Record synths in mono or stereo ?

D

Dannox

Guest
Hello all,

Can anyone offer some advice on the following:

My synths/sound modules all have stereo ouputs - When playing the synth Live I always play it in stereo.

But...For the purpose of creating synth parts to fit into a finished pop/dance/RnB track...Should they be recorded in stereo? or just mono?

Will they gel with the other parts nicely if they are in stereo?

Your help & advice appreciated.
 
Synths are usually recorded in stereo (unless you are recording bass sounds) because both channels usually contain dynamic data.
And if the sounds are pad sounds, then definitely in stereo as the dynamics and efx will have movement across the stereo field and over the two channels.
 
Except that the way most synth samples are "stereo" is via phase and time-based effects, and not from capturing a sound source in true stereo.

Layering "faux-stereo" samples on top of each other usually results in a big washy mess due to all the phase discrepancies.

You're often better off using the mono version of the samples at least some of the time - particularly when layering many parts together.
 
Mmm....beg to differ.

A well produced sample library can be in stereo.

Most orchestral libraries are recorded with multi mics.

With synths, we do not just use pcm based content and offset for dynamic movement across the field.
A good synth preset should feature the stereo equivalent of a sound.

Your description is true for older synths as memory was a major constraint and we had to use all sorts of tricks to create 'faux stereo'.

Today, memory is not a constraint and the sample size is not the focal point anymore.

You are also omitting the fact that there are a lot of dynamic programming in these sounds that require both channels. The same can be said for efx and any realtime control that involves movement across the field.

I think for sample based synths, you are on the money, but for synths that incorporate their own synthesis (oscs etc.) then a stereo channel might be helpful in capturing the dynamic information on the two channels.

So many of today's vstis have different oscs panned on each channel with movement and morphing across the two channels.

However, there are, of course, exceptions to the rule...so experiment.
 
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All true - I merely point it out for people to be aware of -- it's going to be up to them and the context of how the samples are mixed that dictates how "stereo" should/needs to be handled.

If one encounters a big washy mess, then they'll know they've got faux stereo artifacts tripping over each other somewhere. If it sounds fine, then they don't have to worry about it!
 
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Before you start recording in stereo I would suggest you always hit the mono switch on your mixer first (or somehow get a mono signal from both channels) to check the signal for phase problems.

The 'REAL' suggestion I would make though is you keep all your synth and sampler tracks as MIDI tracks for now. Then make a rough mix of all elements straight from the modules (plus miked tracks if you have any and hopefully properly synced with the MIDI). That should give you the big picture. You can then decide which sounds you can keep in stereo - if at all - and perhaps which sounds you need to change cos' they clash or don't fit at all. I reckon that's still early enough before you render everything to audio tracks.

easy
B#
 
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