How to mix the same guitar part hard left and hard right?

I hope I don't sound like too much of an idiot but if I can figure out how to do this it will be worth it. I'm trying to mix the same guitar part hard left and hard right in two separate tracks but it is in the center. I know, duh. I'm hearing it on recordings but I'll be darn if I can figure out how it is done so that the guitar is not in the center, only hard left and right. Help? :) Sam

Hi, If you have the same signal on left and right you hear it in the center, this is normal. You have to make your two tracks sound different. One way to do this is a small delay (like 30ms) on one of the tracks.

While the delay works I'd still recommend (re-)recording the same (identical) guitar part twice and then panning those 2 recordings left and right (that is also how it is usually done). You should do this because when your recording will ever be played back in mono you will get a comb filtering effect when you use method of delaying on channel. Also it might give other undesired effects (or more accurate sound phenomenas) in some playback environment (asymmetric speaker setup, etc..). So to get the best results you should record each part twice. That being said for quick demo stuff I sometimes also just delay to double something :).

This is one of the cool aspects of recording using virtual amp software; simply copy the track, then go in and change the settings for the second track... But it is true that for the best results a second *performance* of the part is best, as the subtle differences will create the most 'thickness' with the best feel. But for quick and easy, record dry through your software.

Well, I should note that I *never* pan anything hard left/right, unless it's for a special affect. Extreme panning is unnatural, only cool if you want to sound like old Ramones records! lol I've never had phase issues personally, either with copying tracks and/or a few milli's of delay... ;)

if you are looking to make your mono guitar sound stereo (wide) and still be mono compatible you could give this a try and see if it will get you what you want. [right click link>save as>open with reaper] template saved in reaper 2.53 things to play with- delay time (to maintain balance{and cancellation in mono} keep the values equal left and right) eq pan of track 1 (try it centered, then play around) volume of track 2(click the mono button once in a while to make sure it does not get out of control) :)

Hey, sorry I haven't been back! I didn't know anybody else replied. Wow, lots of cool stuff to try. Thanks so much guys! :) Sam

to further enhance they milliseconds of delay trick, try taking ReaPitch and detuning the delayed track by +.15 to -.15 semitones. Adds a slight kind of "chorus" effect.

Use the VST plugin in its default setting - totally mono compatible. Cheers.

I have great success recording a single guitar track, and copying it to another track (sometimes two or three more) with different amp sims in them. I use Free amp 3, but you have to copy the .dll several times and rename it in your VST folder to stop it from crashing REAPER, then rename the plugs in the FX window. Several instances of Free amp panned left right and center can get you a really thick and wide sound. Once you have the sound you like record the output of those tracks to a new track and you can dispense with the plugins