# Stereo Spread



## Rv5 (Dec 29, 2013)

Update:

Thanks for all the advice. Will condense the links/plugs at the top here for reference.

*Plug-ins:*

MStereoProcessor - 79eur / $107
http://www.meldaproduction.com/plugins/ ... oProcessor

BrainWorx Digital V2 - $329
http://www.brainworx-music.de/en/plugins/bx_digital_v2

Waves S1 Stereo Imager - $150
http://www.waves.com/plugins/s1-stereo-imager

Matthew Lane DrMS - 119.79eur
http://www.mathewlane.com/DrMS.html

*Tips & Tricks:*

ProtectedRights
My standard procedure to get that tighter than life sound is to make the bass range more mono and the mid/treble range more stereo. That gives the desired unnaturally wide stereo scene while maintaining tight bass and a very direct in the face sound.

Mark812
Ozone's multiband imager is just great. One of the tricks I always do on my tracks is to collapse everything under 120 Hz to mono.

Re-Peat
There are several great EQ’s out there that can be switched to M/S-mode (I use the DMGAudio ones), and that’s a great way to spread the highs and high-mids and keep the low end a bit more centered (like Protected already suggested). A cunning spread of mono-signals across the entire stereofield can also create the illusion of a wider image. 

Blackster
The more different your frequencies are on both sides (left and right), the wider is your mix! Obviously, this is not true for low frequencies, as re-peat already pointed out. It's better to have those centered, but everything else is your playground! 

Use panned mono signals to create different frequency spectrums for both sides or use different mics for left and right, when you are about to record something. At least, this was good advice for me.

ceemusic
For my 'main/band stem I find myself using no more than more than 1 db
+ or - , a very small amount of widening to get my mixes a bit more defined.
I also use a hpf around on the 80 HZ on the Stereo & unlink the de-esser & adjust them so they're just barely working. 

mgtube
If you want to stretch your field even more, you can add two tracks with two reverbs (slightly different from each other), hard pan them left and right and send your tracks through them. 

*Videos*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqhycAhmdBs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NilfCElGJ2c

http://vimeo.com/32463727

------------------------------------

Hi folks,

just looking for some people's take on achieving a wide stereo image and what tools they use?

One thing I'd like to understand a little better is the use of delay to help spread things out, giving a sense of space.

This is for Trailer Music (surprise surprise) in mind - that hyper-realistic sound.

I'm truly in love with Two Steps From Hell's sound - I don't know what voodoo magic is going on there, but every instrument is heard, the stereo spread is huge and limited like crazy, but the dynamics stay strong and it's all just… so good… 

Regarding mid-side processing I've got my eye on the Digital V2 from Brainworx

http://www.brainworx-music.de/en/plugins/bx_digital_v2

Seems a great tool to help get that spread and definition across al frequencies, and can push things out too.

Or if there is a thread covering this already sorry - I'm can't seem to make the most of the search tool …

Merry holidays!


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## ProtectedRights (Dec 29, 2013)

I can recommend MStereoProcessor. It's a multiband M/S tool with exciter and works very well. My standard procedure to get that tighter than life sound is to make the bass range more mono and the mid/treble range more stereo. That gives the desired unnaturally wide stereo scene while maintaining tight bass and a very direct in the face sound.


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## mark812 (Dec 29, 2013)

Ozone's multiband imager is just great. One of the tricks I always do on my tracks is to collapse everything under 120 Hz to mono.


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## j_kranz (Dec 29, 2013)

I find the Waves S1 Stereo Imager quite handy for a lot of things (choirs, reverbs, etc).


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## re-peat (Dec 29, 2013)

Rv5 @ Sun Dec 29 said:


> (...) I've got my eye on the Digital V2 from Brainworx (...)


Terrific tool, but not always as straightforward to get the hang of at first. 

Maybe, if you’re not all that familiar with M/S production techniques, it might be wiser to start with a simpler tool first. Just to get a feel for how to best work with mid and sides and how it affects your mixes. There are several great EQ’s out there that can be switched to M/S-mode (I use the DMGAudio ones), and that’s a great way to spread the highs and high-mids and keep the low end a bit more centered (like Protected already suggested).
And confirming more of Protected’s wisdom: the MStereoProcessor plugin is indeed also a very useful tool to have for these purposes.

Finally: a cunning spread of mono-signals across the entire stereofield can also create the illusion of a wider image.

_


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## Blackster (Dec 29, 2013)

To get your mix sound wide, you should concentrate on one simple rule: 

The more different your frequencies are on both sides (left and right), the wider is your mix! Obviously, this is not true for low frequencies, as re-peat already pointed out. It's better to have those centered, but everything else is your playground!

Use panned mono signals to create different frequency spectrums for both sides or use different mics for left and right, when you are about to record something. At least, this was good advice for me.


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## ceemusic (Dec 29, 2013)

I just purchased & started working with the bx_digital V2 a few days ago myself.
Like MB or MS you just need to listen & adjust in small amounts.
I find myself using no more than more than 1 db
+ or - , a very small amount of widening to get my mixes a bit more defined.
I also find using a hpf around on the 80hz sides, a bit


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## ceemusic (Dec 29, 2013)

I just purchased & started working with the bx_digital V2 a few days ago myself.
Like MB or MS I just listen & adjust in small amounts.
For my 'main/band stem I find myself using no more than more than 1 db
+ or - , a very small amount of widening to get my mixes a bit more defined.
I also use a hpf around on the 80 HZ on the Stereo & unlink the de-esser & adjust them so they're just barely working.
I use another instance for the orchestral portions or stems in VEP.
I'll adjust the mono maker & center lows depending on the material or instruments involved, again adjusting settings in small amounts.
I enjoy using it & am pleased with the results so far. It also makes me concentrate more
on freqs & dynamics since it's easy to muck a fairly good mix up with M/S processing.

No voodoo though, for me a good mix starts with getting the tracking right.


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## Rv5 (Jan 13, 2014)

Hi all,

many thanks for the feedback and advice - just downloading the demo to MStereoProcessor. Will see if I can put together some tracks together using the tool and put them up!


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## woodsdenis (Jan 13, 2014)

http://www.mathewlane.com/DrMS.html

Is the best M/S processor of its type I have come across.


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## mgtube (Jan 16, 2014)

Hi,

if you want to stretch your field even more, you can add two tracks with two reverbs (slightly different from each other), hard pan them left and right and send your tracks through them.

Here's a video :wink: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqhycAhmdBs


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## jamwerks (Jan 16, 2014)

What about Waves "Center"? Anything there the others don't have?


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## woodsdenis (Jan 16, 2014)

jamwerks @ Thu Jan 16 said:


> What about Waves "Center"? Anything there the others don't have?



Centre is basic with a limited filter section, DrMS allows you to do all sorts of tricks including filter, eq and recombining the different sections.


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## Rv5 (Jan 17, 2014)

woodsdenis @ Mon Jan 13 said:


> http://www.mathewlane.com/DrMS.html
> 
> Is the best M/S processor of its type I have come across.



That looks good cheers - just watching through the video.

I pushed the spread on this a little http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_ayYdmJios, but I feel it's still lacking some depth and clarity.

I'll be demo-ing the above plugs, thanks for the suggestions, and hopefully buying one for the next track so I can post results.


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## renegade (Jan 17, 2014)

Even though you might not buy Fabfilter plugins, their tutorial videos are really informative and well performed. All of their plugins have M/S features

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NilfCElGJ2c


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