Dolby Pro Logic Surround requested by Okion!!

In my process I don't use the Auxiliary tracks for the L & R and Center channels. Instead of bussing out the L & R I just leave the individual tracks the way they are supposed to be naturally being sent to the master fader. I heard a quality change and the levels didn't match what I was mixing before when I bussed the signals so I left the individual tracks alone in that respect. I also heard no major change when I sent certain tracks to the center channel. When you go to your individual tracks and increase the volume it will increase that volume level in the center speaker. Everything in the mix plays in the center channel anyways so moving the volume up on just the voice track will increase it their. The cool thing is that when you adjust the Surround Level volume only the back speakers will go up in volume and not the center or the L & R volume, how this works I don't know but it works and that's all I need to know. Now for vocals or solo guitar I add just a little to the surround level because it adds a nice presence to the mix and the individual track. I have listened to many different CD's and most of the time the vocals are barely heard through the surround speakers so I found that to work for me. I also found for me that I can increase the volume by adding the McDSP channel strip to the Surround Level aux track and using the compression on it and it doesn't seem to take away from the signal. I think that is all of the info for what I do to achieve good results in mixing in Pro Logic. There are no doubt different ways of achieving your own mix so I hope this info helps out those seeking the same results. If anybody has any questions or concerns feel free to voice them here or e-mail them to me. I want to thank Doc who sent me this info giving me hope to do surround in LE when I thought it wasn't possible.

[McDSP will not work on PC's.] Where is the '_.1' LFE channel in the above setup? I can't find it! Thanks for the info-

Hey Stoneknife, I have a 5.1 system but as you know only 5.1 has its own LFE channel while in stereo and Dolby Pro Logic the lower end is just routed to the sub. There is no LFE channel when mixing in Pro Logic.

OK I'm corn-fused here 'cuz I thought this was a 5.1 configuration. You're talkin. center, left-front right-front left and right rear. this is five, Pro Logic as you stated at the top. Rats. What's the work around since we can't use McDSP?

Stoneknife, I didn't realize that McDSP was only Mac oriented, I use a Mac. There must be another plug-in somewhere where you can utilize a frequency change. The E6 is a filter bank. I think this change can be used by the 4 band equalizer that comes with pro tools. I will open a session and let you know what the exact differences are but I am sure it is possible. This process is definitely worth it since Pro Logic rack mountable gear is expensive and that only the TDM systems have the sony DPL plug-in.

I would suggest using the Digi rack 1 band equalizer and you would need two of them. Set the DB level to -12 for the two and for the first one select 80hz (since that is close to 78.2hz). On the second one set it to the closest mark to 7.32 khz. This is the frequency response for the surround speakers that the processor picks up on. This should work fine. The McDSP E6 is nicer because it has a graph and other functions that make it more useful and powerful but I only need to set the response which is easily done with pretty much any equalizer. Try it out and hear how it works.

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but it seems to me that the configuration mentioned is the basis for making a 5.1 master. From my experience, Pro Logic is just taken from a stereo track and is more of an effect process that is done by the receiver. Regarding soundtracks such as those on video tapes, it is sort of encoded as multichannel, but as far as I've seen with music, it ends up being more of an effect done with a stereo track. Also, now that Pro Logic II is out, I would be interested to know if the formatting is going to be very different. Also, from what I've noticed about Pro Logic's functioning (I can't say if it holds the same with Pro Logic II) but if you tailor a mix to work well in Pro Logic, then it's going to sound really strange in regular stereo. I tried to do some digging to get more info about it, but didn't find very much aside from press releases regarding Pro Logic II.

One more response to you ReniuR, the mixes shouldn't sound too strange since you are mixing from your ordinary stereo session. So if you mix a session the way you want it to sound all you do is add the stereo matrix and then when you are finished mute the Surround level Aux. and hear what the difference is. Also, the set up looks similar to the 5.1 because the 5.1 is based from the process of doing Pro Logic or Quadraphonic surround the only difference is that Pro Logic is all dumped back into the final L and R and not done on seperate 6 tracks and then encoded later for playback.