FREE: Polyverse Wider 2.0

[Guy Rowland]

I haven't used v1 (in fact I hadn't even heard of it), but this looks like a very useful utility - widens mono to stereo without phase issues, and now has a crossover to exclude bass frequencies and a mono compatibility check.



https://polyversemusic.com/products/wider/

[Lawrence]

Thanks Guy!

I use a widener from Izotope (which I believe was also free at the time.) Are you familiar with that one?

[Geoff Grace]

I’ve used Wider on multiple occasions. It’s a useful plugin to have.

Thanks for letting us know about the update, Guy. I welcome the new features.

Best,

Geoff

[Guy Rowland]

Thanks Guy!

I use a widener from Izotope (which I believe was also free at the time.) Are you familiar with that one?

Actually no - I somehow missed that though I have a unit inside Ozone I think that can do it. I often use the Waves PS22 for this chore, and got the Brainworx Stereomaker that is very good for mono compatibility.

However I really do like the notion here of simply keeping the bass mono, so it might become my goto. (Still haven't actually tried it, mind, been a bit busy with stuff).

[Lawrence]

The Ozone plug is called Imager, and I agree-keeping the bass mono is a good feature. Downloading Wider.

[wst3]

presently I like PS22 the best - except it requires that stupid waveshell.

Brainworks Stereomaker is my current favorite, but it looks like Widener eliminates some of the steps? Downloaded yesterday, will take it for a spin soon.

[Luke]

Wider has been useful in the past indeed. Great that they added the extra features in v2, very welcome. I'll admit that if in a pinch, I've used the MonoMaker on the Plugin Alliance stuff, as well as the widener (though less so). I find in moderation it works well.

I'd be curious to hear what frequency you guys settle on for Mono filtering in these stereo wideners; for me it usually ends up being somewhere between 70Hz - 100hz

Lately, I've been on a hunt to widen my mixes. Once I've dealt with single channels and groups, I seem to have settled on the following chain: Kiive Audio NFuse in Neve Mode, Aroma in Mid/Side, and finally Leapwing StageOne 2 for controlled widening across the frequency spectrum. This seems to widen the mix quite a bit, while seemingly bringing it a bit forward (though that could be my imagination!)

The whole pursuit started after I became enchanted with the sound of the analog unit Spacecraft. The chain doesn't have the same sound, but I do like what it does, still.

[Guy Rowland]

I'd be curious to hear what frequency you guys settle on for Mono filtering in these stereo wideners; for me it usually ends up being somewhere between 70Hz - 100hz

Finally tried it. Pretty damn impressive. In mono I can't hear any sonic changes as I widen from 0% to 200%, but it's definitely doing the business in stereo. And Luke, I find the LF crossover pretty much where you say.

My kind of plugin. Dead simple, no fuss, just the controls you need to do one job perfectly.

[Luke]

Agreed, Guy. Super simple, effective and free (!). Their other plugs are useful too, if not exactly "dead simple."