Thread: Summing - What track sounds better to you?

OK...LOL
Sounds advanced for my pea brain!
If you know Cubase boulder, could you run me through the steps?
I'm assuming with this test, I would have Sum1 wav on a stereo track and Sum2 on a second stereo track and then line them both up and play them together into the same output buss?.
Then process one of the tracks Sum1 or 2 to "invert the polarity"...In Cubase I'm not sure how you do that...
Sorry if this is newb stuff...I've just never done this...

So I voted Sum1 on the SoundCloud set
and Sum2 on the wav set....!!!???
Are you messing with my pea brain now?

Originally Posted by djmukilteo

OK...LOL
Sounds advanced for my pea brain!
If you know Cubase boulder, could you run me through the steps?
I'm assuming with this test, I would have Sum1 wav on a stereo track and Sum2 on a second stereo track and then line them both up and play them together into the same output buss?.
Then process one of the tracks Sum1 or 2 to "invert the polarity"...In Cubase I'm not sure how you do that...
Sorry if this is newb stuff...I've just never done this...

That's right, but I don't know Cubase and all the ones I know do it differently. Oddly enough I just posted this elsewhere for a related question:

Originally Posted by me

In PT8 highlight the block, go to Audio Suite, select Other, select Invert, click Process button.

In Audacity click the Track Control Panel to highlight the track, go to Effects, select Invert.

In Reaper double click on the track to show Track Properties, check the box for Invert phase (even though it actually inverts polarity).

In Sony Vegas 6 click the channel's polarity button (which is how all DAWs should do it).

You're on your own with Logic as I haven't used it in ages.

Thanks boulder
OK I got it figured out...I HAD done this before.....
easy squeezy....phase switch at the top of each channel.
I tested cancellation with two Sum1 tracks and with phase switch on dead quiet on the output.
When I try that with Sum1 and Sum2 it has a real phasey sound to it but no cancellation at all?!

The tracks were nulled best I could before I saved them as a a wave file and uploaded them. They will not null dead quiet because something changed in the summing of 1 & 2. But they were close. I haven't checked them after I uploaded them but you are all welcome to hear what remainder is left from your own tests..

If they were both digital dups, however, they would null perfect. So the question I have is, which track sounds better to you, and you have already answered it. The 3 of us appear to be similar. It will be interesting to hear what the crowd says.

I suppose we could also ask why they didn't null perfect after the summing and why does one sound better than the other? The answer is, one went otb and back in again. Using the null test, I time aligned and balanced the levels best I could and what you hear is the difference between two methods of summing. Does everyone get this same result and the answer is, not likely. They would have to be using the exact same gear as me and this is where it gets interesting.

We're up late on a rainy Friday night!
I suppose the difference in the levels could be the reason but I certainly didn't get much of any sort of null...
Unless I did it wrong...Like I mentioned...I tried it on the two Sum1 and it null perfectly and the only thing I did was delete one of the Sum1's and imported Sum2 and ran it.
Should I try and adjust the levels?

import both SUM 1 & 2 tracks in stereo , invert SUM 2, align SUM 2 with SUM 1, and adjust the levels of SUM 2 best you can to a null then, A/B them.

The process above is what I did before I saved and uploaded them for you all. I have no idea what another null test will do again but I would expect them to line up the same. Its hard to know what happens in the upload process. Your own null test should expose the changes that occurred between the two summing processes I did.
That being said, how you hear them on Dropbox is how they sound first generation after I summed them the two ways. That vote is the one I value and would expect to count but its all fun and interesting regardless. You have answered it with flying colours. Nothing wrong with your hearing.

I'll share which is what at the end of this poll.