W I D E R

[rgdaniel]

There's a VST I've become quite fond of (not just because it's FREE) called "WIDER". It is a dead simple, single control VST that widens the stereo field (in a pseudo kind of way I think) up to 200%. It can really bring a mix to life when dialled in.

https://polyversemusic.com/products/wider/

I'm wondering, though, if there is a way to do this natively in the rack, in case I want to go "no VSTs" in the future. The stock "Stereo Imager" does not come close, in my testing. Is there an RE I'm missing that does this as elegantly and as effectively as WIDER?

[rgdaniel]

(posted in General because it's both a VST AND a Rack Extension question)

[jam-s]

As they tell in the video you could use two (or more) differently set up combfilters (for left and right) and then mix the filtered signal with the original.

[Loque]

Since they talked about comb filtering, i would try this on each channel and
check the results. Since "widening" is just a difference between left and right, you can create any type of differences and you get a "wider" sound. The problem is the mono compatibility. Not sure, how the comb filter would help here - i guess, i missed that point.

[rgdaniel]

It's the single-control simplicity and elegance I'm most interested in. I did hear that in the video about comb filters, and while that might be a fun experiment, it's not what I was hoping for as an alternate solution. Not that I'm ditching VSTs any time soon. Just curious.

[selig]

Not being a fan of “wider” type effects (and with no experience with this particular plugin), I am very impressed with the width control in Ozone (elements) because it increases width without sacrificing other qualities.


Sent from some crappy device using Tapatalk

[esselfortium]

It's not the same as an overall widening effect, but you can get some useful control over an instrument's stereo width using the Mid and Side modes in ColoringEQ or any other EQ that supports them. For instance, if you want to push a stereo background pad (or a big reverb, even!) out of the way of a center-panned lead melody, you can cut the conflicting frequencies in Mid mode, so it steps out of the way in the center but retains its depth on the sides. If you want to give some cymbals more width and add some presence without conflicting with your centered foreground elements, you can boost their high frequencies in Side mode. Etc, etc

[Creativemind]

Just downloaded it. Very wide indeed. Nice!