Wide mixes? Can't seem to get it

[Pre Studio Productions]

Alright, so when Im done with my mix, everything sounds good. Good tone, it's very full, and it's right where I want it to be. But!!! I can never get my mixes as wide as (let's see...Joey sturgis). I just wanna know how he gets them do wide and full with having that "artificial widening" sound. I'm currently doing a cover of Of mice and men's, Purified. everything seems right except is not as wide as joeys mix. Any suggestions? You guys know what I'm talking about? I'll post a clip when I get home. Thanks guys

 

[Charles J]

honestly..... just as it is with getting mixes LOUD, you have to MIX the song with one of your priorities being that it's WIDE.

it's hard for me to quantify what creates this but I will say distortion and texture is your friend and NEVER be afraid of panning a LOT of shit hard L % R...

...just my 2 cents..

 

[Pre Studio Productions]

well dude, i pan my guitars hard left and hard right all the time, and i even have my little tricks with making the tone even thicker than just the normal pod stuff. How else can i make my guitars wider besides panning hard left and hard right?

 

[Uros]

Using different pickups/guitar/amp (or changing all these variables at once). Different textures (as Charles said already).

 

[thefalloftheheretic]

Stereo widener perhaps?

 

[Audiosprite]

Try processing the L and R guitar tracks differently.

 

[aramism]

honestly i've come to realize a big part of wideness comes from eq. having bad freq or low end issues in guitars and the mix in general will "monoize" a mix.


our ears hear more "stereo" with certain eq and perceived brightness and
"in your faceness"

there are so many factors it's not just a matter of slapping on a widening plugin.

 

[ashgallows]

the more difference between the L&R speakers usually the more "stereo" it is. This is why chorus is used a lot to widen things as it produces those differences. Different eq and that slight delay on one channel are just some ways to achieve this.

 

[XxSicRokerxX]

 

[Mesa4x12er]

Differences between left and right but also you have to watch the balance in the middle. If kick and vox etc. is too on top in the middle then by comparison the sides seem small. The mix seems more up and down vs. left and right. Close your eyes and listen to a mix and envision it physically. This is why I find it important to carve out frequencies and interlace. If everything in the middle is dominating then you won't get a good left to right balance. Well you won't get super wide anyway.

 

[RedDog]

My trick is using the pin function in Reaper. I get levels out of both channels and mix left (in mono) and then right ( also in mono) and then bring both channels back together. really only helps when I can't get toms to work in the stereo field.

 

[Sly]

Try this :

Take every raw track and put a good EQ in the first slot. Then boost a narrowest possible +24 db and move it on each track until you find some unwanted resonances, then cut one or two dbs maximum at those places. Repeat this on EACH raw track you use in your mix. Then listen to your mix again It's wider ! (this cleaned your mix ; small unwanted resonances here and there can be a big mud in the end when all tracks are listened together)

 

[Firaxis]

In my experience, massive fat guitars make the mix smaller and using stereo widening seems to fuck things up moving between systems, especially headphones! As everyone else says, using different processing on your stereo tracks helps!

 

[LuketheDuke]

Not to say that any of my mixes could even remotely be considered wide, but I usually EQ the guitars slightly differently (panned hard L&R, of course), then use a stereo gain (Blue Cat has a really cool one) and Mid-Side EQ (either Brainworx or Ozone) on the summed guitar bus.

Using M/S EQ on the Master usually does a lot to the "wideness" for me as well.

 

[chrisrivalry]

Not to say that any of my mixes could even remotely be considered wide, but I usually EQ the guitars slightly differently (panned hard L&R, of course), then use a stereo gain (Blue Cat has a really cool one) and Mid-Side EQ (either Brainworx or Ozone) on the summed guitar bus.

Using M/S EQ on the Master usually does a lot to the "wideness" for me as well.

And by M/S eq'ing you specifically mean cutting the lows from the middle of the guitars right?

 

[setyouranchor]

Reverb, panning and S1 for me

 

[LuketheDuke]

And by M/S eq'ing you specifically mean cutting the lows from the middle of the guitars right?

Yep...plus, being able to differentiate between your mono and stereo information can help to clear up muddiness and place the instrument in question a little better in the stereo field.

 

[voidar]

Try this.

EQ the guitar bus so it balances well with everything else. Send this to a new bus. On this bus apply a low shelf boost (high cut-off) to the side-component (M/S). Also try a limiter/soft-clipper on the side-component. Mix this in like you would a compressed drum bus.

 

[tempe]

Try using plug-ins in multiple mono instead of stereo and create some small differences left / right in the stereo field, say on your guitar bus. It's amazing how half a dB won't be perceived as a tonal shift, but it will definitely enhance the stereo field.

 

[Melb_shredder]

My own personal learning curve with getting a good stereo image is all about EQ. Making everything isn't competing for the mids. Bass should be low and encompass the overall mix, guitars should be midfocussed and edgy without being muddy or brittle, drums should be much less mid focussed by comparison. In this sense, you'll find your mix OPENS a lot more and the widening is generally a byproduct. Then you have FX to compliment the mix and potentially add some more of that performed width