How to make a synth wide: the 15 ms Haas trick

Delay just one side of a mono sound by about 15 milliseconds. Your ears hear the two sides as one sound coming from everywhere, so the synth spreads across the stereo field. This is the Haas effect. Keep the bass and kick in the middle, and check the result in mono.

How to do it

1. Put a delay on the synth with no feedback and 100% wet, or duplicate the track.
2. Delay only the right side (or the copy) by 10 to 30 ms. Start at 15.
3. Pan the original left and the delayed side right.
4. Check in mono. If it gets thin or phasey, shorten the delay or turn it down.
5. Use it on synths, guitars and backing vocals, not on bass or kick.

Why it works

Below about 30 ms, your brain doesn't hear a delay as an echo. It hears one sound, and the timing difference between your ears tells it the sound is wide.