how do YOU folddown from 5.1 to stereo within PT?

[MixerGuy]

I’m doing yet another 5.1 music mix within ProTools HD and I have a few techniques as to how to folddown from my 5.1 mix to a stereo... but i wanted to see how other people do it - so I could learn a few new techniques.

I know you drop the center and the surrounds to taste... but - I was curious if you used a dedicated plugin to do the summing down, (which plugin) ... or if you used busses (and if busses - how so)...?

thanks

MixerGuy

[wheresmyfroggy]

http://www.waves.com/content.asp?id=133

This plug has fairly good results

HTH

Tom

[MixerGuy]

Oh.... i really dislike WAVES and the WUP extortion .

any other options?

[georgia]

send the 5.1 mix to a stereo track. Send the L to L the R to R the C to both L and R, the Ls to L dropped 6db, the Rs to R dropped 6db, and the LFE to both dropped 9db... Then minor adjusts to taste..


it ain't pretty but it works.


cheers
geo

[jeremiahmoore]

Another option is upmix from cycling 74:

http://www.cycling74.com/products/upmix

-jeremiah

[RenderBot]

In times of budget, I've taken my 5.1 stems and panned them L-L, C-C, R-R, Ls-L, Rs-R, and LFE-C, sent them downstream to a Stereo track for printing.

As you said, Surround and LFE levels are subjective depending on how hot they are in your mix. To be honest, I only want to hear information from the surrounds if it's required to translate surround panning information. Otherwise the mx begins to sound "tubby" and loses intelligibility.