Ableton Tutorial: Creative Ways To Give Your Sound Stereo Width (Sound Design)

In this Ableton Tutorial, I show you a few creative ways to introduce stereo width to your otherwise boring, mono sound. We start basic with your stock standard Haas effect and move into uncharted territories and invent our own stereo effects.
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[@monisprabu1174]

Man nobody is like you on youtube you explain everythjng!!!!!!!!

[@BIG_PASTA]

I got genuinely pumped when I saw you uploaded a new tutorial just now! Thanks

[@mitch150]

A bunch of people coming from Multipliers video talking about how the haas effect messes with your mono compatibility. It doesn't if you're not applying the effect correctly lol. Awesome video btw Slynk

[@ThomasMYoutube]

Best Ableton vids on internet.

[@BosseCory]

For some trippy weirdness, you can take that filter thing you were trying and bandpass the left and right in different places, then put differently moving LFOs on them! Serious stereo weirdness. I think the most discomforting/exciting stereo effect I've heard has to be the AutoPan in Reaktor's Razor. It's a similar effect but it seems to be shifting chunks of partials left and right instead of the whole sound, leaving your brain trying to reassemble a timbre that is splattered all over the stereo field. Tonnes of fun!

[@stanante]

That's the most comprehensive tutorial i've ever seen. Well done!

[@jeffbutterfield8541]

So sick! I'm excited to try these ideas out on nearly everything. Thanks for sharing!

[@jacksterelkins]

Thanks Slynk, Awesome tricks as always

[@oliverlopezofficial]

A.W.E.S.O.M.E. This was probably one of the most inspiring videos I've ever seen. Thank you!

[@balls261]

Wow, great video with tons of ideas to experiment with. Thanks!

[@toastacle]

Dude I could watch you mess around in Ableton for hours. Nice work, man

[@ToyokaX]

Damn dude, amazing break down of the ozone plugin! Learned a few things from this. Real cool!

[@siddeffects]

Just brilliant

[@auxilix]

Sweet vid, definitely cool to get some insight on how the iZotope plugins are doing their width.

[@CooterPie420]

Love you Slynk! Thank you for the Knowledge Transfer!

[@RmaNYouTube]

Finally a thorough youtube tutorial on stereo enhancement in ableton, after years that I've been looking

[@Stacity]

wow Slynk is really up there with the gods on a whole different level I love to watch his channel when I have the time even when I was a total beginner to production just loved his tutorials however complex.

[@parkbreezy]

best sound design tutorial ive seen for ableton live. very helpful and creative sound design techniques

[@kevinkopec9816]

Yo i am so thankful for all of your tutorials, please keep it up you're the best.

[@medik7493]

awesome, thanks for sharing the knowledge

[@burn_after_reading]

Excellent work, and so nice way of being and talking. Respect!

[@MrFrak0207]

Wow I was struggling with exactly that problem the past days Thank you!!

[@SupiraOfficial]

Thanks, Slynk. This really helped!

[@elvishpaisley]

Thanks! Such a cool video! Made this rack at least a couple times. I made a rack in the "Right" chain between the Utility (Phase Inverter) and Delay so I can chain zone select the different width effects (vocoder, auto filter, etc). For bass guitar I found Vocoder -> Auto-filter -> Reverb works well.

[@DunnoBro92]

Wicked tut man. Will defs be using this.

[@martinstraka8000]

Really great tutorial! Thanks, Slynk!

[@ScxrletSteele]

dude you are a literal genius. Put some more merch up and I'll buy some. If you want us to collab on some designs for you, let us know. We'll do them for free just because you're such a bad ass.

[@Slynk]

Haha thanks. I'm working on a new website. So hopefully I'll be selling more than just merch.

[@filippetrucha5422]

Slynk you're the boss, thanks for inspiration, cannot wait to make this rack, thanks !

[@xFliox]

Oh my god thank you so much for what you do man! Your content is leveling up my game!

[@yoppoyo]

Nice. Next level !

[@christophermorgan2485]

really quality stuff! Thanks Slynk!

[@tuckerleach1564]

Nice to see you back :)

[@amirperrymusic]

Some dope ideas in here! Thanks.

[@RahulD]

You're doing a great job Slynk!

[@pintfetzer3461]

Like your content, it has a clear red line and of top you're cool:) U got a new member

[@georgeinthebox9463]

You're insane, Slynk. Awesome tutorial!

[@lecosmique]

Holy shizzle, not even watched yet and stoked to see another Slynk vid pop up. Realize I did not have the bell clicked :-o but it is now :-)

[@maxtox3]

Dope! Thx a lot!

[@kevinmongiello1991]

hahaaaa sick tutorial man!! Really liked your commentary and explanations. I pretty much knew everything you did but I stayed for the whole thing for the entertainment. Nice job

[@gravitacion7412]

well this is awesome ! I didn't know there was multiple ways to create stereo effects

[@elvishpaisley]

oh, the Align Delay Effect is useful in this context. It's a new Max for Live device in Live version 11. It's a lot simpler so you don't have to parallel process the L and R separately and add delay. Also has this cool distance mode "You will also see a Celsius/Fahrenheit Temperature option in Distance mode. Matching the temperature setting to the current temperature in the room you are using Align Delay in allows for more precise delay adjustment as the sound will travel differently in warm and cold environments."

[@glimes6471]

Slynk is a beast in Ableton!

[@jeyko666]

Very understandable, you are really good at describing stuff

[@tomastroia]

Awesome didactics

[@LiveDacover]

Top, thank you

[@rawstarmusic]

I use the Ozone Stereo plug and it's very good. I use it on mono strings for example and it works really well. You experiment with sound design but I don't do that much. I use the instruments. Thanks for the stereo tip cause it's really important.

[@Krobkrua]

Siiiick, thanks a lot! 'Gonna take the stairs on this one

[@garinca2012]

you are awesome!!!...

[@cr3shlp]

Dat was awesome thx man

[@jackrayner1263]

Finally another tutorial YEET

[@casspirburns]

Cool to see creative approaches using these tools instead of the usual algorithm chasing waffle out there

[@liamtheboi9309]

This guy is a genius

[@sethtaylor7519]

This guy does his homework.

[@RmaNYouTube]

12:39 SlynK FOR THE PRESIDENT. jokes aside he really recreated some of the most infamous plugins and stereo effects ever !!!

[@robofjohnson3953]

Spot on as always ya beauty! 💜💜

[@Slynk]

Thanks Rob! I was waiting for your comment haha 😂

[@peexstile]

Good Job. I always love some sound investigation

[@Slynk]

Are you the Peex from Heataly vol 1 who wrote stomp? Coz that was such a banger! You still writing man? I loved jaguar dance too :)

[@peexstile]

Yeah, that's me. I had a little bit of a setback, but I'm on my way for new tracks. Btw I'm really glad that you liked Stomp and JagDance :)

[@Slynk]

Mate. Send me and email through my website. I'd love to stay in touch. Https://slynk.net/contact

[@CookieColt]

Awww shiet, Slynk is back Bby

[@_DEKA_]

How on earth did u figure this out? Brilliant!!!

[@Travkacorp]

youre amazing dude thank you

[@crazyunicorn3588]

You're a genius :D

[@HamsterGames]

Nice

[@superaxel1981]

Nice! 👏👏🤟🤟

[@iriewarrior9089]

Slynk and Tom Cosm... The Ableton Wizards. Probably the best Ableton TUTs on the web. Ultra nice, many thanks Dude!!

[@sethtaylor7519]

You can see, it starts from the bottom and now we're here! :)

[@cyb3rk3v]

Neuro for days!

[@baisustipas9857]

wow!

[@iamMTNofficial]

ayooo ya boy Slynk back with another great tutorial! Really interesting to know what's under the hood of the Ozone Imager now, without having to spend all the time experimenting myself! HEY EVERYONE - Join Slynk's Discord, link in the description :)

[@nano7586]

14:41 this particular one sounds really interesting

[@Slynk]

Agreed. Could be a great used as a wash out effect.

[@adlibbeats]

Love your tutorials mate. Treat to see you fit in another one this summer.

[@Abstractpeace]

For the first method you could also duplicate the track and shift one of the copies slightly forward for the same effect.

[@Eskideji]

Lol I was laughing out loud at around 19:30, mate you're awesome

[@tdstudd1996]

you are ridiculously smart.

[@BeatDistrict]

Wow! You're a genius! =) =) =)

[@CuriousPassenger]

I named the stereo widening rack I've build for my use Stereoid.

[@demian1ndr800]

SOS UN CAMPEON, LASTIMA QUE ENTIENDO EL 10% DE LO QUE DECIS JAJA SALUDOS BRO

[@joybeats2425]

one more really creative way is to put lots of love into it @18:25 💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕

[@sethmathis250]

whoop whoop!

[@dainiustrepekunas381]

This is so awesome! Thanks so much for the tutorial! So much cooler to have your own plugin rather than buying/downloading :D Edit: But I did find out that the pitch got changed slightly (about one semitone) when changing the Dry/wet. Is this because I made it using Ableton 9?

[@cassettepat]

Hey Slynk! Love the style of videos and awesome tips thank you! Could I ask what software you use to make these tutorials with the internal audio and voice over?! I want to make a start Thanks..!

[@gustavosicaviani7553]

man you are fucking awesome sigue asi mi hermano!

[@R3BBiT]

That clap audio sample was literally only 2 people 😂

[@Slynk]

And the crowd goes mild!

[@subeg]

Thank you for this tutorial I really appreciate it sir. I have a question. 1. What is the +1, 0 and -1 parameters in the right side of vectorscope, and what happens if the dot marker goes to +1, 0 and -1? 2. 9:08 While widening in Ozone Imager, why are we getting red in the circumference of the vectorscope and what does that mean?

[@MLElectron]

It seems like this widening effect will significantly increase your level when you turn the width and amount all the way up. It definitely sounds cool but just need to watch out for gain staging I suppose.

[@Slynk]

The Haas Polarity Widener only increases the level by about 1db with full width and 7ms Amount. Not a significant amount at all. But this value changes depending on your amount. 1ms boosts volume by 4.4db. 20ms boosts by 2.4db. It also peaks at different volumes depending on which note you are playing (or what audio content you have playing). But nothing "significant" or unmanageable. Just use compression :)

[@jeffbutterfield8541]

Yeah, I noticed that too, thought I was doing something wrong at first. I would say it is more significant than insignificant.... I added this effect to some percussion and it was more like 5dB difference. I just ended up doing what I normally do when a plug-in changes the level of a sound-- added a utility with the gain adjusted the appropriate amount to compensate. Or I guess what Slynk said, with the compressor, could also do the trick... but then, it seems to me you have to adjust the attack/release settings and threshold to suit the sound you're using... isn't that an extra step when all you want to do is keep it at the exact same level as your original sound? Slynk, I'm curious why you suggest the compressor rather than the utility option? Would be sweet if ableton added a feature that automatically adjusted the output level of their plug-ins to match the input level, and/or the perceived loudness level.

[@ScxrletSteele]

I'd love to see Slynk weigh in on this

[@jeffbutterfield8541]

Yeah I am curious, but it's really not a big deal, though... I mean it's pretty easy just turn down the gain to compensate for the extra volume

[@Slynk]

Maybe your percussion already has some stereo action and by adding the wideness rack, it's causing a larger peak than normal? I would try a utility at the beginning of the chain and only select the left channel for example and see what the levels do. Just out of curiosity. Or maybe it just adds gain and you just have to turn it down like you said. Try it for science.

[@malm1231]

hey slynk did you build that dj table yourself? do you have any guide you followed or tips you can give? thanks :D

[@Slynk]

Yeah I just went to ikea and bought a thing. Then screwed a piece of plywood to the top to make it deep enough to hold my decks.

[@113odyssey]

Omg slynk this is the one! I think you broke pi

[@Slynk]

Haha glad you liked it. And thanks for the coffee you bought me! Much appreciated!

[@ermharriable]

“All the way to the Riiight”. Lol

[@tonizamboni7362]

nice tutorial and very useful info as always when i tried making the "haas polarity widener" on my own, the higher the pitch of the note i'm playing the more the signal is boosted on the right and the lower the pitch is the more it's boosted on the left. i must have messed up somewhere. :\

[@tonizamboni7362]

actually, it seems to be modulating between left and right no matter what direction i go in pitch if i go far enough. weird, i'm guessing it has something to do with the polarity inversion? or is this normal?

[@Slynk]

Are you in Ableton 10 or 9?

[@tonizamboni7362]

10, on some notes (every 12 semitones it seems like) the left or right channel is canceled out almost completely but otherwise it's not /really/ all that noticeable

[@Slynk]

that's weird. did you try downloading mine and seeing if the same thing happens? are you applying it on a mono signal?

[@tonizamboni7362]

no i haven't tried yours yet, i'll do that and see if maybe i had a misstep building mine (since i'm new to building audio effects racks w/ chains, automating the chain selector etc) i mean the izotope plugin itself is free so lol if all else fails there's always that i guess i'm just using the operator w/ different kinds of saw waves but it happened w/ a slightly more complex operator brass intrument as well which i know wasn't mono

[@gravitacion7412]

try it on *vocals*

[@jeffbutterfield8541]

Also, why does the saturator on Sinusoid mode make it sound like FM? :-/

[@RasmusMathiesen]

Anyone knows what brand Slynks glasses are? 19:56

[@Slynk]

They are Cazal's.

[@RmaNYouTube]

What about ableton 10 new utility Width knob (accessible by right-clicking the mid-side knob) ? Is it legit? what does it exactly do?

[@Slynk]

The width knob only works if there is already stereo content present. It has a horizontal stretching effect on the vector scope. So it kinda exaggerates the stereo field. It doesn't create a stereo effect.

[@RmaNYouTube]

Thanks, So It's just like compressing the hell out of side channel (in a mid/side rack) ?

[@amphitheatre]

16:30

[@NF2K]

I had a go recreating the Dimension Expander effect as a native Live rack in the past. I'll just upload it to my google drive here... drive.google.com/drive/folders/1y5FNNbk-JaoHVsgyo8xopdAbhQFUxq17?usp=sharing Looking at the notes (info text) it seems I had to sacrifice a channel; I think it only takes the right channel as input and duplicates it to both channels or something. But I suppose you could run two instances of the rack in parallel and put a Utility with Swap before and another after one those chains. I think that would work... It gets confusing when you're inverting lots of nested signal paths. It will be possible with some configuration anyway. I can't take full credit for reverse engineering it, I heard Steve Duda briefly discussing the crux of how it works (I think it's in his Serum interview on here) but I still had to figure some of it out for myself. I've put another chain in that google drive link that does something like L/R/in-front/behind panning. Hmm, it might have been based on the spatial VST Panagement ( kzbin.info/www/bejne/j6rXq4OhZZ6Wh80 ) but with less features. Honestly I can't remember if I took hints for this from somewhere or just straight up copied it from another video or something. btw don't forget the Phase control that's present in a lot of Live's Audio Effects to offset the effect's L and R LFOs. Although I'd say to keep the values small to help preserve mono compat. Another cool thing I was experimenting with was width in Harmor. I panned Part A hard left and Part B hard right, had the oscillators' fundamental tones at 0° phase in both parts, but a curve slanting up to 90° phase at the highest harmonic in one part and down to -90° in the other, so the oscillator is progressively wider towards the top-end, and that's before using any of the modules to manipulate the sound :) Some good tips, tricks, and food for thought in your video! Thanks for taking the time to put it together and sharing :)

[@Slynk]

High five dude. That's what I'm talking about! Way to go! And thanks for the download.

[@paintedfoxes9889]

Painted foxes form Invermere says thank you

[@Slynk]

I got a show in Invermere coming up I think ;)

[@paintedfoxes9889]

@@Slynk sean from the Grove stage might be putting something on as he took over after lefy moved to Nelson a while back. will be good to have you back in the area.

[@haha005]

Watched half of this with one headphone before i realised how stupid I am

[@RoofElmao]

ozone must be mad at you

[@jonvenanzi5951]

alRight alRight alRight

[@mzza]

Haas also doesn't work well in mono.

[@Slynk]

Download my Haas Polarity Widener and force it into mono and tell me if you've changed your mind or not. Spoiler Alert: It folds to mono perfectly.

[@dewdrummer4384]

Owned lmao

[@mzza]

dewdrummer I believe that his thing works, but it also doesn't sound the same anymore. If I only want width, then it's fine. But if I want haas, I want to stay as close to the real deal as I can.

[@dewdrummer4384]

What is your point even, haas alone might not be completely mono compatible but he just gave plenty of other tools to use to widen your sound while almost entirely if not entirely mantaining the integrity of your sound. Like cool lol if you want something mono compatible don't use haas, sounds pretty simple to me.

[@killacamfoo]

RIP AVICII

[@wolfetrax]

It's been a while.