what's the most natural sounding monitor stereo plug-in?
I tried haas plug-ins, and simply copying the track and delaying it. But both of these methods introduce very audible comb filtering.
mono to stereo
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- KVRAF
- 3761 posts since 5 Mar, 2004 from Gold Coast Australia
I don't understand what you mean by: monitor stereo
Haas, which is where one channel is delayed, will of course produce comb filtering. Not essentially terrible but can cause issues if collapsed back to mono. BTW NEVER clone/copy tracks and process one/both differently, as that is just asking for issues that seem fine in solo but bugger up your mix. There are a million better ways that, when used to support the Scene & Story of this Song, work wonderfully.
If you need two: play it twice and pan em out.
If you need stereo:
- Pan usually with another instrument balancing on the other side. Contrast is your friend, so if everything is stereo'd out to the edges of eternity, nothing really feels wide. Keep many things central or close, then one or two things out wide will feel expansive by contrast.
- Echo with a stereo modulation creates space & depth around that sound.
- Chorus most are violently stereo so take care
- Phaser - here's a cool thing: set the modulation rate to zero/off and find a spot where, with a bit of stereo spread, it sits nice in the mix - this will also work as a kind of EQ if you pump up the feedback
Haas, which is where one channel is delayed, will of course produce comb filtering. Not essentially terrible but can cause issues if collapsed back to mono. BTW NEVER clone/copy tracks and process one/both differently, as that is just asking for issues that seem fine in solo but bugger up your mix. There are a million better ways that, when used to support the Scene & Story of this Song, work wonderfully.
If you need two: play it twice and pan em out.
If you need stereo:
- Pan usually with another instrument balancing on the other side. Contrast is your friend, so if everything is stereo'd out to the edges of eternity, nothing really feels wide. Keep many things central or close, then one or two things out wide will feel expansive by contrast.
- Echo with a stereo modulation creates space & depth around that sound.
- Chorus most are violently stereo so take care
- Phaser - here's a cool thing: set the modulation rate to zero/off and find a spot where, with a bit of stereo spread, it sits nice in the mix - this will also work as a kind of EQ if you pump up the feedback
Benedict Roff-Marsh
http://www.benedictroffmarsh.com
http://www.benedictroffmarsh.com
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- KVRist
- 43 posts since 14 Jun, 2025
whats your daw?
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- KVRAF
- 3761 posts since 5 Mar, 2004 from Gold Coast Australia
Sig says CubeAss.
Not sure how/why DAW would change anything but despite pushing for replies, I suspect he/she/it/giraffe is pfft.
Not sure how/why DAW would change anything but despite pushing for replies, I suspect he/she/it/giraffe is pfft.
Benedict Roff-Marsh
http://www.benedictroffmarsh.com
http://www.benedictroffmarsh.com
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- KVRian
- 864 posts since 22 Jan, 2022
Knowing the OPs use case would be helpful here. Hands down the best way to turn a mono signal into stereo is to double track it and change the tone slightly between the L and R. Or for synths use voice and spread.
Personally, I don't love stereo widener plugins because they never seem to properly collapse to mono, regardless of what they advertise on the tin. Ozone Imager is nice and fairly non-destructive, but generally used as a mastering tool so it may be best used where stereo content already exists.
Often for width, I'll stereo split and use two different saturation algos. Nembrini's PSA1000 (dual mono Sansamp clone) also does this nicely without needing a L/R splitter, but I don't think it oversamples. AudioPunks has a dual mono version of this as well. However, I've never actually tried this on mono signals, so test before you buy!!!
Personally, I don't love stereo widener plugins because they never seem to properly collapse to mono, regardless of what they advertise on the tin. Ozone Imager is nice and fairly non-destructive, but generally used as a mastering tool so it may be best used where stereo content already exists.
Often for width, I'll stereo split and use two different saturation algos. Nembrini's PSA1000 (dual mono Sansamp clone) also does this nicely without needing a L/R splitter, but I don't think it oversamples. AudioPunks has a dual mono version of this as well. However, I've never actually tried this on mono signals, so test before you buy!!!