Whats the lowdown on stereo wideners? Are they best used as inserts or sends? I heard that sometimes they can do more harm than good. What instruments are they 'typically' used on? Are they more necessary or unnecessary when using samplers and midi rather than a recorded drum kit and player?
I generally don't use wideners as sometimes the result sounds phasey to me. I try to pan the tracks right first, before applying any effects, and use that to create a wider stereo field. I used to not do this properly but discovered that it works very well.
I've seen producers use the widener plugins but generally for what seemed to be a subtle effect.
The 'problem' with stereo wideners is that they all accomplish their results differently, some more 'damaging' than others.
Main thing to consider is using a stereo correlation meter to make sure that the effect is mono compatible.
I use them myself though,, the fact that they are 'phasy' or diffuse can be a good thing when you want to smear a sound into the mix. As anything used sparingly they can do some good, just don't expect the to be the answer to a 'wide' mix.
stereo wideners
Linear Mode
