PHIXER for Festival Stage / multi-bus FOH and stream fold phase
FOH cans and IEMs can feel huge while the same multi-bus festival stage stereo thins on main PA, delay fills, broadcast buses, or a mono-ish stream matrix. Crowd, broadcast, and remote viewers often hear a summed path. Check mono and phone fold before doors and before stream go-live. Free phase-repair helps after polarity and timing. It is not a feedback fixer, not a time-aligner, and not a substitute for a true mono listen on a phone or house sum.
Download PHIXER free YouTube tutorial
PHIXER is free stereo phase-repair (VST3/CLAP/AU · Win/Mac/Linux) from Riverflux Audio. Frequency-aware phase rotation for leftover L/R fights on stereo material. It is not a livestream platform, not a time-aligner, not a stereo widener, and not a substitute for polarity, delay matching, or a real mono / phone / house-sum check. Use it after hygiene, when residual spectral cancellation remains on a stereo festival stage / FOH path you must keep stereo through PA fold and stream preview.
Three festival stage / multi-bus fold modes
- Main PA / delay-fill fold after FOH stereo. Festival stage stereo that sounds huge in IEMs can soft-drop kick punch and vocal body when the main matrix and delay fills sum. Habit: true L+R sum on the FOH / stereo bus before doors. Cousin guide: PHIXER for Live FOH / foldback stream phase mono matrix.
- Multi-bus stage vs broadcast vs stream on the same bill. Dual guitar cabs, keys stereo, drum OH, guest stacks, then broadcast and stream matrices. Paths that fight on fold kill consonants mid-set or thin the band under side beds. Mute wide FX briefly and re-check fold with band and beds up, not only soloed in cans. Cousin: PHIXER for Club System / PA mono-sum and phase before the dancefloor.
- FOH vs monitors vs stream matrix. Separate matrices can hide mono soft-drop until someone walks the field or watches on a phone mid-set. Habit: mono compatibility checklist. Worship cousin: PHIXER for House of Worship FOH / multi-mic band and spoken word phase.
Fast festival stage / phone mono audition (about 60 seconds)
- Sum L+R on the FOH / stereo festival bus. Listen to vocal consonants, kick punch, and side beds.
- A/B stereo vs mono. Note what disappears on fold: vocal body, low-end warmth, wide pads under the track.
- Preview the bounce on a phone speaker or earbud with band and beds up. Mute wide FX / Haas / side-heavy verbs. Note which path thins the fold.
- Re-check fold after any bus FX / limiter / stream encode pass, not only before cleanup. Habit: mono compatibility checklist.
Honest order of fixes (before spectral phase rotation)
1. True mono / L+R listen plus phone / house preview
Hard L+R sum on the FOH / stereo festival bus. Then preview on a phone speaker or earbud with band and beds. Habit: mono compatibility checklist, Live FOH, and the 60-second audition above.
2. Polarity if a path flips
Dual guitar cabs, drum OH vs close, stacked guest takes, stereo beds into fills. Flip polarity when body returns. Guide: polarity vs phase.
3. Timing / delay-align before spectral tools
Nudge dual mics, cab pairs, and wide beds a few ms. Spectral rotation is not a substitute for timing.
4. Prefer correlated lows and center for PA + stream fold
Keep vocal body, kick, and critical bed body correlated. Put width in sides that survive fold. Related: Live FOH and Club System.
5. Only then audition residual L/R spectral fights
If a stereo festival stage / FOH path must stay stereo and fold still hollows a band after the steps above, gentle frequency-aware phase rotation can help. Prove it with mono A/B. Watch the YouTube tutorial and the mono demo.
Festival stage / multi-bus path types
| Setup | Common mono failure | First fix |
|---|---|---|
| FOH stereo bus into main PA / delay fills | Kick and vocal body soft-drop in the field | Hard mono bounce; house / phone check |
| Multi-mic stage stack | Warmth gone when spots + mains play | Polarity then timing; true L+R with band up |
| Broadcast / stream matrix vs FOH | Fine in cans, thin on phone mid-set | Live FOH; re-check after encoder |
| Stereo FX / Haas under festival bed | Body gone when PA / stream folds | Mute wide FX; correlated center |
| Club-system / dancefloor cousin path | Side-heavy beds collapse on mono PA | Club System cousin |
| Limiter / livestream encode after mix | Fine in headphones, thin after encode | Re-check fold after limiter / encode / go-live, not only before |
HOW FOH, Live FOH, and Club System cousins (short version)
- House of worship FOH / multi-mic band and spoken word phase, Live FOH / foldback stream phase, and Club System / PA mono-sum share the same L+R habit as festival stage / multi-bus FOH and stream fold phase before doors and before go-live.
- Polarity and timing still come first. Spectral tools after residual L/R fights only.
- Full write-ups: PHIXER for House of Worship FOH / multi-mic band and spoken word phase, PHIXER for Live FOH / foldback stream phase mono matrix, and PHIXER for Club System / PA mono-sum and phase before the dancefloor.
When not to reach for PHIXER
- Wrong polarity on dual mics or dual cabs (flip polarity first).
- Obvious attack misalignment (nudge first).
- You only need a mono print, not a stereo festival path that must survive PA / phone fold.
- Feedback / gate / room-EQ problems (wrong tool).
- Livestream encoder / bitrate / loudness problems (wrong tool).
- Honesty list: When not to use PHIXER.
Related guides
- PHIXER for House of Worship FOH / multi-mic band and spoken word phase
- PHIXER for Live FOH / foldback stream phase mono matrix
- PHIXER for Club System / PA mono-sum and phase before the dancefloor
- PHIXER for Mono Compatibility Checklist
- Mono demo
- When not
- Hub
- Product
- Gumroad download
- YouTube tutorial