![]() ![]() (That said, as a last resort, you can use it in mastering, too, as explained in #12 below.) For that reason, you’ll want to apply it sparingly, and primarily on individual stereo signals or stereo busses, as opposed to an overall mix. Widen a signal too much and you risk mono incompatibility issues (see #11 below), plus the sound may turn unnaturally hollow and smeary. Used carefully, this can be an awesome effect! However, like other types of processing, it can easily be overdone. Widening can actually get a signal to appear to be located beyond the loudspeakers. Narrowing is pretty straightforward – the signal becomes less “spread” towards the edges and more centered. Stereo imager plugins like the S1 Stereo Imager allow you to narrow or widen a stereo signal. Apply a stereo imager plugin to individual signals or busses ![]() (This, by the way, is known as the Haas Effect.) The result can sometimes be much more effective than simply twiddling a panpot!ĥ. (This will only work up to around 30 ms-any more than that, and it sounds like a discrete echo.) What you’ve done is to essentially create a simulated reflection that will fool your brain into thinking the sound has moved. ![]() As you get to around 8 ms or so, you’ll notice the sound begin shifting to the undelayed side. Then start nudging one of them in 1 millisecond increments. Try it for yourself: Duplicate a track and assign the original to hard left and the duplicate to hard right. Yes, you can actually pan signals with delays. So, by all means experiment with slightly off-center sounds if you want – you might happen upon something! – but certainly don’t expect it to be the quick magic solution to stereo separation issues. In fact, when the midpoints in the stereo field (the positions just around the center) are left uncluttered, the far left and right edges can sound even more dramatic. Moving sounds slightly off-center in hopes of giving certain elements some extra separation is often a fool’s errand. Here’s one classic example of hard-panning rhythmically opposed parts: The results will be even more dramatic if the two instruments live in predominantly different frequency ranges. It can be especially effective to hard pan rhythmically opposed instruments – for example, a rhythm guitar on one side and horn stabs on the other. ![]() If you’re panning a sound most of the way, go all the way. But ask yourself: How many listeners are going to be able to hear and appreciate all the subtlety that went into your carefully crafted stereo image? Will they really be able to distinguish between that acoustic 12-string at 3 o’clock and the harpsichord sample painstakingly positioned at 4 o’clock?Ĭhances are they won’t – especially if they’re listening on earbuds of dubious quality, or, worse yet, the mono speaker in their smartphone or tablet. Sure, a panpot allows you to place a signal anywhere in the stereo soundfield with pinpoint precision. You’ll be amazed at the extra clarity you get from each individual component when you start moving elements off to the sides. When you’ve got the blend just right, that’s the time to start panning them. Doing a mono mix before you tackle the stereo version forces you to use EQ, compression, reverb, delay, and other traditional tricks to get each individual sound to stand on its own. In this article, we’ll take a look at the top 12 tips for improving stereo spread and finding that elusive sweet spot. It’s a goal every mixing engineer aspires to. Now go on, admit it: You wish your mixes were wider, too. ![]()
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