Exchanging audio channels in MP3 files?

"Andrej Kluge" > wrote in message
...
> Well, I think many pieces of that CD box are the only recordings you will
> find of them. And yes, IMO the performance is outstanding, YMMV.

Seems to me they have probably just panned it that way deliberately, and
simply converting it to mono may be an improvement. That will provide better
quality MP3's at any given bit rate as a bonus.

MrT.

"Andrej Kluge" > wrote in message
...
> Yet in the recordings I mentioned the direction of the notes can be
clearly
> heard.

But may have been deliberately panned with frequency dependant channel
splitting, at the whim of the producer.
Frankly I'd just convert it to mono!

MrT.

Hi,

Mr.T wrote:
>> Yet in the recordings I mentioned the direction of the notes can
>> be clearly heard.
>
> But may have been deliberately panned with frequency dependant
> channel splitting, at the whim of the producer.

Somehow I don't think so, as the recordings are from 1972. Did such
knowledge/technology exist back then?

> Frankly I'd just convert it to mono!

No, this doesn't sound good with headphones (IMO.

Ciao
AK

Hi,

Andrej Kluge wrote:
> Yet in the recordings I mentioned the direction of the notes can be
> clearly heard.

By the way, in those two samples I mentioned, the cembalo in use was a
Grimaldi. I found pictures of those on the web:

http://www.de.early-keyboard.com/Grimaldi.htm

They seem rather long (compared to other cembali) -- I suspect the sound
engineer had put one microphone at the far left side and the other on the
far right side of it, and thus created this spacial distinction?

Ciao
AK

"Andrej Kluge" > wrote in message
...
> > But may have been deliberately panned with frequency dependant
> > channel splitting, at the whim of the producer.
>
> Somehow I don't think so, as the recordings are from 1972. Did such
> knowledge/technology exist back then?

Of course, you just use a couple of mics (or even send the same signal to
two mixer channels), EQ, and pan as desired. Simple.


> > Frankly I'd just convert it to mono!
>
> No, this doesn't sound good with headphones (IMO.


Hell if you are using headphones, simply swap them to the other ears! How
hard is that?
Either way it's still going to sound wrong of course.

MrT.

On 1/29/2010 5:17 AM Dick Pierce spake thus:

> These instruments are very typical of 17th and 18th century
> Italian harpsichords. and they are actually somewhat smaller
> in overall size compared to other regional variants. If you
> were to look, for example, at some of the early- to mid-18th
> century German harpsichords, which are, as harpsichord go,
> almost gargantuan, things like the Grimaldi would look tiny
> by comparison.

Being a harpsichord person, you might appreciate this story. (Then
again, you might not.)

In another lifetime, I used to play in orchestras. One time we were
doing some Baroque violin concerto or other (Bach or some such), with a
harpsichord next to the conductor's podium. I remember during the dress
rehearsal, the solo violinist went over to the harpsichord to give the
orchestra an A. He hit the key and had an annoyed look on his face. He
then proceeded to hit the key several times more, each time with more
force and a more annoyed look.

We thought it was pretty funny.


--
You were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it.

- a Usenet "apology"

Winamp allows you to swap Left/Right channels when you play (using
plugins):

Options > Preferences
- Plug-ins - DSP/Effect
Select "Nullsoft Signal Processing Studio DSP"
Click "Configure active plug-in"
Click "Load" button
Load "justin - stereo channel swap.sps"

There is also a separate stereo swapper plugin.

Hope that helps,
John
http://www.mp3-boss.com

"Andrej Kluge" > wrote in message
...
> Hi,
>
> Richard Crowley wrote:
>>
>> It seems highly doubtful that it can be done *losslessly*.
>> Because the data for the two channels is not independent
>> while encoded in stereo MP3 (as it would be in WAV,
>> for example.)
>
> Well I was hoping there would be only a bit or two to be changed in the
> MP3
> header that control the channel assignement. (like those MP3 gain changing
> programs where this is done without re-encoding the actual data)
>
> If not, I will have to live with it.

You can look up the format in wikipedia, and more details are in technical
documents. I think such an operation is do-it-yourself. Maybe there is an
*MP3 mod utility* (lossless MP3 modification utility). Some such thing is
for JPEGs. I am lost at how you managed to exchange stereo channels
unintentionally. This is coming from a guy who has sixteen presets on my
stereo processor in Nero WaveEdit. If you actually prefer violins on one
side or the other, then it might do you some good to lose that polarity. I
will always do my duet vocals cross-channel from my synth, now that I am
routinely including synth.
_______
http://ecn.ab.ca/~brewhaha/Sound/Sucker.mp3
If it sounds too good to be true, then don't be a sucker.