You Suck at Producing: Stereo Width

Ok, so check it. Our ears determine the position of a sound based on which ear perceives it first and its successive reflections (arriving within 1-35 ms from the initial sound) which, will give us the perception of depth and spaciousness. Using this psychoacoustic phenomenon called the Haas effect, we can make Roger sound large and wide. Wowzers!

TALK TO UNDERBELLY:

[itsbCool]

Nothing gets me through the day better than a good "WOWZERS".

[SadowickProduction]

I love myself a thicc and strong woman

[ards]

I think what wouldve been a helpful takeaway here for many people is that
mono: both channels playing exactly the same signal
stereo: both channels playing a different signal
By delaying the left channel slightly it plays a slightly different signal compared to the right one, and this creates the illusion of width. However, you dont necessarily need a delay to make things sound wider (as is kind of implied here) - virtually any L/R processing (subtle distortion, EQ, etcetera) will generate differences between the L and R channel creating width. Whats more, I find that using delays to widen sounds actually has drawbacks; e.g. if you collapse a sound treated with the Haass effect to mono you''ll reveal the effect's chorus-y nature and while that can be interesting, it doesnt sound terribly transparent.

What I've started doing recently is using an EQ to make sounds wider. You take an EQ8, put it on LR mode and then cut out small notches at a range of different frequencies on the L channel. Then copy these notches to the R channel (right mouse button on EQ8 for this option) and ever so slightly move all of them to the right or left of their original positions. The idea is that frequency-wise both L and R are slightly different, but not to a point where it becomes noticeable. In addition, because both channels are EQed to the same extent as far as +- in volume goes, you don't get a result that's skewed to the right or the left (cutting out notches by definition makes things less loud, so if you would only cut out notchs on the L channel but not the right, you would get a somewhat stereo result but it would also be skewed/ "panned" to the right) but rather a result that is stereo but also in the center of your mix panning-wise.

[AaronJohnsonART]

you're so strange and so wise Underbelly. i'm so grateful for your wisdom

[RBBiT]

F'n genius! You hecking named the intruments names that include the first letter in the instrument.

[polymathpark]

woah i like that lfo synced to the time in the delay trick, like making a phaser from scratch

[lynxrufus]

For sure, 100%, without a doubt, Underbelly is the best music production teacher on YouTube. So glad I found your channel dude. Thx for the help and entertainment. Keep at it





Pls

[aliveagain]

The most entertaining and educational channel on youtube.

[DerwahreNesstor]

you are literally the first one i am not mad at for asking to subscribe in the end. u do it with style. keepem coming

[NickyJamesTV]

your vibe in the intro had me smiling huge. its funny cause I DO suck at producing.

[yashgarg.official]

bro I don't know what to say. your first little delay tip just saved my life man.. thanks a ton. hitting that little like button is not enough at all.. what all I can say is a big thank you for making up these great videos :) keep up the great work

[xBLACKOUT]

To achieve the nicest sounds, I like to mono my master channel

[DaNumbaTwenty]

Cant thank you enough Underbelly, youre an amazing being

[guywithaguitar]

Man, not only you learn so much, you actually want to learn more, each episode is a hilarious story with dark humor

I love you so much dude

[dannyruggles]

only thing i would mention is that if you create the stereo image with delay, the side you hear first will always appear louder, because the brain hears it first it will hear it as dominant, something to keep in mind with the mix

[DeletedMusic]

Thanks again Underbelly, this is exactly what my track needed

[therealOXOC]

This new thumbnails are the bomb. Sadly the content is still awesome.

[deepfriedcarplips]

Just wanted to say your deadpan is world-class. Bret and Jemaine would be proud!

[DodgaOfficial]

What I like to do is get two sounds that are very similar and play then together panned left and right. Creates a nice width while also adding some very nice texture.

[zZZZzzZzzZzzzzzzZzzzz]

wow man it's been years since I dyon't watch your videos. I completely forgot about wowzers. I'm so happy right now