Stereo with one flute?

[BernieS]

What is the best way to create a stereo sound using one instrument?

I have two sound files of flute panned left and right but it still only gives a mono impression.
I've tried delaying one file by about 5millisec. This gives a powerful stereo sound but I'm worried about mono compatibility. Are there any other methods of processing the files to create stereo?

[Foreverain4]

record with two mics. have on up close, and one back a bit farther. pan these hard left right. you could even use two different mics. or just use on mic and put a nice stereo reverb on it. why are you worried about mono compatibility? i dont know too many people that are listening to stuff in mono anymore. i always get stuff as wide as i can. i could care less about mono compatibility. :)

[Ted]

My question would be why do you want a big stereo sound with a flute? It's not typically an instrument we hear in stereo, unless you're right up next to it...I'd recommend just putting a good stereo reverb on it as Foreverain4 suggested to create a realistic sense of space if you're looking for a natural stereo sound. Delaying the track and panning opposite isn't much different than this.

On the other hand, if it doesn't need to be natural, go to town...one neat trick is to duplicate the track to a second track, and use a drastic high-pass filter somewhere near the middle of the track's range on one track. Use a drastic low-pass filter centered at the same frequency on the other track and pan them hard left and hard right. That can create a fairly natural-sounding (albeit unrealistic) stereo sound.

-Ted

[BernieS]

Thanks Foreverain4 and Ted. You've given me something to think about.

[paddyopossum]

Bernie, are you playing the flute? Can who is playing it double the part? That can make for a better stereo presentation. I do that with fiddles alot. I can make them sound almost like one instrument, yet just different enough so you know it's not one take, and you have the opportunity to use different tonal approaches to the two different tracks. Experiment with panning, too,,it doesn't have to be hard right and left. If your system allows, pan the(any) effect different from the source.

PS I realize that if this were an improv situation on the flute take, it might be difficult to double. With fiddle tunes, you often have to make a conscious effort to make the next performance a bit different,,reel, breakdowns, etc., or, at least it's easy(ier) to play it the same way twice. :)