tricks on how to make mono sources, sound stereo?

[sadworld]

anyone have tips or tricks on how to make tracks like vocals or clean or acoustic guitar have a stereo image? cause on dirty guitar i have the player play the part the same twice and pan one left and one right... sounds good. what about acoustic single note type songs or vocals? make a copy of the track and move one of them a couple miliseconds in time? does anyone do that? (then pan the tracks)

[Fletcher]

Originally posted by sadworld
make a copy of the track and move one of them a couple miliseconds in time? does anyone do that? (then pan the tracks)

That's been done for years [except in the day we did it with an outboard delay]... it is, at best, a piss poor compromise, sometimes it's called for, most time it's done as a bandaid on a headwound.

If you really have to make a track into something that approximates a double track it'll kinda work, but there is no replacement for real double tracking that can be done with machines. If you do try to do it with machines, at least put some kind of slight variation into the pitch of the "faux double" or all you're going to end up with is a smear when you try to put the thing into mono [MTV will, you might as well check it in mono at some point during your mix].

Offseting the pre-delay into a stereo reverb is usually your best bet for increasing the size of a mono track. It's how something like a real plate reverb might have handled it. The one thing you might want to keep in the back of your mind as you work is that the song will tell you what it wants... songs drop subtle hints, like women, your job is to be observant and to pick up on those hints and give the song what it wants... if you try to muscle the thing around so it does what you want it to do... it'll work, but more often than not you'll lose something in the translation.

Best of luck with it.

[NeoVXR]

panned (multi-) delay 5-40 msec with hi-pass 100-500 Hz .
example: Hyperprism Quasi-Stereo
panned, complementary comb filters.
stereo reverbs. stereo chorus.
...
please try & study...

[joeq]

Many years ago, before there were digital delays, I would do the complimentary comb filter thing that NeoVXR mentioned.

You split the signal into two and run them into a stereo graphic eq. Then set up an extreme comb filter with the odd bands boosted and even bands cut on the left and the opposite on the right.

As I recall it did not exactly make it sound Stereo, but it did make it sound less Mono.

then I would get back on my dinosaur and ride back to the cave.

I haven't tried that in a long time, but it might be interesting/fun to give it a shot.

[sadworld]

"offsetting the pre-delay on a stereo reverb" could someone elaborate on this technique that fletcher mentioned... i do have a stereo verb (mpx-1).... thanks.

[DirkB]

H3000 pitchshift algo, -5cents left, +5cents right, delay left +5 delay right +10.
Feed the track to both sends. I have aux 1&2 routed as a stereo send married to the H3000.

Instant width .

Greetings,
Dirk

[djui5]

Originally posted by sadworld
"offsetting the pre-delay on a stereo reverb" could someone elaborate on this technique that fletcher mentioned... i do have a stereo verb (mpx-1).... thanks.

set the pre delay on the left channel different than the pre delay on the right channel....

L: 15ms, R: 20ms

You'll also need to make sure the stereo verb dosen't cross paths anywhere inside the unit.....like engine one crossing paths with engine 2...this will blur the stereo image...

[TOR]

Originally posted by NeoVXR
example: Hyperprism Quasi-Stereo

Excellent plugin - when used sparingly it can really fatten up a vocal or guitar. When used excessively it can be a cool effect to get things massive

~T

[Dragonfly]

Another poor option, but occasionally has a use, is using a chop filter. Copy the signal and simply cut and boost with a graphic eq alternating frequencies and do the same to the original with opposite approach. I find the only this has worked well on has been saxophone, but of course, there is no substitution for simply tracking a doubled part.

Peace