What is Stereo Width?
Also called: stereo image, stereo field
Stereo width describes how wide a sound or mix appears between the left and right speakers, from a narrow mono center to a wide, spacious image. It depends on how different the left and right channels are.
Width is created by panning instruments to different positions, by recording with multiple microphones, and by effects such as stereo reverb, chorus and short delays. Mid and side processing lets you adjust the center (mid) and the difference between the channels (side) separately.
Wider is not always better. Bass and kick usually stay near the center so the low end is solid on every system, and a mix with too much side content can sound hollow and lose parts when it is played in mono.
A correlation meter helps keep width under control: readings near +1 mean the channels are very similar, readings near 0 mean very wide, and negative readings warn of phase problems.
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