Design Stereo Sounds

You can use many different techniques to make your synth sounds sound big and full. Things like panning, stereo doubling plugins, or the Haas effects are worth checking out. Pursuing this further, there is an unorthodox and obscure technique of designing stereo sounds. It applies to almost any sound source, so we wanted to share it with our ever-growing community!  

Using Melda MStereoProcessor

The Melda MStereoProcessor is a powerful tool that can significantly help widen the stereo image. Unlike many stereo widening tools, this one operates in multi-band mode, which is genuinely beneficial. Firstly, let's put an instance of Melda MStereoProcessor on the synth stab sequence. I previously made it together with some basic rhythm in Soundbridge DAW.

Let's first hear the unprocessed synth stab sequence solo and then with rhythm and the bassline.

~Synth Stab - Unprocessed

~Synth Stab - Unprocessed + Rhythm & Bassline  

 

The Interface

After the opening of the Melda MStereoProcessor, we can see a complex interface containing all the essential tools for precise editing and widening of the stereo image. So, let's start by explaining the key features of this great tool from the top. In the top section, we can see the control parameters for "Gain," "Panorama," "Widening," and "Exciter." Those are of great help in balancing your results. The middle section is divided into four quarters. So, as you can see, there are control parameters for each frequency band containing "Widening," "Delay," "Delay Depth," and "Exciter." Below is a section with a miniature spectrum analyzer with the four bands mentioned above.

It is also possible to drag the little dots in the middle of each gain to increase or decrease the volume of the selected band. On the left side, we can see a dedicated metering section. The bigger portion is reserved obviously for the goniometer, which accurately represents the stereo image; below that, meters show the amount of input, output, mid, and side signals.  

Audio examples

Let's hear how it sounds once I have set the stereo width for the synth stab sequence. Remember that a slight reverb and delay accompany the first audio example. The second example also contains the rhythm and bassline. Feel free to enhance middle and high frequencies in the stereo field. By doing so, you can achieve the desired sound.

~Synth Stab - Processed with Melda MStereoProcessor

~Synth Stab - Processed with Melda MStereoProcessor + Rhythm & Bassline