When it comes to mixing and mastering, one common request is for tracks that are both loud and wide. While mastering can certainly enhance the width of your mix, there’s a lot you can do during the mixing stage to achieve a spacious sound. If you’re looking to give your tracks a wider feel, here are some effective techniques to consider:
1. Hard Pan Instruments
One of the simplest ways to create a wider mix is by hard panning instruments. For genres like rock or indie, you might pan a guitar left and another guitar or keyboard right. In dance music, consider hard panning two different synth parts to opposite sides.
2. Stereo Widener Plugins
Stereo wideners can be applied either during mixing or mastering, but I recommend using them in the mixing stage and trying them on busses. For instance, placing a stereo widener on your guitar bus can enhance the overall width of the mix. Plugins like Logic’s Stereo Spreader, Waves S1 Imager, or iZotope Ozone Imager are great tools. Be cautious with phase issues, as adjusting the mid and side channel balance can affect the mix’s phase coherence.
3. Mono and LCR Panning
Contrast is crucial in music. To achieve a wider stereo image, incorporate mono elements into your mix. Adopting a Center, Left, and Right (LCR) panning approach can also enhance perceived width. Early mixing desks had only L, R, or C options, which naturally made mixes appear wider by eliminating the in-between spaces.
4. Mid-Side EQ Mixing
Mid-side EQ allows you to adjust the balance between the mid and side channels. Boosting the side channel’s mid and high frequencies can add width, while cutting lower frequencies in the mono channel can also help. Tools like FabFilter Pro-Q or Logic’s stock EQ are excellent for this purpose. However, also be cautious with this technique to avoid phase issues, and consider using it primarily during mastering.
5. Upside Down Christmas Tree Theory
Think of your mix as an upside-down Christmas tree: narrow at the bottom and wider at the top. Or like an inverted triangle. For dance music, this means keeping low frequencies more mono and applying wider panning techniques to higher frequencies like cymbals and shakers. This approach helps maintain mono compatibility while enhancing spatial perception.
6. Reverb and Delay
Reverb and delay can add a sense of space and width to your mix. Try using mono reverbs and delays, hard panned to opposite sides. As this doesn't blur your sense of centre and wide extremes. The Haas effect, which involves adding a 30ms delayed, duplicated version of your sound and panning it opposite the original, can also create a wide effect. Just be mindful that this effect might not translate well in mono, so always mono check your mix.
If you want wider sound tracks, consider applying these techniques. For an amazing, polished, finished song - email adam@ammusic.co.uk to inquire about mastering.
Comments