PHIXER for Guitar Cabs: dual-cab phase that keeps body on mono fold
Two guitar cabs, two mics on one cab, or a reamp plus IR stack can feel huge in headphones. On phone playback, Bluetooth, club PA mono, or livestream fold, low-mid body thins and grit scoops. Polarity and mic distance come first. Free phase-repair helps after residual L/R fights remain on a stereo cab blend you must keep stereo. It is not a cab IR, and it does not replace a true mono listen on the bus.
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 polarity button, not a delay matcher, not a widener, and not a substitute for mic placement. Use it after hygiene, when residual spectral cancellation remains on a stereo bed you must keep stereo.
Three guitar-cab failure modes this page covers
- Dual-cab / multi-mic cab phase. Fine in cans; thin on phone or mono fold. Full checklist: Guitar dual-cab / multi-mic phase.
- Piano / spaced-pair cousin. Lid vs spaced pair that cancel on fold. Cousin guide: PHIXER for Piano.
- Bass DI + amp cousin. Dual-path low end that hollows on fold. Cousin guide: Bass DI + amp/cab phase.
Fast dual-cab mono audition (about 60 seconds)
- Sum L+R on the guitar bus or master (or monitor controller mono). Listen to low-mid body, pick attack, and cab weight.
- A/B stereo vs mono. Note what disappears: chest of chords, speaker thump, stereo grit that was actually cancellation.
- Mute cab 2 or mic B briefly. Flip polarity on each path. Note which combination restores mono weight.
- Confirm on a phone speaker or single earbud path, then again after any bus compressor / EQ pass, not only before cleanup.
Honest order of fixes (before spectral phase rotation)
1. True mono listen on the guitar / program bus
Hard L+R sum or monitor mono. Habit: guitar dual-cab checklist and mono check workflow.
2. Mic placement and hero path before plugins
Prefer one clear hero cab or mic for body. Second cab for color, not as a second stereo width layer that fights the hero.
3. Polarity if a path flips
Inverted mic B, reversed cab DI, IR polarity mistakes. Flip Ø when body returns. Guide: polarity vs phase.
4. Timing / delay-align before spectral tools
Second mic or cab farther than the hero needs a few samples or ms, not a widener. Prefer aligning to the hero path for critical lows.
5. Only then audition residual L/R spectral fights
If a stereo cab blend 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.
Guitar cab path types
| Setup | Common mono failure | First fix |
|---|---|---|
| Two cabs hard-panned | Body dips when summed | Polarity; mono listen; accept intentional thinness if width is the point |
| Two mics on one cab | Blend knobs subtract instead of stack | Align; mute test; prefer hero mic |
| Reamp + cab IR stack | Printed stereo IR hollows on phone | Polarity; timing; dual-cab checklist |
| Close + room on cab | Width hollows on Bluetooth | Mono listen; quieter room path |
| Piano spaced-pair cousin | Lid vs spaced cancels on fold | Piano guide |
| Bass DI + amp cousin | DI vs cab fights on fold | Bass DI + amp guide |
Piano cousin (short version)
- Lid vs spaced pair on a piano bed create the same mono-fold shape as cab 1 vs cab 2 on a guitar bed.
- Sync and polarity still come first. Spectral tools after residual L/R fights only.
- Full write-up: PHIXER for Piano.
When not to reach for PHIXER
- Wrong polarity on mic B or cab 2 (flip Ø first).
- Second mic late vs hero by several ms (align timing first).
- You only need a true mono print from one hero cab (print mono; do not fake stereo width).
- Hard-panned twin cabs where intentional stereo width matters more than mono body.
- Honesty list: When not to use PHIXER.