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R/E/P => R/E/P Archives => Fletcher => Topic started by: burns46824 on February 27, 2011, 01:15:36 AM

Title: Tips on "Stereoizing" Mono Output Synths
Post by: burns46824 on February 27, 2011, 01:15:36 AM
I'm making an old-school synthpop album.  On a few songs, I'm trying to achieve that big 80s pad sound (stereo).  I'm using an analog Prophet synthesizer with a mono output.

So far, I've had the most success panning the pad sound hard left and then doing another take with slightly different parameter settings (filter frequency, tuning, amplitude attack) and panning that hard left.  However, I've noticed when listening to recordings of synth pads from the 80s, the panning is never quite this drastic.

Anyone know what the de facto standard for panning in such a situation?  I haven't used reverb or effects so far...so any tips in this regard would be great as well.
Title: Re: Tips on "Stereoizing" Mono Output Synths
Post by: MagnetoSound on February 27, 2011, 03:58:51 AM
SPX Symphonic?

Title: Re: Tips on "Stereoizing" Mono Output Synths
Post by: Jim Williams on February 27, 2011, 10:34:11 AM
Back in the 80's I used to use an Orban "Stereo Synth" box, I actually made a few of them too.

They used an all pass filter to create nulls between the two channels giving a nice widening effect.

The beauty of that design is it sums to mono perfectly, something those other techniques will not do well.
Title: Re: Tips on "Stereoizing" Mono Output Synths
Post by: k jacobson on February 27, 2011, 02:43:55 PM
A technique I've used often for stereo-izing anything:

Make a copy of the mono track onto a second track.
Delay the second track by 8 ms to 12 ms (or more possibly).
Pan these two tracks hard left and right.



Title: Re: Tips on "Stereoizing" Mono Output Synths
Post by: Fletcher on February 27, 2011, 04:27:18 PM
What you're doing with the Prophet 5 is pretty much what was done during the 80's... if you're lazy you can copy the track with a bit of delay [and even some pitch shift if you feel like it] but you will definitely have phase issues in mono [which is how a lot of this stuff ends up if its used or distributed through a television medium].

Peace
Title: Re: Tips on "Stereoizing" Mono Output Synths
Post by: Phil Mayor on February 27, 2011, 08:02:02 PM
Try a Roland Dimension D or the SBF-325 in chorus mode...Works very well with synths..the D is nice as it doesnt cover up tne original synths character too much..the SBF-325 is a bit more Juno 60 with-chorus-switch-on sounding..
Title: Re: Tips on "Stereoizing" Mono Output Synths
Post by: Nick Sevilla on February 28, 2011, 01:29:16 AM
Hi,

What DAW are you using?
Does it have any Chorus, Stereo making, or other effects?
Try some of those.

Cheers
Title: Re: Tips on "Stereoizing" Mono Output Synths
Post by: compasspnt on February 28, 2011, 11:19:49 AM
Yeah, as mentioned, Dimension-D is quite nice.

If you are doing the delay thing, be sure to check in mono.  Usually you will need to get past 30 ms or so to keep some sort of mono compatibility.

Another trick was the AMS DMX-1580s with pitch and delay variations.  No (single) plug-in does this properly to my knowledge.

I like the way you are doing it now, probably has a good chance for the effect in stereo and something left in mono.
Title: Re: Tips on "Stereoizing" Mono Output Synths
Post by: burns46824 on February 28, 2011, 12:02:35 PM
For those of you who have suggested effects, are you talking about mono effaces?  Like "pan the dry signal to the left and pan a mono chorus effect to the right"?  Or stereo?