Need help with Stereo Width

[soundfx]

Hey all,

I need some advice, please. Background: Been doing post and music composition for broadcast successfully for many years but one thing that EVERYONE seems to have on me is STERO WIDTH. MY mixes NEVER seem to have the width that many folks have. I've tried many things...delayed left and right channels, reverbs, S1 plug-in, but my mixes NEVER seem to have the width that others have. I feel its the one key ingredient I'm missing. Do you guys have any tips on getting a wider mix, both for national broadcast spots and music? Thanks in advance folks.

-SFX

[philper]

In my little (mostly doc for TV) world, the element that contributes most to a feeling of spaciousness in the mix is the music. In TV, composers mostly mix the music themselves, so it is their idea of how wide things should be that most affects the mix. It has a lot to do with how they use their reverbs, how they miced the live instruments they use and how spacious the stereo samples they are using for the other instruments. I find I can widen the image a bit with plugins, but if it isn't fairly wide to start with then my efforts don't have a lot of effect. So talk to your composers. If you are lucky enough to be doing shows where the music is delivered to the stage as multitrack, then there is a great deal you can do (and get yourself into trouble if you over-do) about the width of the stereo (or 5.1 ) image.

Philip Perkins