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Message: [QUOTE="Shamiso, post: 92692, member: 160"] CenterOne 3 extraction width controls how tightly the plug-in defines the phantom center before its L/C/R processing starts. Lower settings focus on material sitting exactly in the middle, while higher settings pull progressively more near-center content into the extracted C region. This matters because extraction width is not just another stereo-width knob. It changes what CenterOne considers center material, so every C-focused level move, EQ adjustment, multiband change, or dynamic treatment downstream starts from a different pool of audio. A useful first move is to stop processing and listen to the extraction itself. [B][URL='https://goldmidi.com/community/threads/leapwing-audio-expanded-centerone-3-with-center-eq.78065/']CenterOne 3 phantom center processing[/URL][/B] becomes much easier to judge when L and R are muted, and you sweep the extraction width while monitoring C on its own. [HEADING=2]Extraction width changes the center before processing starts[/HEADING] Start narrow and listen for the one thing you actually want to control. On a typical mix, a lead vocal, snare, kick, bass, or another strongly centered source should become easy to identify without a pile of nearby stereo material coming along for the ride. Move the control upward and more audio positioned slightly left or right begins entering the extracted center. A doubled vocal tucked just off center may start appearing, along with guitars, keyboards, percussion, room sound, or effects that were never perfectly central in the first place. Stereo localization is not built from a simple center-versus-sides switch in human hearing either. [B][URL='https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27475171/']Phantom-source localization experiments[/URL][/B] show that relative level and timing between two loudspeakers can shift where a stereo source is perceived, which helps explain why near-center material is not one clean category. The practical test is simple. Sweep the control slowly until the target becomes clear, then stop before unrelated parts begin joining it. Chasing maximum separation usually makes the extraction less useful because the C channel starts carrying too many different jobs at once. Keep the L/C/R levels at unity while you make this judgment. Boosting C during the audition can trick you into preferring a wider extraction simply because more material gets louder, while cutting it can make a useful extraction seem cleaner than it really is. [HEADING=2]Too wide and later processing grabs innocent material[/HEADING] An overly broad extraction can make a C-only adjustment look more precise than it really is. You might think you are cutting harshness from a lead vocal, while a nearby guitar double or bright keyboard has also entered C and takes the same cut. The same problem applies to level moves. Pulling C down can reduce the intended vocal while quietly moving other near-center parts outward in the finished stereo balance. Push C up and those parts can become more prominent along with the target. Width therefore belongs near the start of the decision chain. The guide to [URL='https://goldmidi.com/community/threads/centerone-3-eq-and-multiband-control-do-different-jobs.78105/']CenterOne 3 EQ and multiband control[/URL] makes more sense once the extracted C region is already sensible, because those controls can only act intelligently on what the extraction has handed them. Soloing C also exposes a common mistake fast. If you hear half the arrangement in there, moving a center fader or applying center EQ is no longer surgical. Narrow the extraction until the part you care about dominates the audition, then bring L and R back before judging the finished stereo image. [HEADING=2]Too narrow can miss the sound you meant to control[/HEADING] Going too far the other way causes a different failure. A vocal may sound centered overall while doubles, stereo effects, or slightly offset layers spread some of its useful energy around the exact middle. An extremely tight extraction can grab the dry core and leave the rest behind. This is especially obvious on material built from several near-center layers. One synth patch may have a mono fundamental with wider upper harmonics, or a vocal stack may place doubles a little away from the middle. Treating only the mathematical-looking center of the image can leave the audible problem partly untouched. Set extraction width around the job, not around a favorite number. A narrow setting makes sense when one dead-center source needs isolation from nearby material. A broader setting makes sense when the sound you hear as one central object actually occupies a small area around the middle. After finding the useful range, restore L and R and make the smallest processing move that solves the problem. Compare at matched loudness, then return to the C solo once more if the result affects something unexpected. Extraction width is doing its job when the later controls become simpler, not when the center channel sounds impressive by itself. [/QUOTE]

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