before i try, let me ask ya'll

since this will take a while to actually do, i wanted to ask you guys about it first. maybe some of you have tried or already know the answer

i was thinking of once i had my individual tracks all set up inside my DAW, if I made an exact copy of every track and panned the original set of tracks to the left and then i panned the copied set of tracks all to the right, would it give it that "big, wide stereo" sound?

im guessing it probably won't, but its just an idea i had at work

well if you pan each side all the way... like 100% left and 100% right.... it will be the same as leaving one single stereo track centered. if you pan each track 75% left and right it will be louder and it might peak so just watch the meters.

DPM wrote:i was thinking of once i had my individual tracks all set up inside my DAW, if I made an exact copy of every track and panned the original set of tracks to the left and then i panned the copied set of tracks all to the right, would it give it that "big, wide stereo" sound?

If you need to do all of that, then you must need a better all in one mixer or throw in a seperate mixer/soundcard combo.

Mixing techniques won't compensate for terrible or sub par audio performance. As a matter of fact, I'd highly recommend replacing your mackie with something better since it's really catered to dj's and not studio recording.

everything panned hard left and hard right will sound odd, even more so in headphones, I doubt it is the sound your aiming for


if you are watching a live band your facing em imagine where each player's sound is coming from, some from center some a little left, some a little right but hard left and hard right is as if the sound is coming from either side of you.. not natural

I'm confused - if you have the exact same sound panned hard left and hard right, how is that any different to having it in mono?

a mono signal sends the exact same to left and right speakers/phones, and that doesn't sound odd.
and it doesn't give a wide stereo sound either.

BGBEATS wrote:everything panned hard left and hard right will sound odd, even more so in headphones, I doubt it is the sound your aiming for


if you are watching a live band your facing em imagine where each player's sound is coming from, some from center some a little left, some a little right but hard left and hard right is as if the sound is coming from either side of you.. not natural

sometimes unnatural sounds best :p

Usually it will sound weird. Like BG mentioned, imagine a live band playing... every instrument has its place on the stage and this creates a "natural" sound. However it can sometimes work to copy tracks and pan them. Guitar players do this sometimes with their rhythm tracks. I've done it with some acapella tracks in my remixes too (sometimes it made things sound a lot better).

Just give it a try and see how you like the results. Most of the time it won't sound any good, sometimes it'll work.

If you have two tracks panned left/right the same ammount, reduce each track about -3db to adjust to the increase in volume.

Pastor-of-Muppets wrote:I'm confused - if you have the exact same sound panned hard left and hard right, how is that any different to having it in mono?

a mono signal sends the exact same to left and right speakers/phones, and that doesn't sound odd.
and it doesn't give a wide stereo sound either.

center panned mono sounds a lot different than hard left or hard right

Hard Left + Hard Right = BIG MONO

Don't do it, unless you really think it sounds good.

Cosign clint. There are processes that can give the illusion of stereo. Just copying a track and panning hard left/right is not one of them. However, if you delay the copied track by a few milliseconds that may help (but it also leads to its own set of problems).

Also try modulation effects like chorus/flanger/phaser. There are also plugins that are designed to create a stereo image or enhance an existing stereo image.

I use a mid side decoded send for width. LCR mixing always gives the sense of width. Sometimes in a mix, all you need is one big sounding element, one wide element to create the space you need. Fill everything else with short delays utilizing haas and you'll have a nice spatial mix.

mp3 wrote:Cosign clint. There are processes that can give the illusion of stereo. Just copying a track and panning hard left/right is not one of them. However, if you delay the copied track by a few milliseconds that may help (but it also leads to its own set of problems).

^^ Bingo

At what point does phase cancellation play a part? I'm sure a mono mixdown with this effect would sound weird.

I'm not sure but i don't think mono signals can create phase cancellation, only when u double the mono signals..

I've heard a story of a dutch rapgroup who pressed a cd which was ready for retail when they found out that the vocals
were all gone from the mix.. The doubled vocals were overlapping each other exactly in opposite directions so they canceled each other out (vocals gone).

Phase cancellation is also a technique which is used by engineers sometimes.

DonnyDank wrote:I'm not sure but i don't think mono signals can create phase cancellation, only when u double the mono signals..

I've heard a story of a dutch rapgroup who pressed a cd which was ready for retail when they found out that the vocals
were all gone from the mix.. The doubled vocals were overlapping each other exactly in opposite directions so they canceled each other out (vocals gone).

Phase cancellation is also a technique which is used by engineers sometimes.

lol, if you want a trip..... if you have a subwoofer or bass bin with two speakers inside ( two 15" woofers in a "W" cab for example) and you switch the negative and positive wire on one of the two woofers (not both) lmao.... your bass disapears almost entirely.