How the Pros Widen a Mix

[@madmuso5]

Cool vid. With width the key is to remember that the more different two sounds are, the wider they stay/get. The more the same two sounds are, the more they want to merge/sum to the center of the stereo field. For example, if you use the exact same chain to record two takes of gtr (panned left and right) they will become wide. But if you use a different amp, gtr, cab, setup for each take the gtrs become a lot wider and the center channel of the stereo field contains less gtr than the "same signal chain" takes. And as far as mono compatibility goes, nothing beats the ms technique, whereas the haas effect isnt so great.

[@StevieBoyesmusic]

Short delay causes comb filtering in mono, fine tuning the time in mono to get the best tone for the mix.

[@TheeRocker]

hmm,,, so one has better comb filtering in stereo ? I forget the song, but I hear it in a Def Leppard song. affects level too. Only one that noticeable on the album. It works where it's at in the beginning of the song. Most don't notice at all.

[@johnmcvicker6728]

@@TheeRocker If I remember correctly, is it the guitar on Photograph during the opening?

[@TimE_5150]

Bob, again great stuff thank you. I learn more in your 13 minute videos than any paid or free tutorials anywhere!

[@jjtweed-music]

We appreciate you sharing the knowledge! Thanks Bob.

[@redash6294]

I grew up on music from the 80s and 90s, so my ears seek out these sounds.Thank you for the lecture, Doc.

[@caseyhayes2004]

Your teaching videos are excellent!!! I really learn a bunch from your channel Dr. Bob!!! Thanks so very much!!

[@JanPanCygan]

Great tricks, thank you

[@bbradleyish]

Another amazing snare enhancing effect for us small home studio guys! 🙏🏼 Much appreciated

[@JBDay28]

Just what I need on my Snare for home recording. Pretty small room set up but will learn all I can. Thanks again Doc! 👍

[@joaoantoniovione484]

Pretty neat tricks! I was reading some 80s zines where ppl used this Haas delay not just for stereo widening but for vocal doubling. As well as taking a graphic EQ and completely skewing the frequencies on the opposite side (or both, reversing the gain on each freq.). Or² feeding an out-of-phase signal from left to right and vice-versa, automating to taste. I adopted a Bob Clearmountain trick on slide guitars where the delay is a bit longer than Haas's... also loving to flange one of the sides, or making a guitar dry on one side and all chorus and other fx on the other. Another thing for me is contrast. There's a song I produced where I used that Mutt's "one chord per take" trick you showed. We were able to break the guitar riff in two, the beginning plays in the center and the rest at the sides. Quite the movement. I also miss auto-panning fx, like the bubble puppy's hot smoke and sassafras' intro for instance, on contemporary songs.

[@antcall6779]

Amazing as always doctor Bob!

[@davidhayman9330]

Thanks for sharing these insights doc! Much appreciated

[@michaelarthurmusic307]

Outstanding! Just what the doctor ordered. Worked beautifully on a Marimba part I needed to get out of the way of the snare drum. Thanks!

[@azarlane9553]

God bless you for sharing your wisdom gleaned from experience!

[@BobbyHuff]

Thanks Azar. God bless you as well.

[@johnmcvicker6728]

I mix live on an X32 so very limited FX rack without going outboard. The stereo delay can be useful for fattening vocals if you set it to about 130ms in addition to using reverb. I also second track acoustic guitar at near 10ms and spread it out with different sends to the two reverb buses I use. Need to try doing similar for the snare. Going to start to look at using Cubase for DAW mixing of our live stream sound but slightly worries about latency and needing to delay video. Will see, but it will allow a much better stereo image for viewers with headphones and soundbars or stereos on their tvs. Many say they listen to our broadcast on phones but I don’t have any idea what devices they are using.

[@bryancolevox]

Fantastic video! Stick this video in your "Must Have" category!

[@ivywilson6515]

Would be incredible if you could do a series on Jerry Finn. Seems to be a lack of videos on him. Thanks for what you do for the community.

[@cameronmurphy5850]

%100

[@steevidrums]

This a COOL trick... thank you for sharing!

[@regardinghenry2145]

Great tricks again! Thank you, Doc!

[@franklucas9313]

awesome Dr Bob! thanks again for a wonderful informative video

[@michaeltablet8577]

Thank you so very much! So helpful! Especially for us newbies.

[@darryldouglas6004]

Very nice! 😃Seems like I’ve heard this type of effects on Eddie VanHalen guitar parts.

[@darryldouglas6004]

@Greg Elchert Yeah that’s the stuff!

[@thorbjrnreppe7343]

Excellent stuff Doc! Gonna try’em all!

[@davidallenhammond2777]

Excellent video, thanks Dr. Bob!

[@robgracia509]

killer trick buddy awesome

[@DangerousDave77]

Thanks Dr Bob, another great video. I probably use Cubase to less than half of it's potential as I just kind of tinker with it as a hobby, but these little tutorials seem to be improving my skill set massively! I tried this for one of the guitar parts on a track I'm working on, but as I have an older version of Cubase, (Studio 4 - I know, should probably bite the bullet and upgrade!), I didn't have the same filter that you used in the video so I used a preset called 'isolated snare' instead. With a bit of tweeking, It seemed to work really well though and had the desired effect. I'm using a laptop for mixing and have been connecting it to a stereo as a monitor, (all the serious mixers are probably lauging at me right now!), it seems to work OK but I want to invest in some decent laptop speakers that are more suited to the purpose. Do you, (or anybody else reading the comments), have any suggestions for which ones to get?

[@toddscotdrumcovers2341]

Exactly what I needed !

[@hummarstraful]

On the vocal that was very dramatic. And with only 10ms! And guitar, too. Just to add to the conversation, Eric Valentine likes to use Haas effect on overheads at around 25ms. He did that on the Keith Urban's song Horses. Question: is this how the Waves Stereo Imager plugin works??

[@BobbyHuff]

ANYTHING Eric Valentine does is worth studying!! One of my all time favs!

[@JaviBello]

Nice trick!

[@DrSteveAllen]

Great video!!!

[@SWATTECHNOLOGIES]

I hope newbies notice how good the originals sounded before the "trick" processing. He's not making crap sound good. He's making good/great sound better/awesome. My point is he uses the word "trick" but long before he applied anything he got awesome takes from good musicians. THAT's the key. We never want to be in the position where we are fixing bad, if we can help it.

[@enduromusicproductions2351]

Drive a wide bus, baby!🤘🏼

[@nobrakes3765]

Great vid! Question: Would you use this same guitar method for more of a guitar bed track (of chords etc) to widen a mix in addition or replace to the traditional 'hard pan and double' approach. PS: Love the vocal approach for backgrounds.

[@bimscutney1242]

I’m good on width. Could use some work on my length though.

[@TheeRocker]

It's ok, you shouldn't be judged on shortcomings you can't fix. Oh, and trust me,,, plenty can't take much length... lol

[@commonsense5188]

Thanks for the chuckle. All jokes aside, eaaaaasy fix. Just takes some time and dedication.

[@SuperLevelone]

LOVE it Thanks

[@cap217cap217]

I have been messing with width and dense Mono mixes that dont lose it when back to stereo. I always flip between stereo and mono when mixing and the better I get my mono, the better the mix is. But I notice that when I flip to stereo its almost too much. Another thing that drives this is that in SIDE monitoring the Low mids, lows, and sub dont have bass, kick, snare. So I started mono-ing those instruments up to 400-800hz. Its helped my mixes a lot now and when I flip to stereo or side only I dont get surprised by how my mix gets loose, wide, harsher. This is a new concept to me and I am trying to figure it out. I am referencing the EAGLES - HOME FOR CHRISTMAS song a lot where its big and full but still clear in the mids.

[@BobbyHuff]

Sounds great! Yes I keep my low end info mono.

[@cap217cap217]

@@BobbyHuff How low do you go? Im even talking about snares up to 400 hz

[@BobbyHuff]

@@cap217cap217 usually up to 150 or 200.

[@joshs.6608]

Why not double track the instruments and even the vocals to widen the mix?

[@jfo3000]

Sometimes the performers cannot duplicate their takes closely enough for good doubling.

[@getblurryman]

Time for some Prince's chicken, that will warm you up.

[@markthefrontman1]

snow day in cincy..

[@buddyalbert5808]

Icy day in Memphis…WHO DEY!!!!

[@aaron9082]

same over here in chicago

[@markthefrontman1]

@@buddyalbert5808 Who Dey!!

[@buddyalbert5808]

@@markthefrontman1 This might be too soon for Bobby if he’s a Nashville Titans fan. 😁

[@markthefrontman1]

@@buddyalbert5808 🤣

[@BatEatsMoth]

I prefer mono.

[@KevenDeezel]

😆 I got some work to do.

[@ryKirwan1]

✊🏻✊🏻✊🏻

[@simonslee73]

Do you mostly mix LCR?

[@TheeRocker]

huh,, this was about geting a wider mix, not about CLA.. doh!!!

[@gobigrey9352]

Thumbnail makes me wonder who else tasted the goo inside Stretch Armstrong as a kid?

[@TheeRocker]

Looks like you are the only one,,, ya sicko' lol

[@uncleted3961]

I really love this channel but the constant swallowing just kills me!

[@Hey_Jamie]

Mannnn why even bother allowing someone to sing when they need THAT much auto tune that’s crazy