If you’re mixing in stereo, your soundstage is vital. Spreading out some tracks will give you a sense of space, but remember to keep your vital tracks to the center. Putting the kick, snare, bass, or lead vocal off to one side may seem edgy and daring, but it’ll sound to your audience like you don’t know how to mix.
Leave the spreading-out to parts that frame your picture: doubled rhythm guitars, backing vocals, stereo keyboards, and the like. Let them create the space for your song.
Speaking of space, a reverb Aux bus can help pull tracks together into a single sonic environment. When you do that, here’s a useful trick: set the reverb to where you think it sounds just right, but then turn it down just a little more.
Why? Reverb is seductive; we always want to add a little too much. What might seem too dry earlier in the process often sounds perfect in a finished mix.