Anderton Collection Monitorizer FX Chain (Platinum and Professional only)

Figure 42. Monitorizer.

The Monitorizer FX Chain is specifically for those who use headphones and want a more “monitor-like” experience. Intended to be used as a send effect, Monitorizer helps eliminate the “super-wide” stereo sound of headphones to approximate an experience that's more like listening on monitors. It emulates the crosstalk that occurs naturally with left and right channels, as well as some room characteristics, to tame the unnatural, “super-wide” headphone sound.

Although mixing on headphones is great for catching details and immersing yourself in the music, the sometimes artificially wide stereo and unnatural perspective with effects can lead to mixes that don’t translate as well over speakers. Monitorizer can help you to do a quick “reality check” on what music will sound like when played over speakers.

While not as sophisticated as some products that try to emulate a complete room environment down to the last detail, the Monitorizer FX Chain is based on the same principles:

Feed a little left channel into the right channel, and feed a little right channel into the left channel.

Delay the additional feeds by 1-2 ms to emulate that the right speaker signal hitting your left ear is delayed slightly compared to when it hits your right ear, and the left speaker signal hitting your right ear is delayed slightly compared to when it hits your left ear.

Add in some very subtle reflections to be more like a “room”.

Reduce the highs of the additional feeds just a tiny bit because your head is in the way and attenuates the highs.

Monitorizer contains the following controls:

Head Delay. Sets the delay of a speaker to reach the opposite ear. Settings between 70% and 80% are typical.

Room. Increase to add subtle room reflections.

Dampen. Increase to emulate the high-frequency loss in the signals arriving in your ears from the opposite speakers.

Amount. Increases the Monitorizer effect.

A/B. Enables the Monitorizer when lit, and allows for easy comparisons without having to adjust knobs.

To use the Monitorizer FX Chain

1.	Insert a new stereo bus or Aux track and name it Monitorizer.

2.	Assign the bus/Aux track output to the same output that the Master bus is assigned to (this is typically an audio interface hardware output), and set the Volume control to 0.

3.	In the Browser, click the PlugIns button to show the Plug-in Browser.

4.	Under Audio FX, expand the FX Chain branch.

5.	Click Anderton Collection > Processors, then drag the Monitorizer preset to the Monitorizer bus/Aux track’s FX Rack.

6.	Create a post-fader send in the Master bus, and assign the send to the Monitorizer bus/Aux track. Set the Send Level to around -3.

The Monitorizer FX chain defaults to a reasonably realistic effect, but you can use the controls to customize the effect further.

Note: Paradoxically, sometimes it sounds like the stereo imaging is actually wider with the Monitorizer, especially with high Room and Head Delay settings. However, it’s often just a more satisfying stereo image because it doesn’t sound as exaggerated.

 

See:

Using FX Chain presets

Effects chains

FX Chain module

Aux tracks

New features