can hear it on our mixes very very, very clearly on a cell phone. If you weren’t sure if this thing was worth the money it’s worth every cent.
I wonder if the stage focuses the midrange frequencies and brings them back in a little bit to the center, keeping the unaffected frequencies spread wide. Giving the illusion that the frequencies we are more sensitive to are upfront. This is just a guess. I don't know any of the science behind creating analog audio gear.
Thank you for this. Totally confirms that I made the right call going with Onthemoon Spacecraft for my mastering rig. This is closer to the Elysia Alpha hardware MS tilt eq I have. If they make a rack unit of this it needs a output gain to level match.
Hey Colt just revisitng this video coz I'm thinking of getting a "Bigger Makes". Have you heard of the plugin "FireMaster" by United Plugins. It has a depth knob that I suspect does something similar. I would love youre quick take on the plugin vs the hardware.
Great review. Seems like it might be a bit too aggressive for mastering. Hopefully they'll make a 19inch rack version with a mix knob. Curious where you use this in your mastering chain and what the headroom is on this box.
Definitely on my wish list. But a few question for colt and his community 1. Ideally where in the process would you place a box like this. I know it’s subjective but just a general guideline as to where and maybe where not to put this. 2. Was it me or would this serve better with a fader after? Level matching is tough with this box alone. 3. Not related but how do you like the pope Audio eq. What are you using it on?
@@ColtCapperrune I was looking for this answer! I bought one based off this video! Thanks man... Oh BTW I just missed meeting you at NAMM last year, it was my first one. Thanks for all you do!
Btw. Thanks for making this video! Probably the demo I’ve ever seen! I pretty much mix in-the-box currently. I once had a Sony MXP3000 console that I was able to track and sum through. I really miss that desk! I’m planning my attack on getting an SPL-Bigger Maker. I’m just curious … do you think the “Big” stereo technology is the same as what is in the “Vitalizer” and the “Iron” plugins? Both of these seem to “mono” pretty well too. Again thanks for all you do!!
If it were a plugin I'd certainly enter to win. I'm a bedroom guy other than when I do drums at the minute which means unless I desperately need something like some pencil mics or what ever I can't go adding things as much as I'd like.
Check out the OnTheMoon SpaceCraft. This SPL unit is what I’ll be getting due to price for now but they are both useful. I love the Bass boost as well… it’s a great thing in the SPL Iron and it’s in this which is infinitely cheaper lol. I’ll, in time will be creating my own mixer with a MCM 20.4, two of these for the stereo buses would be perfect before the spacecraft on the master. What is great about this is it actually improves mono compatibility as well.
Polyverse Wider plugin is amazing and it’s free. Also part of the Manipulator paid plugin. Anyone who knows Infected Mushroom knows Erez is the king genius of stereo widening (and so much more). Love SPL and module sounds great too 🖤
Wtf the jump is so great that it feels like going stereo from mono to super stereo lol.. its so full.. pretty crazy.. never knew such a thing existed. Purely analogue? Thanks!!
Hello all! Great Great review and I'm definity lording one to try out based on this review! One question sir. where in your master buss chain are you placing this? Cheers
This is very cool. Would be interesting to put this next to the stereo image section on the SSL Fusion. I suspect there is a bit of sub harmonics that make the bass knob work.
Now I really want to know how this stacks up against the Neve Portico ii SFE section! That unit seems to be an industry standard for analog stereo imaging. If unit price didn’t matter, and Stereo imaging was the only function in question, who comes out on top? Assuming you could only have one.. I’m assuming they are quite different in regards to circuitry, and I know they literally have different functions, but maybe SPL just made a play for the new standard in analog imaging?
The track is pure magic to begin with . That steel guitar is so classy. That black box is incredible tho . Holy Shit . Opened up a whole new world of sound. Love it how much is it?
Great Demo! When you have it on your mix buss are you mixing into the SPL BiG or are you applying the SPL BiG after you've bounced the Mix Buss? I'm sure you can do it either way but just curious.
Huh... I feel like the 'stage' knob is changing the focus frequency of an EQ boost on the sides... Couldn't that be it? I tend to use a combination of mid/side EQ, saturation, Goodhertz MidSide 3 on 'natural' mode, and Leapwing StageOne for this kind of thing - I recommend trying these, for anyone wanting this kind of stuff in the box!
Yup! M/S processing under the hood varies by plug-in and processor. This one sounded sweet and had a lot of focus, which can’t be done without EQ on the image. I’m a big fan of the plug-ins you mentioned. Particularly Stage One, GHz. But there is an element of transforming EQ that could become important. Something with a macro capability like this processor. Fab filter Volcano could possibly do it, while adding a very subtle sparkle. But now we’re getting very detailed.
I'm planning to get me a lunch box and this will be the first 500 series unit I will install. Sounds great and for a stereo processor, the price is great too.
![Alrik Plank - Havn[Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/-VDGVJVclNs/mqdefault.jpg)
We just turned BiG into a plugin :)
what you should do, is you should have him review the plugin on your main channel and talk about how close to the hardware it is.... and i'll donate a song of mine for the testing 😉
Often under-looked but the hand movements on this A/B are excellent, so many people flick switches and turn knobs and block the picture or your not sure what's happening as they jump around from knob to knob, this is super clear along with no speaking between A and B and on a loop so its consistent. Super duper.
Really appreciate that! This is exactly how I would demo a piece of gear to wrap my head around it as fast as possible, I’m glad it translated to the video!
Colt is a master of hardware demos. So satisfying to watch
The lack of phase issues with this makes this literally the best widening tool on the market. It sounds so good I'm having a hard time believing what I'm hearing.
Yeah. The fact that i couldnt tell if it was bypassed or not while monitoring the video in mono is pretty impressive.
EDIT: oh, he did that test in the video.
agreed, it's pretty incredible.
but I heard demos with vocals in addition and i feel it makes the vocals diluted , less power, of course because it put things on the sides only. Thatn s the only pb i see. Perhaps mixing the instrumental part with it, and the vocals and elements that have to be in center separately ??
That’s true sometimes it takes certain material and pushes it too far to the sides and makes it kind of crispy sounding up the highs especially. But I only experienced that problem when I push it hard on a full mix. This thing really shines when it’s used to subtly
Finally an actual review on this unit, I’ve been waiting for someone to give this an extensive rundown. Thanks
This would be a great addition to my workflow, now that I have heard what is happening. To me this sounded as if you were moving the placement of the instruments forward and back. I really didn't seem to hear any degradation of the instruments. This sounds fantastic. Thanks Colt.
It is not affecting phase when collapsing to mono because it doesn't process mid signal at all, only side. Exactly what widening plugins does so. That is why I think they perform exactly the same when clicking mono button. I believe it does stuff like saturation side channel, eq, applying delays + allpass filter in relation to mid signal. Correct me if I am wrong.
Okay, so....taking a guess. The big knob just adds side (as in mid/side). It would be cooler if it balanced between them rather than just adding sides. The range knob sounds like it could be a tilt eq, also just on the sides. Stage did work for me, and I think it's probably something like an all-pass filter trick that subtly delays either mid or side so that the wider spatial sound arrives at the listener a little early/late compared to the original. You won't hear it correctly unless your speakers/room/etc setup are damn near perfect and you're pretty close to the sweet spot. Or on good headphones/IEMs with a good HRTF crossfeed. All of those effects completely disappear in mono. The bass switch is the one that confuses me. And the YT app won't let me go back to the video while I'm writing a comment. There also wasn't a huge amount of low bass in that track to begin with and a lot of it was low end from panned instruments. So...wilder guess...it could just be a fixed elliptical filter. Maybe it depends slightly on the range knob.
If I'm even half right, you can do all of that with plugins, just not really a single plugin. IDK. Maybe pro-q3 does all-pass filters too. It does almost everything else. I'm not aware of an elliptical filter plugin that sounds like that. Basslane Pro actually does that particular job even better though...again, if I'm right about it.
It's crazy how the big knob "seems" to add so much gain to the stereo signal, but in mono you can see it's not adding any. It sounds really good. Amazing technology at work.
My SPL Big just arrived and I was a little bit nervous regarding phase issues the might come to the fore as we know that stereo imaging plugins normally create problems. This is a truly awesome module - it doesn't introduce any correlation problems in the mixes (I measured it with the voxengo plugin - no negative correlations at all). It sounds great and I am very happy that I got it!
Congrats on picking one up! That was my conclusion as well, and I truly don’t understand how they do it!
@@ColtCapperrune haha, yes, it's a stunning device. Just compared it to the good ol' waves stereo imager and there are worlds apart. I also love the bass switch (apparently a design from the SPL Iron), which also does its job without the widening engaged. It really works wonders on the bass spectrum. Love it!! :-)
Even on my laptop I could hear a difference. The mix REALLY opened the hell up.
There is some phase shifting going on when it is engaged. It is heard in the mids when it is dialed in at the higher values. I believe that this box is able to sense a mono input and ignore processing when it does. That is not very hard with today’s technology. For me to test the mono compatibility, I would have to test it with music that I know very well. That said, the stereo widening result does sound very pleasing.
The plugin that can do this is from Acustica Audio Space Control developed with Luca Pretolesi and Hardwell It also has multiband phase limiters www.acustica-audio.com/store/products/spacecontrol
Nice !
Fantastic product and video about it! From what I heard here are some things I took away.
1. The Bass switch felt like Little Labs VOG, I wonder if it's analyzing root frequency and boosting based on that, so it boosts dynamically per the track
2. The front/back option, I really could hear it, felt like the sides become less pronounced through a form of gain reduction and maybe additional EQ boosting to compensate so it doesn't become quiet, but falls back into the mix in a musical way
3. You could achieve similar results with Ozone Imager, but likely not with the same quality
These are just some takeaways I got from watching this! Great job once again.
tbh Ozone Imager sounds way worse
@@LeChapeauMusic for sure, literally the only thing that I could think of that could come close. I wonder if they will drop a plug-in version (if that’s even possible).
Wow what a difference! I was just watching this on my phone and could hear the clarity of the mix just open up. Way to go SPL! Thank you for sharing this man
It’s THAT sound! Wow! I bet this little magic box will change how the world perceives stereo sound. Thanks Colt! I can’t wait to watch my clients jumping around!
It's an M/S processor using allpass filters. Which is very cool because there are very few allpass filters in the hardware world. This would be great for a mastering desk that uses an all analog workflow. Rupert Neve built a mastering desk called the Masterpiece for a company called Legendary Audio that had a very similar tool using allpass filtering. Sadly that it is no longer in production and fetches upwards of $12,000 when they come up on the used market. But congrats to SPL for making a great tool like the SPL BiG!! Now I have to buy one COLT Thanks for demoing it.
I remember seeing a meme involving an artist asking for a demo to sound bigger, and the engineer turning up the "Bigness" knob.
And now it's real...
It's basically just a mid-side box with some added filtering. That's why it's mono compatible. Things may seem "wider", but the mix balance is also changing which is telling that it's a mid-side thing. A plug-in to try would be something like the Brainworx bx_digital. The bx_digital stereo width control would be the "bigness" knob. The bx_digital Mono-Maker would be the "Range". And then you could play around with the EQ on the side/stereo for the "Stage", although that's a little trickier. I'd guess brighten the top to bring it to the front and darken it to push it back. The presence shift might also work like the stage.
Be sure to check out the part in the video where I’m bypassing it in mono. In mono the mix does not change whatsoever. Thanks for watching!
@@ColtCapperrune Correct. That's mid-side all the way. I meant the balance changes in stereo. It's a cool little box. SPL make great stuff.
"Back" means toward back of stage vs. Front of stage. Right? I think SPL is utilizing its Crossfeed Time delay from the Phonitor, hence the depth control and relative phase coherency. I imagine using it on stereo channels in parallel, rather than the whole mix. Verbs, stereo mics, drum rooms, etc. Schoeps Upmix rocks as well...
10:15 I think its not phaseshifting, it may work with saturation.
I Know this kind of characteristics from the vertigo vsm saturation plugin. It goes from even to uneven harmonics ( with back and open it changes the character) and the bass ''umpf'' is like a hit of even harmonics with low character on the low end.. And the big knob controles the amount of all of that. So no phase problems and a richer imige.
Actually super nice idea to pack this in such a small and simple device with limited controles. b'cause you can mess your master up if you do it wrong.. :P
Love it!
It's an allpass filter similar to the mastering consoles Rupert Neve designed for legendary audio back in like 2005 which had an ambiance control. It is a relatively good idea since there aren't a ton of products like this on the market under 10 grand, but some mastering consoles do have this functionality just implemented I a different way. SPL make a mastering console with this type of processing but it's $12,000 and it doesn't have the detail and control this does. We need more gear using allpass or vari-phase filtering because it sound really good. Cheers
I've been interested in this unit for a while, and this demo excellently displays what it's capable of! I restore/master quite a bit of vintage tape recordings, and often reach for stereo imaging tools. This would absolutely make it into my daily work flow. Thanks Colt and SPL!
Edit: I'd like to add, the mono compatability of this unit is a game changer!
I bought one, MEH hahha, ruin my mix specially on vocal, high freq and reverb, so harsh, and the vocal gone away so so far
@@merisakila6805 really?
@@savanaviolenta Just buy and try..risk on u , I had that for 24 hours only, can't stand for it
Just got this piece. It reminds me of the Base (Bedini) unit . . . but better (in some ways). The resolution between 0 and the onset of effect is VERY sensitive. Once dialed-in, it’s almost impossible to shut it off!
Can’t see it used very often for mastering , as it REALLY affects reverbs and delays (I’d say, put it on the master buss at the start of a session, set very conservatively, and mix into it). I’m wondering about the possibility of using it with an Aux buss (in parallel). We’ll see. In any case, it definitely adds a 3D thing that is quite appealing. Thnx
Through headphones that was a genuinely impressive demonstration, I thought this thing was going to be super expensive, but it really isn't
I may be imagining things, but I vaguely remember seeing a post that PA was working on a plugin version.
That would be wild, as this thing just started shipping like a month ago. But I’m never mad at plug-in versions of hardware!
Just out yesterday
This is a GREAT demo video. Literally what I needed. I’m in on this 500 unit. Thank you!
This is absolutely mind bending how good that thing sounds! It makes the mix sound so clean and polished and powerful wow. Thanks for this video. Amazing.
Amazing 🤯the front to back knob sounds to me like a subtle M/S tilter that's also boosting the midrange.. One of the most natural sounding stereo wideners I've ever heard for sure!
It's not M/S-based; it's actually time-based, similar to Atmos.
I feel like the front to back treats your mix like it’s already back and the definitely brings some compressed shine to the two track to bring it forward. It’s awesome though. That mono demo!!! Wow!!!! 🤤
Great video and great product. 9:29 When the signal is converted to mono and the unit is engaged, I hear the acoustic guitar move backwards in the mix and get a little smeared. When the unit is bypassed, you hear the acoustic guitar on the sides pop back into place.
The reason why mono stays the same because it raises the gain too, that is what I can hear from this video, it brings up the gain quite a lot in comparison with other software stereo imager.
Everybody overlooks the "plain Jane" of the plugin world - Melda Productions. They have a psychoacoustic plugin called MStereospreader that I'm guessing is what SPL has done in hardware. It works by splitting the entire signal spectrum with a comb filter - the +/- of the combfilter peaks are panned Left and Right... so increasing the amplitude of the combfilter spreads the entire signal. The range control is a highpass filter that reduces the combfilter so you can have less widening on the low end. I think the "bass" switch is summing your unaffected bass back in the Mid signal (like Drawmer's 1973 compressor). You are best using it on sub groups as it can start to smear the "phantom image" of your vocals, bass, kick etc. Ultimately, the quality of the result is down to the filtering - from this demo I'd say SPL has the edge (although a comparison would be cool!).
Amazing, that’s what I was guessing it did. Pretty amazing since I can hear the width change even on an IPhone.
Comb filter might be more phasey though.
Have you seen Mathew Lanes Space Control. It’s similar but has a few more controls I think. It’s hardware too
Would love to see an updated version of how you are using this at the moment
Honestly, there’s not much to update. I’m using it exactly as I described in this video since the moment it came out. It lives on my mix bus, post EQ and compression.
I have a surround sound system (5.1) and it shifts a lot front the back. They are actually encoding data into the track for surround sound in a big way, plus it adds some front fill. Great product.
This is an analog device, there is no data or encoding happening.
It’s amazing how dull the mix sounds when he bypasses it. I thought the mix sounded great already, but once you hear the AB there’s no going back!! This is an awesome piece of gear!
He made the mix deliberately dull, so that this gear shines. I own the SPL Big and it gives an unwanted high-mid range frequency boost on everything. Most of the time something you definitely don't want that. But he made this disadvantage an advantage.. Unfortunately people fall for it. I can tell you this unit is not nearly as impressive as Colt makes it out to be. He is very good at what he does though..
I don't normally wish that a/b tests were volume matched but on this one I do for some reason.
If you took a mono source, sent it into a stereo bus for a duplicated left and right channel, then tried to widen it, it should give a super clear picture of what it's doing 🤔
love the video!! could your please share with us a loop of the track with the spl bíg and without so i can compare it with my favorite widener plugin?
I honestly love how real and authentic you are with these reviews. So many people pretend to know every technical detail about the device and it just makes me dizzy. I love how you use real terms to describe what the device does.
So luv SPL... Crazy how even on Max it's still musical... Great piece of gear.. Great demo C.C.
There is some difference in mono with the snare if i sense correctly. But it is quite acceptable I'd assume. I think there may be some kind of saturation happening but absolutely so not understand how this sorcery is possible
Wow … SPL has made another great piece of gear … thinking I’d like to try this on my analog drum bus chain … thanks for sharing!
It would sound great there! Thanks for watching!
Sounds like it is M/S processing....would love to see analyzer screens to see what is going on.
Split eq and Matthew lane ds type of stuff here. Mid/side and frequency widening going on here. would say is pretty close to this. You can widen any frequency across the eq spectrum with split eq. Matthew lane allows you do do all sorts of mid/side . Really cool box. I think this can be achieved with plugins but remember it can also not be god for a whole mix. You have to be careful when using mid/side and stereo imaging. It can make sub frequencies disappear and with no understanding of what you are actually doing is another challenge. You will need to meter the frequency changes. Never the less it being analog is really cool and does sound good.
I am very puzzled by this! I know what I heard, but I can't explain it. Incredible!!! Which plugin can even get closer to this??
Hey Colt… I was listening to this in the car and I could feel the Stage difference better… it might be cause of the extra speakers. What I kinda feel it does is give enphasis to the Mids or Sides… Anyways GREAT piece of gear. Thanks for your vids man. You give us great value with your knowledge. Blessings
I love this little black box in my mix bus, it's wonderful. I used it at the end of my chain after: SSL UV EQ and SSL G Bus. It's magic.
Just add a pair of the Rupert Neve Designs 542's and you basically have one of my desert island mastering chains.
OMG, I was praying you'd tell us the Plug-in you use for stereo widening! I'm sick of Phasing issues, Izotope 10 image widener seems to be working the best when used correctly. Some people are talking about SPL Vitalizer Mk2?
Watched this video a million times over the last year. Recently decided to grab a Cranborne 500adat and the SPL big to kick off my 500 series journey. Question. A. Where is the best place in the chain to use this? I assume it shoulld be used on the master bus. But, what about when you're mastering in the box? Should you apply other master bus processing before sending the mix to the big and then bring it back to the clipper/limiter in the box? B. Should you avoid stereo imaging effects during the mixing stage like widener / imager plugins and mid/side eq when bussing out to the Big? Sure would appreciate any advice you can offer as to how I can make the most out of this thing! Eventually, my 500 rack will be a mastering chain and I won't have to worry about it. Until then, the Big is my only mod! lol
Hello Colt, I've got the BIG as well. I thing it just amplifies the volume of the sides. I tried to do it using M / S in the EQ - effect quite similar. BIG is just much smoother. That is why there is no phase issues when mono.
i agree. to me it is kinda worrying that there are no phase issues in mono because it means it's mostly amplitude, and i hear this demo the gain is big and is very sugary which is a destroyer of a mix really
What a great piece of gear. I love the fact that there’s a lot going on inside but there’s only 3 knobs. For me that’s the best kind of gear, I want one!
I have this piece of gear and quite frankly my summary of it is that it does something NO plugin I have does. It doesn’t just push things to the side…It does something intense and bizarre to the stereo image that is almost jarring. It’s easy to go too far with this thing, but whatever it does, it sounds absolutely crazy. The only thing I don’t like about it is it seems to take the highs and make them too wide and crispy if you smash it too hard. It’s also loud as hell. But If you have a 500 series rack with a couple open slots I wouldn’t think twice, there is definitely some secret sauce inside this thing that absolutely no widening plug-in I have ever used comes close to.
I read this over and it sounds kind of pessimistic lol…just to be clear, This is one of the coolest pieces of hardware I own. It has the most “3D” sounding stereo image of pretty much any other piece of gear I have. There’s nothing like it I’ve used. It is so epic and mysterious. Just saying sometimes you might have to wrestle with it a little bit and make sure you’re not pulling certain things too far to the sides when you use it on a full mix. The effect of this device is so audibly apparent. I can hear it on our mixes very very, very clearly on a cell phone. If you weren’t sure if this thing was worth the money it’s worth every cent.
I wonder if the stage focuses the midrange frequencies and brings them back in a little bit to the center, keeping the unaffected frequencies spread wide. Giving the illusion that the frequencies we are more sensitive to are upfront. This is just a guess. I don't know any of the science behind creating analog audio gear.
I have been anxiously awaiting this review. The sound examples are amazing. And compatibility in mono. Just wow!
Finally a good video on this unit
just got mine...amazing tool, very powerful and sensitive tho, less is definitely more, but, it truly is pure black magic
Thank you for this. Totally confirms that I made the right call going with Onthemoon Spacecraft for my mastering rig. This is closer to the Elysia Alpha hardware MS tilt eq I have.
If they make a rack unit of this it needs a output gain to level match.
Hey Colt just revisitng this video coz I'm thinking of getting a "Bigger Makes". Have you heard of the plugin "FireMaster" by United Plugins. It has a depth knob that I suspect does something similar. I would love youre quick take on the plugin vs the hardware.
nice pedal steel... the SPL unit seemed to compress instruments panned wide and also lift them less wide..min a good way... sounded epic!
Just watched this again with a different set of headphones and this thing is WILD!
This sounds awesome. It sounds to me like the stage knob changes the focus from mid to side information.
How does it compare to the Stereo Imager of the SSL Fusion? Anyone that compared both of them?
Question , on a master chain , where is the best order to place the Big? Thanks
Great review. Seems like it might be a bit too aggressive for mastering. Hopefully they'll make a 19inch rack version with a mix knob. Curious where you use this in your mastering chain and what the headroom is on this box.
Definitely on my wish list. But a few question for colt and his community
1. Ideally where in the process would you place a box like this. I know it’s subjective but just a general guideline as to where and maybe where not to put this.
2. Was it me or would this serve better with a fader after? Level matching is tough with this box alone.
3. Not related but how do you like the pope Audio eq. What are you using it on?
My favorite spot is post EQ and compression on the mix bus, but before saturation and limiting.
The Pope is awesome!
Thank Colt
@@ColtCapperrune I was looking for this answer! I bought one based off this video! Thanks man... Oh BTW I just missed meeting you at NAMM last year, it was my first one. Thanks for all you do!
Btw. Thanks for making this video!
Probably the demo I’ve ever seen! I pretty much mix in-the-box currently. I once had a Sony MXP3000 console that I was able to track and sum through. I really miss that desk! I’m planning my attack on getting an SPL-Bigger Maker.
I’m just curious … do you think the “Big” stereo technology is the same as what is in the “Vitalizer” and the “Iron” plugins? Both of these seem to “mono” pretty well too.
Again thanks for all you do!!
wow sounds so good. opens it up and gives it more clarity. Definitely sounds better when you up the open back to about 7.
honestly it's the best widener I've ever heard
Same!
If it were a plugin I'd certainly enter to win. I'm a bedroom guy other than when I do drums at the minute which means unless I desperately need something like some pencil mics or what ever I can't go adding things as much as I'd like.
Check out the OnTheMoon SpaceCraft.
This SPL unit is what I’ll be getting due to price for now but they are both useful.
I love the Bass boost as well… it’s a great thing in the SPL Iron and it’s in this which is infinitely cheaper lol.
I’ll, in time will be creating my own mixer with a MCM 20.4, two of these for the stereo buses would be perfect before the spacecraft on the master.
What is great about this is it actually improves mono compatibility as well.
sounds great, im thinking to put this on a Mix Bus but in Parallel so i can blend it in.
Polyverse Wider plugin is amazing and it’s free. Also part of the Manipulator paid plugin. Anyone who knows Infected Mushroom knows Erez is the king genius of stereo widening (and so much more). Love SPL and module sounds great too 🖤
Hello my friend. After a time past, do you still use this? Thanks.
Its a great addition to a one speaker system .... just kidding LOL. I guess they are going to make the one knob version next. 🤣🤣🤣
Could you do mastering with this, for the stereo field enhancement ?
Wtf the jump is so great that it feels like going stereo from mono to super stereo lol.. its so full.. pretty crazy.. never knew such a thing existed. Purely analogue? Thanks!!
Awesome review mate and it's great that you did one on this! Your quality on information and of course video qualitywise is amazing! Keep it going😎
Nice GMT. I have the same one. Nothing says success like a rolex.
Hello all! Great Great review and I'm definity lording one to try out based on this review! One question sir. where in your master buss chain are you placing this? Cheers
How well this translates over TH-cam to an iPhone boggles my
Mind lol
This is very cool. Would be interesting to put this next to the stereo image section on the SSL Fusion. I suspect there is a bit of sub harmonics that make the bass knob work.
This sounds amazing! What a difference! Thanks for showing this Colt
Nice try Satan. Go find a different group to scam.
I can hear this even on my iPhone speakers. Would be a great tool in mastering.
It’s crazy good man
Now I really want to know how this stacks up against the Neve Portico ii SFE section! That unit seems to be an industry standard for analog stereo imaging.
If unit price didn’t matter, and Stereo imaging was the only function in question, who comes out on top? Assuming you could only have one..
I’m assuming they are quite different in regards to circuitry, and I know they literally have different functions, but maybe SPL just made a play for the new standard in analog imaging?
I have the Spl Big an for me the portico II stereo image is better, more subtle and musical.
This only supports 21dbu signal. Portico is 26dbu. So good luck running a loud track through it.
This is amazing, did you put it on the master bus? How have you been using it lately?
It has been on my mix bus for every single song since the day that I got it!
@@ColtCapperrune Thank you, I will get it ASAP.
Just bought through your link, this is a very cool piece of gear!
Appreciate it!! Hope you love it as much as I do!
Nugen stereoizer plugin do the same, and you can test in mono , it s great too
The track is pure magic to begin with . That steel guitar is so classy. That black box is incredible tho . Holy Shit . Opened up a whole new world of sound. Love it how much is it?
I just checked and my Hughes AK-100 ($150) does the same thing. BTW...love SPL so no knock on them. Listening through my Phonitor 2 right now :)
you're pushing great vids man. thanks!
What’s the closest doubler/widener plug-in that you used before the BIG 500? Thank you!
It's good. It also makes things brighter tho, which in doing so makes things feel bigger, something to think about. Might purchase
Great Demo! When you have it on your mix buss are you mixing into the SPL BiG or are you applying the SPL BiG after you've bounced the Mix Buss? I'm sure you can do it either way but just curious.
I want to SWEAR... A LOT!
Like a drunken sailor who just found panacea and other things that shall not be named..
HOLY....
Huh... I feel like the 'stage' knob is changing the focus frequency of an EQ boost on the sides... Couldn't that be it? I tend to use a combination of mid/side EQ, saturation, Goodhertz MidSide 3 on 'natural' mode, and Leapwing StageOne for this kind of thing - I recommend trying these, for anyone wanting this kind of stuff in the box!
Yup! M/S processing under the hood varies by plug-in and processor. This one sounded sweet and had a lot of focus, which can’t be done without EQ on the image. I’m a big fan of the plug-ins you mentioned. Particularly Stage One, GHz. But there is an element of transforming EQ that could become important. Something with a macro capability like this processor. Fab filter Volcano could possibly do it, while adding a very subtle sparkle. But now we’re getting very detailed.
Seems like they have hit the nail on the head.. Price isn't horrendous either!
That’s sick it’s like a SC filter but for stereo imaging. I would use this in every mix
EVERY. SINGLE. MIX.
but what was the plugin that you've been using forever is the question
I'm planning to get me a lunch box and this will be the first 500 series unit I will install. Sounds great and for a stereo processor, the price is great too.
Great review. I'd have loved to hear it on individual instruments. But yeah, I'm getting one. Thanks Colt.