Mono vs. Stereo???

Dennis1990

New member
I forget which one is which.

But what is the purpose of having everything centered????

Was that just back in the days???

Or are there songs out there now like that???

I like sounds panned because it feels much fuller but is there ups to having it centered???
 
The more wide sounds you have, the less impact the wideness has.

Also, you can't make something very wide without causing phasing or some other kind of distortion of the sound
 
Mono means left and right signal are identical, making it sounds like the sound comes straight from the middle.
Stereo means there are differences between the left and right signal, making a sound wide in the stereo field.

Mono is not the same thing as centered. A sound can be mono but panned left or right, i.e not centered. Likewise can a sound be stereo but be left in the middle, i.e in the centre (except if you use some kind of stereo plugin that makes it sound like it comes from only from the sides, leaving the middle "empty").
In other words, a centered sound is a sound that isn't panned.

Not sure what you mean with having everything centered.
But it's a matter of taste how you want to deal with the panning and stereo imaging, as long as it's not completely crowded because of your panning/stereo decisions and as long as it works in mono (imo).
 
I forget which one is which.

Mono means 1

Stereo means 2

In audio this means a single source of sound or a 2-channel source of sound with information spread across the two channels

But what is the purpose of having everything centered????

Was that just back in the days???

Or are there songs out there now like that???

I like sounds panned because it feels much fuller but is there ups to having it centered???

Most club systems are mono only as there is no other way to ensure that everyone in the club hears the same sounds - so it is in your interests to have a mono compatible mix
 
Mono means left and right signal are identical, making it sounds like the sound comes straight from the middle.
Stereo means there are differences between the left and right signal, making a sound wide in the stereo field.

Mono is not the same thing as centered. A sound can be mono but panned left or right, i.e not centered.

this has similar effect to lowering the channel level but provides a different sort of level control

Likewise can a sound be stereo but be left in the middle, i.e in the centre (except if you use some kind of stereo plugin that makes it sound like it comes from only from the sides, leaving the middle "empty").

that can be achieved by just panning in the centre.... whether this is essential is down to how you want your mix to sound

of course you can use some stereo spread techniques like M/S processing to change the stereo field balance to the sides or the middle
 
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There is a difference in having a mono master and having mono sounds in a stereo master.

Mono master means all your sounds will be in the center, the whole song is in mono.
stereo master, is having a wide full track.

Now a mono sound, is like having your kick mono, snare mono, and then you can pan those left or right.. I helps when you don't need stereo sounds because stereo takes more space in term of mixing.

stereo sound is good to create the landscape behind the drums, synths, brass, strings, or reverb, delay .. but it always depends on you. there are no rules in music, just concepts.
 
Stereo sounds good when you have a equitriangular configuration between yourself and the speakers. In clubs, often sound systems are mono, because people are all over the place, and if it is stereo in some places inside the club it will cause phasing issues and will sound horrible.
 
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