Using Stereo Enhancer pulgins in Mastering

BillC15

BillC15

New member
I've been doing a few quick masters at home with Cubase 5, the same DAW I use for tracking/mixing and pretty much everything in between. I've noticed that using the basic stereo enhancer vst plugin on a track after a limiter can subtly widen the mix and add a touch of overall clarity and size to the song. Do you think this is this a common technique used by professionals? Have you ever done this? Share your thoughts.
 
For the most part I don't care for such a plug in, if you already have a good clear mix with a good stereo spread and all the instruments have there place in the mix then you should be fine.



:cool:
 
I've used it a few times, sparingly. It can widen out a mix and polish it off a little with some depth, but use it too much and you have very little center and very loud reverbs (if there was reverb used in the mix)
 
I've tried several. They can sound interesting, but I always end up taking them out when I listen back the next day.
 
XLR said:
I've tried several. They can sound interesting, but I always end up taking them out when I listen back the next day.
Click to expand...

My exact experience. After working with a mix for a while, they seem to add a little "something" that sounds cool. But step away for a while and get some fresh ears and then it ain't all that and bag a chips. (Do the kids still use that one??)
 
heres my new found knowledge ;)


stereo enhancers in the mastering stage are a no no unless used very moderately...because you are also stereoising (is that a word?) some of the signals that should remain mono...your anchors


youll need a plug in like Bx digital or i think sonalikis has a stereo tool that allows you to keep certain frequencies mono...say everything beneath 125 - 200Hz which would cover a large part of bass and kick then increase the gain on the stereo above that...

using it on tracks then mastering and using it can also cause phasing problems..


hic :drunk:
 
*SOOOOOOOO* moderately that they're almost never used except under rather rare and unique occasions.

Adding one to *your own* mix would be -- it would be like ----

I can't even think of a decent analogy.

You want to kiss your drum overheads with it or something, go for it. Putting it across a whole mix...? Just remix it.
 
But massive ....kissing your overheads? That's a little to much personal information so early in this morning.



:-)cool:)
 
Effective if used in pretty extreme moderation...but I don't think spreading an entire mix is a great idea. Anything spatially dependent (reverbs, chorus, etc) can get completely out of hand very quickly. I'll use one on individual tracks sometimes...usually on a pad that I want to be present, but not overbearing. Occasionally, this does the trick. On smaller projects I've toyed with spreading just the high end a bit to give the mix some 'air', but I inevitably go back and delete it.:p
Also, if you are using stereo samples, like a piano, it will seriously screw with relative volume levels, octave to octave. Probably due to the selective phase inversion being used to create the 'spread'.
 
Gee thanks Tey. Now I have to go and wash my brain with bleach just imagining that! And so early in the morning......This is going to be one of those days in HR. I can just tell.
:laughings:



:-)cool:)
 
This thread has some good examples of the "Listen again the next day 'cause you're gonna realize you were crazy" law of mixing. :D Part two of the law is, "any spacial, compression or reverb settings you choose will be cut in half, if not eliminated the following day.":laughings: Anyone who can successfully bypass this law has my ultimate respect as a mix engineer.

I did remember one stereo plugin that I do use occasionally and like on individual solo guitar recordings that were done in mono - mda stereo. It's not designed for widening a stereo mix, but for stereo-izing a mono file. Freeware, natural-enough sounding when used intelligently, gives a nice sense of space to a single mono instrument, and the stereo result is fully mono-compatible.
 
I've never found it useful on a whole mix but I do use it occasionally on backup vocals with good results (at least to my ears)
 
BillC15 said:
I've been doing a few quick masters at home with Cubase 5, the same DAW I use for tracking/mixing and pretty much everything in between. I've noticed that using the basic stereo enhancer vst plugin on a track after a limiter can subtly widen the mix and add a touch of overall clarity and size to the song. Do you think this is this a common technique used by professionals? Have you ever done this? Share your thoughts.
Click to expand...

I not sure you would want to use any widening after a limiter.
Usually if a limiter is used the only thing that follows it would be dither.

I've always stayed away from anything that was labeled a "Enhancer"

M/S is something that gets more mileage when it comes to manipulating the stereo field a bit.
 
Waltz Mastering said:
I not sure you would want to use any widening after a limiter.
Usually if a limiter is used the only thing that follows it would be dither.

I've always stayed away from anything that was labeled a "Enhancer"

M/S is something that gets more mileage when it comes to manipulating the stereo field a bit.
Click to expand...

I always thought you'd put dither before a limiter? What about the "quantize" feature on most limiters (Sonalksis MaxLimit, Waves L1,L2,L3 etc.)?

And he's right about the widening after a limiter. If you're using a limiter to bring the peaks up to, or close to 0dBFS, you don't want to put anything that increases the level of the signal after it because it will induce clipping. I've yet to see a stereo widener/enhancer that doesn't increase level.
 
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