Stereo Toolbox - Reviews - Music Tech Magazine

A unique slant on M/S and L/R compression for the 500-series format? Mark Cousins goes wide.

Price: £959.00
Manufacturer: Stereo Toolbox
Website: http:// www.safesoundaudio.co.uk

The ability to compress a stereo signal in the M/S domain isn’t anything new – as any lucky owner of a vintage Fairchild 670 compressor will testify – but it’s certainly become increasingly popular in recent years. More than just a passing fad, though, the ability to compress in the M/S domain offers some unique and tangible advantages that benefit both mixing and mastering, enabling precise control over the presentation of both the dynamics and the stereo field. Whether you want a tight and punchy kick and snare or a little more width to your mix, the answer may well reside in a touch of M/S trickery.
Safe Sound’s Stereo Toolbox is a new 500-series compressor, cleverly designed to offer both stereo and M/S compression. Although some novice users will be initially daunted by the control set of the Stereo Toolbox and the intricacies of its operation, there’s clearly been plenty of thought applied to understanding its potential practical applications, from flexible filtering options through to the relative ease with which you can move between M/S and stereo operation.

Stereo vision
Configured for left/right operation, the compressor in the Stereo Toolbox is relatively standard in terms of its sound and operation. The principal controls cover drive and ratio, with the attack switchable between slow and fast operation and a release time that adjusts itself in response to the dynamics of the input. The Stereo Toolbox provides a refined, efficient form of gain reduction without imposing its own sonic characteristics in a heavy handed way. However, without a fully variable release control – and given the Stereo Toolbox’s somewhat polite sound – you might struggle when it comes to creating super-pumpy parallel compression effects.
The first evidence of the Stereo Toolbox’s M/S abilities are evident in its prominent Width control, which varies the stereo width between a completely monaural image and an ultra-wide stereo soundstage. Engage the M/S compress switch, though, and the standard left/right compressor changes so that it operates across the middle and side components of an M/S signal. Across a pair of drum overheads, for example, you have the ability to compress ‘middle’ components like the kick and snare harder, while stereo components– cymbals, hi-hat and toms – receive a much lighter touch.

Sound transformations
The most intriguing feature of the Stereo Toolbox is the inconspicuous – but crucially important – high-pass filter. In Mono mode, the high-pass filter works on the sidechain input to the compressor, potentially negating the bass-end’s heavy handed input on the amount of gain reduction applied.
In Side mode, though, the high-pass filter is applied across the actual audio path of the side component, filtering low end out of the ‘stereo’ signal (in other words, but leaving the mono signal intact). Using a stereo drum buss as a real-world example, this enables you to keep elements like the kick focused in the centre of the mix while leaving the sides lighter and free from low-end clutter.
Delving a little deeper, it’s also good to see a number of user-configurable tweaks that can alter the Stereo Toolbox’s operation. Of most interest is the ability to change the transformer’s impedance setting using a small toggle switch on the Stereo Toolbox’s circuit board, moving between ‘clean’ and ‘coloured’ operation. Another toggle switch changes the behaviour of the output controls, defining their operation in relation to the compressor being active or not.

Safe hands
In keeping with Safe Sound’s other products, the Stereo Toolbox has a highly functional set of controls alongside reassuringly transparent audio performance. Put simply, the Stereo Toolbox isn’t a gadget you turn to as an effect, but a dependable sonic tool that can adapt and refine a stereo signal as you see fit. Perfect for buss processing, the Stereo Toolbox provides a level of dynamic control that is hard to find elsewhere (especially on a 500-series unit) and it can even turn its hand to mastering applications where M/S processing is required. MTM

Verdict

WHY BUY
M/S and stereo compression
Nuanced control over the stereo field
Flexible filtering options
Competitively priced

WALK ON BY
No dedicated release control
M/S processing still something of a niche market

A well-designed and intriguing combination of stereo and M/S processing. The Stereo Toolbox delivers transparent and effective gain control, refreshing parts of the mix that other compressors generally cannot reach!
★★★★★★★★★ (9/10)

Score: 9

This review first appeared in Music Tech Magazine issue 98
Filed under Home, Hardware Effects, Reviews

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