Stereo Split
Bitwig Platform
A stereo analyzer/router that exposes left, right, mid, and side components as separate outputs.
What it does
Stereo Split derives channel and center/difference views from one stereo signal. Left and Right expose the original channel contributions, Mid represents content common to both sides, and Side represents their difference so each component can be processed independently.
Controls and ports
| Control | Label | Official description |
|---|---|---|
left |
Left | Left content of the stereo input |
right |
Right | Right content of the stereo input |
mid |
Mid | Middle content of the stereo input |
side |
Side | Side content of the stereo input |
Practical uses
- Process the mono-compatible center separately from stereo ambience, then reconstruct with Stereo Merge.
- Inspect or modify left and right lanes independently without leaving the Grid signal system.
- Split stereo pitch, phase, gate, or modulation signals to create channel-dependent control structures.
Things to know
- A perfectly mono input has no side difference; a polarity-opposed stereo input has little or no mid component.
- The separated outputs are not necessarily four energy-independent bands: Left/Right and Mid/Side are two overlapping descriptions of the same input.
- Changing only one component changes stereo balance and mono compatibility when the signal is reconstructed.
- The exact output packing and M/S normalization have not been recovered and should not be inferred solely from conventional plugin terminology.
Technical details
No Nitro implementation has been confirmed for this visible module. The behavior is described conservatively from module metadata and editorial research.
No exact Nitro implementation has been identified. The canonical analysis model is M=(L+R)/2 and S=(L-R)/2, alongside direct L and R components, but Bitwig may use a different gain normalization or lane-packing convention for the four stereo Grid outputs. The model explains the roles of Mid and Side; only a controlled matrix measurement can establish the exact implementation.
Open questions
- Feed left-only, right-only, mono, anti-phase, and asymmetric stereo constants and record every output lane.
- Measure M/S scale factors, channel packing, Split-to-Merge identity, output polarity, and headroom.
- Determine latency, reset behavior, voice scope, and whether the module is implemented outside the Nitro archive.
Version and sources
Checked against Bitwig Studio 6.0.6. This page combines Bitwig's module metadata, the existing Grid course and guides, and Nitro analysis where the mapping is strong enough to support a technical statement.
Related material
Return to Bitwig Grid Modules or the Grid Modules course lesson.
Also matches: Bitwig Stereo Split module, Bitwig Grid Stereo Split, Stereo Split Grid module