MIXING & EFFECTS

Spreader

Spreader widens the stereo image of your audio without affecting its compatibility with mono systems. This means that even if you listen to the audio on a mono speaker or a system that combines stereo channels into mono, it will still sound good. Related plugins: Stereo Enhancer and Stereo Shaper. There is also a stereo control on the Mixer Track Properties - Stereo separation. Visualize stereo effects with Wavecandy Vectorscope.

Controls

  • Spread - From no change (0%) to maximum stereo enhancement (100%).
  • Separation - Left Merged (0%, mono) to Right Separated (100%). This is based on the same code as the 'Stereo Separation' knob found on the Mixer, that uses MID/SIDE manipulation. NOTE: Using this control in separation mode can break mono compatibility!
  • Low Bypass (10 Hz to 10 kHz) - Filters low frequencies from the stereo effect. Useful to preserve the mono aspects of a bass sound where stereo spread is not usually desirable.
    • Mono - Collapses the Low Bypass signal to Mono. Useful for bass sounds to achieve a mix that will work on big speaker systems with mono bass channels.
  • Stereo Scope (Vectorscope) - The central part is the vectorscope. The sound 'sound flower' shows stereo width of the audio. The wider the display the more stereo signal is present. The input is shown in yellow and the post process output is shown in orange. NOTE: There are switches for each in the upper right of the display.

    Mono signals will display a single petal (vertical when panned to center) or leaning to one side (L or R) when panned (as is the case above). For normal stereo spread the goal is to keep the 'petals' within the central sector delimited by the L and R 'safety' lines. Although if you are creating interesting sound designs, feel free to ignore these limits.

    • Stereo Balance - The dot running around the arc is the balance indicator. It shows how the audio power is distributed between the Left and the Right channels. On the master channel, normally, you would want to keep the balance in the center when the whole mix is playing.

Plugin Credits: Kyle Spratt (code), Miro (GUI).