4 techniques to widen your sound - production tips for more stereo width

Making your track wide can be essential for a good mix where each element stands out from the other element. In this production tutorial we explore four ways to increase your stereo width. While we are using Ableton this techniques are applicable in any DAW.

Read on our blog:
https://on.splice.com/2LFjcSS



0:13 Haas Effect:

The haas effect is a psychoacoustic property named after Dr. Helmut Haas who discovered that if two sounds are delayed by ~40ms or less, they are perceived as one sound by most humans.
In music production we can split a signal and pan it all the way to the left and right. If you delay one of the sides by ~12-40 ms it will create a “wider” sound.


4:20 - Mid-Side EQ:

Most modern digital equalizers now have mid-side EQ capabilities, it pays off to take the extra time to sculpt your tracks with mid-side EQ to achieve a wider sound. Mid frequency is defined as any frequency information that is identical on both the left and right channels, while side frequency is anything that differs on the left and right channels. One great technique is to boost the higher frequencies on the side channel because our ears hear higher frequencies with greater spatial awareness.


7:12 - Panning Automation:

While this may be obvious, a “wide” field of sound can be simply achieved by the right kind of panning automation. It’s generally taboo to pan your snare/kick and primary drums, however getting creative with these and other percussion elements can really add width to your track.

9:55 - Specialized Plugins:

There are several 3rd party plugins worth mentioning that are great for widening your sound. Some of our favorites are Microshift by Soundtoys and Ozone Imager by iZotope. Let us know your favorite plugins in the comments.

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