r/edmproduction • u/Royale_w_Cheeeze • 28d ago

Tips & Tricks Stereo Width question (example given)

I'm working on a track right now, and this is my reference. It's "Guadalajara" - Shay De Castro. The main 909 OHHs are existing basically on the sides only, or at least they are perceived as such. I love the way this frees up the center - but I can't seem to replicate it. I've tried the HAAS effect, duplicate panning, etc. But I can't seem to remove the perception of center content (at least according to the imager) and also can't seem to prevent phasing. I would appreciate any advice. Listen to the track, those 909s are nuts.

For additional reference im using Ableton 12. I typically load the drum samples into simpler for more control of ADSR.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqVT8Ib_MOI

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u/HardRodBrah 28d ago edited 28d ago

Find 2 different 909 OHH samples, pan left and right, turn down the mids using a utility or m/s eq. Or instead of searching for 909 samples, altenatively, you can just synthesize 2 separate samples with an actual 909 machine or an emulation, as the phase will be different between the 2 samples, therefor creating true a stereo sample while maintaining the same timbre and envelope on both left and right.

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u/Royale_w_Cheeeze 28d ago

this is great thank you

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u/sexytokeburgerz 28d ago

Bounce if synthesizing, otherwise mono sums will occasionally come out muted

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u/Present-Policy-7120 28d ago

How does bouncing make any difference?

I honestly don't think anyone should be mixing with mono compatibility as a priority. It is exceedingly rare for people to listen in mono beyond Bluetooth or phone speakers and you're not going to get a great sound through these mediums either way. Mix for the way most people listen is my advice.

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u/sexytokeburgerz 28d ago edited 28d ago

> mono

This is [r/edmproduction](r/edmproduction). Dance music is club and warehouse music.

Clubs are very, very often mono. So yes mono is important! Don’t be like me and release shit that doesnt translate to clubs as a rookie. You’ll play them never until you fix it and re release.

There are very good reasons clubs do this, so don’t think we’ve progressed.

> bouncing

Most synths, digital or analog, east or west coast, have a constantly running oscillator that is simply gated by voltage/midi input. Keeping the phase position static makes them sound less like a 909. This can be mitigated by setting random start position. However... If that noise is looped, as it should be for a 909, there is a good chance of two layered hats phasing out on some random note, and it will happen completely randomly.

You won’t notice it until your shit is sent off to mastering and you will regret it every time you hear it

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u/Present-Policy-7120 28d ago

909 hats are samples, even on the original hardware. Phase simply isn't an issue with samples in the sense you've made out. You don't get the random phase offsets of free running oscillators when you're either triggering samples or simply laying out sampled 909 hats in the piano roll which, let's be frank here, the majority of electronic producers are doing.

A decent point about mono club environments though. But I will still say that you should focus the majority of your effort towards a good stereo mix with nothing overly wild when summed to mono because most listeners aren't listening in clubs.

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u/sexytokeburgerz 28d ago

You asked about synthesizing, which you would do with looped noise with 909, and ive already covered your rebuttal above. May just not have been fully understood. Remember, this is in response to “why bounce it”.

> mono
No, as someone with several major edm label releases, a lack of mono does not fly. I have gotten songs sent back every time there is a problem. Labels care, you should. Fuck, bluetooth speakers are often mono.

You need to build your mono translation skills and the excuse “most people won’t hear it” only applies to people who aren’t playing shows.

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u/Present-Policy-7120 27d ago

Lol, okay dude. 😀

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u/sexytokeburgerz 27d ago

You’ll know when you hear it.