Stereo widening
Any technique that makes a sound appear to occupy more of the stereo field than it naturally does.
Widening works by creating small differences between the left and right channels, whether through delaying one side slightly, modulating the pitch of one side, or panning two related performances apart. The ear interprets those differences as space, so a doubled guitar spread wide sounds enormous while a mono track in the middle sounds small. Used too aggressively the effect collapses when the mix is heard in mono, which is why engineers check mono compatibility.
Example: Two separately recorded guitar takes panned hard left and right, making the part sound wide, are an example of stereo widening.
See also
Related
- PageDouble tracking
- PageMix
- PageMonitor
- PageAmp mic placement
- PageAudio interface
- PageAux send
- PageAaron Dessner
- PageAce Frehley