How to Be In Phase Every Time - Check the Polarity Of Your Whole System with Manny Nieto 

My headlight! I use it all the time when I have to see what I'm doing, like going behind my workstation to plug/unplug or troubleshoot something. Keeps my hands free.

The Cricket Ha!

I'm gonna say something weird. I really appreciate my bluetooth keyboard and mouse, which enables me to control my DAW remotely while I sit across the room in front of my mics, with my guitar on my lap. Climbing out from behind that wall of stands and cables gets old really fast.

Having Vahe as a friend is a most useful thing on earth :) - and I am this lucky guy to have him in my life as well. Great video.

This is a tough one! I can narrow it down to three lol. I would say that getting gear to help with things I struggled to do well was the most important. For overall mixing I would say that my TC electronics Clarity M was a game changer. Being able to see how each move effects my overall mix at all times really helps, especially in a room that isn't letting you hear everything. As far as recording I have to say that my reactive load box was a huge help for getting great guitar tones. It eliminates the need for expensive mics and years of mic placement knowledge. The last piece of the puzzle I would say is iZotope's tonal Balance plug-in. Having assistance to help you get the type of mix you want is a very significant tool to have in a home studio. Again, it helps with mixing in a less then perfect environment. I think most of the struggle in a home studio is simply not having that professional environment to give you great mic tones and true sound for mixing. It's a terrible feeling taking a mix to your buddies and saying ''check this out" then it sounds awful through his speakers lol. All these tools help make sure we are on point, they become your eyes when you can't see and a helping hand when you don't have expensive microphones and lavishly treated acoustics. I think these are definitely the biggest hurdles for a home studio.

I agree but what it saves is if the “ polarity “ is reversed raising or lowering overheads what be a mess specially in a very busy rushed session. This could save tome like it did w me telling which mics were wired oldschool pin 3 hot on XLR. Thanks for sharing.

Agreed, impressive piece of gear!

You are the Man Vahe!

Congrats Vahe ! You have always great ideas. One of the best was when you came to our booth with PSP E27 - that was a life changing idea ;)

@@adamtaborowski Adam!!! You did a fantastic job With modeling the Avedis E27! The PSP E27 is insanely good! Best of all, I made good friends in Poland :)

@@ehav

what he said

I wonder if the vintage mics that had reversed polarity would sound different if they were re-wired?

@ Ed Evans: Well, close but not 100% on spot. Polarity and Phase are NOT related. Phase is related to time. You missed that... :-)

@@weschilton No, only if used with other mics in a Stereo-Setup.

omg thank you ive been going wild in my head because i could have sworn what Manny is talking about in this video is polarity... ?????

Marvellous!

Wicked!

More like "owning a single microphone" :D

Thanks for the kind words MOT ;)

U da best Dan!!!! PLAP always brings it.

You are the best Billy and appreciated you sharing that! PLAP rocks!

Thanks ever so much for sharing Billy!

You can look at the waveform and determine phase without buying another box you'll use a few times in your life. This video is kind of worthless.

@@gabejohnston1556 thanks for sharing Gabe. This box saves me when I have serious set ups my studio or other studios to make sure all gear in phase. I used today checking a ribbon mic and found out it’s reversed polarity Ha . Maybe it’s not for everyone but that’s cool. Use only if it helps your work flow G.

@@gabejohnston1556 Sure, but, if you have this you can determine ahead of time if there are phase issues with your mics,...before you track. So,...not worthless at all.

I dig that little labs between phase box as it helps live bands and bass players hear lowend.

Vel, talking Frankly we did this episode on the fly to help people . I’ve been recording maybe now 25 years.if I was in a round table with some of the best producers in Los Angeles my dialog of phase aka polarity would not be misunderstood. Lastly the artist would not care neither would the studio if we found some mics or cables out of “ phase “ My studio is not in the back of my moms house and Warren was super nice to share this episode showing people a affordable way to save time during hectic session set ups. That being said I appreciate you being critical of me for a term that Pc would have been better but ! It is what it is and If anyone serious about recording can’t look past that then I wish them luck sincerely . Peace Velvetone custom shop. I dig all episode of PLAP and this format is golden to me.

Thanks ever so much!

King, Thank you for sharing and everyone here my self included care and will always try to give advice that helps us. Take care My Man!

Haha indeed Andrew!

Andrew, hope this can simplify basic set ups and it really did help me.

@@mannysmiclocker Absolutely!

I had one years at my old studio and may have to hunt another down ;) thanks for sharing Wado.

That's great! I just dug out my quartz metronome and tried it on my mic'd drum kit. One of my ribbon mic's was out of phase. Great advice!

Thanks for sharing Paul!

Much appreciated Dan and Warren and crew super amazing to work with. Grateful always my Man Dan ;)

Yes! We love Manny!!

Perfect!

@@mannysmiclocker I am gonna have to get one of these little crickets though!!! I've never heard of them before this video! Thanks for the pro tip 😉

@@guitargod1882able I was expecting something like this used in the film industry would cost a lot more than $120

@@DonOblivious I was also expecting it to be more.

@@DonOblivious we use them for live audience under-seat monitors. We have to use raw wire to daisy chain speakers. The problem is the proprietary connectors don’t have plus minus labels. Sometime one gets wired in reverse and it sounds weird. The cricket resolves it.

Great tip!!! Wave form up is truth. Thanks for sharing Cory.

Polarity, not phase.

@@xkgbx im so confused by this video because i have always seen phase as relational... polarity is a binary which is what i understand to be being measured in this video. i need to re-learn some stuff that i thought i knew

Bullseye Justin ;)

@@mannysmiclocker I recently tried sound radix pi , which a phase analysis et auto rotating plug in, you should check it , Mix helper as it' s best.

@@lucrougy1509 super cool I’ll check out!

You are appreciated BBK!!!!

Much appreciated you sharing Paul! Aces!

Thanks from a Manny to a Manny ;)

Totally Priceless and saves time wondering in the middle of a session like my self Ha .

Thanks for sharing!

It’s a service if someone wanted to take that up for sure. Appreciated the kind words ;) Warren and Crue always trying to bring useful tips even outside the Manny Realm ;)

@@mannysmiclocker and old microphones! Glad you mentioned that. Seems every old old 421 tuchel or shure unidyne with the 4 pin amphenol is wired wrong!

So cool you know Solutions man! Yeah humble is a life thing and I’m always down to learn Rico my Man!

Word ;)

Thanks My Man!

Smart Peeps ;)

Haha Manny is the man!

Ha totally right?!

Much appreciated!

Thanks for tuning in Evergreen.

Thanks ever so much

Thanks Cuz!!!

Thanks George!!

Thanks for the kind words ;)

That’s my studio Ha ! Thanks for sharing.

Is the man!

Thanks Rawkin J!!!!

@@mannysmiclocker😃

YOU ROCK!!!

William, it is a R144 I’ve modified and use most sessions. I have started a ribbon mic company I hope to premier some mics soon. Good eye my man! Yes it’s excellent mic.

Thanks Jay!

Appreciated J!

Always grateful My Man! I’ve gotta grab my own this week and totally affordable and worth it

YES!! Manny!

Yes it is Conor and thanks for sharing ;)

Appreciated Tekbow S!!!!

Thanks for tuning in Yoshua. Warren and the produce like a pro team always ahead of the curve and they sincerely care.

It’s part of the equation on engineering and recording . Plus is. Write you record and capture wave forms you can make sure all your hardware in phase and working proper. Thanks for tuning in regardless and hope that made sense.

Haha what Manny? Let's make it happen!

Andre, I believe there are a few options in plugins Warren and I may showcase next episode but the hardware aspect is the one for engineers super helpful . Literally is this mic wired correct or is the transformer in my 1176 wired backwards lol regardless hope you enjoyed and your are appreciated!

I think so too!

I got called out for that in one of my videos , so I made a video about the difference between phase and polarity. Yet I keep saying phase. Hard to break a 30 habit.

I have a cool xlr tester from Dave Rat’s company Sound Tools. The cricket will do that job, but the Sound Tools one won’t make the sound and detect it on the other end the way the Cricket will. The Cricket can be used to test mic to speaker output polarity, polarity within a piece of gear or a chain of pieces, and as a cable tester.

I think the Cricket could be one of a few tools handy for sure. Cable testers amazing as well.

Busted Ha

@@mannysmiclocker 😂😂 Man, much respect. In this video, you showed that even the pros can be humble and teachable. Thanks for the great tips!!

🤣 classic, Manny! I'm super interested in the pin 2 and 3 "hot" issue.... research to do!

Let us know and it could be improved!

Thanks Manny. I will give it a go

I liked that ;) thanks for sharing GD.

It’s the individual mic and all the mics as well. 3 mic to 16 mic set up. Helps you get a great starting point.

If you've got a soldering iron, you can permanently fix it inside the mic body, no? Just remember: some screws you turn *in* to the body to loosen the shell, some you turn out. Don't force them. I open up my mics to check for shitty solder joints or leftover flux that could have the potential to cause problems down the road. I don't have many mics and they're low quality though...

Possibly ;) Thanks for Sharing John.

If you're building a studio you would use this going through your gear systematically before adding any recording device so you don't have any in built issues that are hard to find when they could be identified.

Warren you are correct! It’s one of many things that can help you at least start session even playing field .

I just barely got my own from Vahe ( thank you) I’ll experiment and hit you make possible alt ways to use.

I'm flipping the phase (polarity) all the time on things. Best way to start to get the sound right.

@@FreakingOutWithBillyHume You could also change the colour of your tracks in the same time. More or less the same result.

@@hafibeat834 you've got to be the first person i've heard say that phase isnt important

@@m.o.n.d.e.g.r.e.e.n Yes and no, this Video is about Polarity and NOT Phase, the later is important, Polarity only in a few cases. Ok?

@@hafibeat834 Yes. But many people get phase and polarity mixed up and use the terms interchangeably, including me. Both are fundamental to a good mix.

We did check them before test! Good eye! Totally important as well . Checked both sets

Thanks for sharing P!

Ha me too but I re ribbon and customize those so if I blew it only 1 tear then I’d fix . Thanks for sharing Juni.

Clashing frequencies?

I spend a lot of time looking at phase and polarity when I'm mixing and tracking. It's really important. I just put out Part 1 of a video about it on my channel with Part 2 coming out this week.

@@FreakingOutWithBillyHume I’ll check out ;)

phase happens with mics but also with literally any audio file

I’m not sure but if it works please let us here at PLAP know ;)

That a Highland Dynamic BG1 “ mono” SN001 ;) pretty much a Abbey Road type thick as a brick tube Compressir from Bryce Gonzales.

@@mannysmiclocker epic, thank you manny!

There is *nothing* to hear except when two mics in a Stereo-Setup would cancel out.

Well if you have a bass guitar micd up and use a DI 9 out of 10 the DI is out of phase . If you play together sound will be thin. If you on preamp or daw flip phase or polarity the sound once in phase will sound full and thick. It will be obvious

@@mannysmiclocker Well, again, if you use only one DI (for a mono -signal) it is totally of no interest if the Polarity is "right" or wrong - because *there is no absolute phase to hear*. It could be relevant if you mix that source with a bass-cab-mike - but then you will have real *phase* issues for the few milisec. the signal needs from speaker to mic - could be a good thing or not.

@@mannysmiclocker Ok thanks. I understand it better now as i experienced this a lot when i record my upright bass tuto video on my youtube channel. I use the internal XY stereo mic of my zoom recorder to capture my upright (8 inch directly front of the bridge) and mix it with the boom mic i use for my voice (placed as a boom mic). I always hear what you describe "thin sound" and when i look close to the spectrum of each tracks i often watch they are not exactly starting at the same spot. Most of the time they look almost completely reverse. After align them they finally sound way better and thick yes. So by just flip the phase i will obtain the same result i think, thanks ! I knew it can be caused by different placement of multiple microphones to record one instrument (because the sound is very slightly not capture at the same time) but i didn't know you can detect that it will be out of phase (so it will be cause the same "thin sound" problem) without even compare the result of recording with multiple mics the same instrument, but just by testing the polarity (+ -) of the chain between one mic and the speakers. Crazy ! Thousand thanks for the answer 🙏

@@jazzcontrebasse thanks for sharing and yes that’s one experience you could have regarding phase issues.

I use time delays on rooms to make drums sound bigger but If I have a singer of bass player ahead or behind the groove I’ll use a plug-in not physical changing of file.

@@mannysmiclocker I'm specifically referring to using the time adjuster plugin to align the close mics to the overheads. I'm sorry I said the wrong plugin. In many of Warren's videos he will use time adjuster to make the snare mic positive wave match the overheads same positive excursion. He does this by delaying the close mics by a fixed number of samples to compensate for the speed of sound reaching the overheads later than the close mics. Absolute phase absolutely matters in that case. When multiple mics are picking up the same source at different distances sometimes flipping the phase on otherwise coherently phased mics will improve bass response. Of course this is totally subjective.

I believe the next episode Warren and Crue will share is dealing with that topic. I’m not checking sample but! Could be applied. Also a general rule of files in phase or out example a sound in phase the wave goes up first, out of phase wave goes down . Hope that makes sense Jon. Appreciate the comment and hope we can help you brother.

@@mannysmiclocker thank you so much. Love the way you explain things

You will simply not know! And it's irrelevant in most cases, since you can't hear absolute phase.

@@hafibeat834 I don’t think it’s about perfect phase just making sure there are no files totally out in a drum set or guitar set up. Things being close or even out of phase work sometime but for engineering it’s important to myself. It’s not for everyone and that’s ok. We love this diverse musically community.

@@mannysmiclocker I understand, it's always useful to watch your recording setup in detail. But the question was: "How do you know if your samples and sounds in the daw are out of phase?" - the simple answer is: NOT if it's a single signal, and if it sounds right it is right, right? And therefor, it's not reasonable to make a big think of "Polarity*, *Phase* (based on time-delay) is the real issue, notably when it comes to mono-compatibility in a mix.

It *probably* does, but also may not. Mixbus just does a trial-and-error of the song with every polarity switch flipped, and tells you which tracks to flip to get the loudest result. Does louder mean the polarity is correct? Generally, yes… but not always.

Essentially?

No thats not right is it?

I made a video about the difference between phase and polarity that I put on my channel a few days ago. Check it out. But the quick answer is that because the positive and negative wires are crossed in the old mics the wave forms are reversed (when they go up or go down) in comparison to the rest of the mics. This causes the sound to be thinner than it should.

Thanks for sharing and appreciated. My only concern was during a set up and making sure all lines through gear was in phase. It’s a hardware check basically . Thanks again.

@@mannysmiclocker Thanx for responding :-) Well, basically this hardware-check is a good idea in some situations with new/unknown gear and when *POLARITY* is of high concern. Again even if many producers confuse *Polarity* with *Phase* it's of paramount importance (well, sort of) to get these things in perspective - because you will NEVER fix phase problems - the ones that will occur in multimic-setups through delay - with a simple polarity change. Even the classic "Snare Bottom Polarity Reverse" is mostly pointless.

@@hafibeat834 yes that’s really the essence of trying to see if all is in order right there at the starting line ;)

An, thanks for sharing and In most sessions I’ve worked in saying “ flip the phase “ as it could be polarity is understood. We did this episode on the fly and it’s not scripted ever as far as my self so I’ll except any Criticism regarding being PC. This was a cool test that anyone can do To make sure there hardware in phase. Pin 3 hot gear can mess up a drum kit. This cricket can sort that out polarity or phase ;) thanks again and we will work on improving anything Regaridng recording .

Not this one which will save you a huge amount of time, therefore money!

This piece of gear can make sure your Shure 58 is wired correct Thru mixing board. The cost of gear not the issue as I payed a lot $$ for some of their vintage dynamos and all out of phase pin 3 hot as pin 2 rear of the earth.

@@mannysmiclocker Thanks Manny and I agree with you and will probably invest in it. My only worry is that there will probably be another cool gear coming up soon and equally useful. I’ve already sold my car, mountain and road bikes 😃. Hopefully there are still a few things I can pawn to finance my gears before the Boss Lady throws me out with an empty suitcase 🍺🤔🤪

Would depend on whether they are close mics or room mics etc as to how the waveforms look etc

If you are recording audio then yes. However, when you're wiring your studio you won't be printing audio. This is a huge tool for checking phase throughout your whole system!

@@thesongacademy5017 indeed.

@@thesongacademy5017 it's true, sometimes it's hard to see that on room mics !

@@a.nadeau537 yes, check out Manny's video in detail, it really helps!

It will find Polarity issues, which could be the mic, the mic pre, hardware compressor or ANY of the cabling involved.