YO UR B A ND G U Y B AN D GU I DE

4 TRICKS FOR WIDE MIXES

WIDTH LIKE THE PROS

Hey there! Thanks for downloading this guide.

Good width is a signature of a lot of pro mixes but for some reason, it always felt impossible for
me to achieve. But slowly I started picking up tips and tricks that actually made a difference.

So today I want to share with you the 4 best tricks I have learned to get
huge WIDE mixes.

What you’ll notice is that some of them actually start in the RECORDING phase. And this is true
about a lot of things. Getting a great nal mix, starts in the recording phase (and getting a great
recording starts in the songwriting phase).

But one thing I love about teaching and learning mixing is- the better you understand what
goes into a great mix, the better you can do at capturing what you need when you are
recording. It’s reverse engineering and it improves the entire project.

ANYWAY, let’s get into it. First, we need to understand…

WHAT IS STEREO WIDTH??

The best way to understand stereo width is actually to rst understand what “center” is.

We don’t have a center ear, so how do we hear something in center?

We perceive something as center when we hear it equally in our left and right ears.

So if we have a guitar amp directly in front of us, both of our ears hear it equally and our brain
decodes it as being directly in front of us.

T H E B A ND GU I D E . CO M
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So if you were to take one recording of a guitar and duplicate it and pan one left and one
right…

Our left and right ears will hear these identically and our brain will PERCEIVE them as ONE
amp, directly in front of us (NO width)…

So if we want to create width, we need to create difference between

what we are hearing in the left and the right ears.
In this guide is going to share my 4 favorite ways to create true stereo width just like the pros
do.

Ready to get into it??

Let’s do it.
 TRICK 1: PICK YOUR “BIG 2”
Okay, if you’re tracking with me so far you’ve realized you can’t just copy and paste one part
and pan it left and right and get stereo width. In order to create stereo width, we need
difference between the left and right side. And the best way to do this is to have 2 unique
recordings panned FAR left and FAR right.

Enter the BIG 2

When I’m recording, I’m always thinking “what can I pan far left and right for width.” These
elements don’t have to be far left and right for the entire song, but at least in the biggest parts
of the song. These are our “big 2”

So for example, if I’m working on a rock song, I’ll often record the exact same guitar part twice
and pan one left and one right. The slight variation in performances will allow our ears to hear
them as different and give us a sense of width. Change out the amps and you’ll get even more
difference (and thus, more width!)

My go to BIG 2s are…

1. Rhythm guitar part (electric or acoustic) recorded twice

2. Piano on one side and guitar on the other side

3. Different string elements (cello left, violin right for example)

4. Vocal doubles (following the lead vocal)

5. Vocal harmonies

What you use depends on your song! For example, for a stripped back acoustic song, you
might have an acoustic guitar and lead vocal up the center for the entire song but in the
choruses vocal doubles come in as your big 2 to give you some nice width.

To see an example of the BIG 2 in action, check out this exclusive video.
Pro Tip: You should have at least one pair of “big 2” elements, but you can also layer in more as
it makes sense. For example, I often have big 2 electric guitars, big 2 vocal doubles, and big 2
vocal harmonies. The rst chorus might only have the guitars, the second chorus might have
the vocal doubles, then by the third chorus I add in the harmonies. This helps the song build
and evolve over time.

Action Step: Listen to 3 of your favorite songs and see if you can identify their “big 2”

Song: _______________________________ Big 2 Element(s): _______________________________

Song: _______________________________ Big 2 Element(s): _______________________________

Song: _______________________________ Big 2 Element(s): _______________________________

TRICK 2: MAKE IT SMALL

“You can’t appreciate the good times without the bad ones” - Beyoncé

If you want your song to feel big and wide at certain points, one of the best things you can do
is make it feel narrow at other points. We are creatures of comparison. If everything always
feels wide, it will never feel wide.

Some of my favorite ways to make it narrower include…

1. Cut the “big 2” out completely and drop back to just 1 up the center. For example,
instead of 2 guitars panned left/right, have just 1 guitar panned center

2. Pan the “big 2” to 50% (or less) pan

3. Completely cut out the “big 2” and don’t replace them. Sometimes the exact right thing
is… nothing. This kind of variation is the spice of life (and a great mix).

To see an example of making it small and the BIG impact it can have, check out this exclusive
video.
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 TRICK 3: MODULATION EFFECTS
Modulation like a Chorus or Flanger creates more difference between the left and right ears.
This can be great for taking a mono source and making it feel stereo or taking a stereo source
and making it feel even wider. Every DAW likely has a built in Chorus plugin you can try.

My favorite modulation tool is Chorus.

I will regularly mix in a little chorus into an organ, piano, or synth sound to make it feel extra
wide in the mix. I HIGHLY recommend you try it out!

To learn more about Chorus and hear it in action, check out this exclusive video.

Pro Tip: You can be incredibly subtle with modulation effects. Sometimes just a 10% will do the
trick. I often like to scale it up until I can hear it then adjust it back just a little bit. But don’t be
afraid to go 100% mix if you need to!

TRICK 4: THE HAAS EFFECT

Okay, this one is cool. Simply put, the HAAS Effect states that a short delay (under 40ms) on a
source will be perceived as 1 distinct sound. But our brain can still detect the stereo width.

So if you duplicate a track (or add a stereo delay on it) and ONLY delay one side (less than
40ms), we can perceive that one mono signal as one WIDE stereo signal.

This trick is SUPER easy to setup- so instead of talking about it, let's check it out!
 Pro Tip: I nd this trick particularly helpful on auxiliary tracks (percussion, a backing instrument,
occasionally a backing vocal) and not on lead tracks (main vocals, main guitar tracks, drums,
etc). If I want my lead tracks to have more width, 9 times out of 10 recording 2 distinct takes is
the best approach.

BONUS: COMMON PANNING

MISTAKES
There are a few common panning mistakes people make early on (myself included!)

1. Not keeping it balanced - As you are panning things far left and right, you want to make
sure you mix feels balanced and isn’t leaning off to one side.

2. Panning Bass - Bass sources (particularly sub bass) should be panned center 99.9% of
the time.

3. Not panning wide enough - Your BIG 2 should be FAR left and FAR right. It’s okay if
other things are panned 50%, but if you want a wide sounding mix, you need some
elements that are FAR left and right.

4. Not having anything (or enough) “center” - The center of your mix is where you get the
power. You want to have at least the driving elements (kick, snare, bass) in the center.
You also typically want your lead vocal to be panned center.

5. Relying too much on effects and not recording enough parts - Your best width typically
comes from simply recording 2 takes and panning far left and right. While I mentioned
other tools like chorus and delays, use these SPARINGLY (if at all). I only grab them if the
source doesn’t make sense to be recorded twice.

FINAL THOUGHTS
YOU GOT THIS! You can do this and I am here to help.

Was this guide helpful to you? Let me know! Feel free to reach out to me at:
bandguy@thebandguide.com

Your band guy,

Colin
THE BAN DG U ID E.CO M
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