If you have a mono sound that you wish to subtly spread across the stereo field, one creative trick is to use an auto-panner plug-in, such as Soundtoys PanMan, which lets you automatically pan a mono signal back and forth across the stereo field. An auto-panner generally let you choose the width and the rate of the stereo panning, so you can adjust how fast your signal will pan, and how wide the panning will be. Set the width to a conservative setting (not very wide), and then set the rate as fast as it will go. This will result in a signal that varies extremely quickly between two relatively narrow panoramic points in the stereo field. Adjust width and rate to taste. Consider blending this effected signal against the dry, stationary signal to create an even more subtle effect with movement but with stability.
This pseudo-stereo effect won’t sound as wild as a signal that pans all the way across both speakers, but it will create an energetic signal with some stereo width. Give it a try!
