Ask about Mono vs. Stereo

This is prolly a really stupid question ... but why would you set up a stereo aux track for a mono recording then?

That's how I've always been shown to do it.. i.e. one mic on a vocalist, set up an aux track .. insert reverb on it, and send vocal to the aux .... wouldn't it make more sense for it to be a mono aux track?

I'm talking about Pro Tools by the way, but I'm sure it'd be the same in any DAW
 
The reason for it is that while the signal is mono, the effect can often give you two different signals on both channels, wich is why you get stereo.

Think about a delay where you can set the delay of the left channel to one setting, and the right channel to an entirely different setting. Reverbs often have stereo signals, even if the original signal is mono.
 
You know I was thinking of that ... but I didn't wanna sound stupid lol.

I mean I know delays will be a stereo type of effect, and reverbs also.. but even compression and dynamic effects like that too?
 
There are compressors that have separate settings for left and right sides, but they're not the norm. Not that there's no use for them, but at least for me, it's rare when I want to process the same signal two different and separate ways at the same time. I can't even think of any that have separate controls for each side, but they're out there.

Most compressors will automatically handle a mono signal and process it accordingly. Whether they give you 2 of the same signal of 1 single mono signal is the same thing. The only thing that 2 of the same signal gives you is a little more volume, which is the same as pulling up the fader. I think most will keep the signal as is and even if they process two sides from one, they will attentuate the level to remove any volume increase. I assume most won't even go through the trouble of doing that and they'll just give you what you put in.
 
Center (mono) and side (stereo) are equally important aspects of a recording. The goal is to create (or re-create) the sense of physical space and that's in interplay of both the summed center and difference side channels. There is a lot of mid-side processing stuff coming out that is being abused to artificially widen the stereo field. Both parts have to be in balance so actually I do recommend listening to your mix in a Mid-Side split and soloing your sides to sweeten the stereo field but i've heard just as many bad mixes with wide field as I have with narrow field.
 
I agree 100% (crazy right). I'll elaborate what I was saying below.



dvyce said:
Actually, if you are mic'ing different speakers on your guitar cab, those are different "sources".

Definitely. I wasn't being totally clear. I was referring to using multiple mics on a single cone.

Though an acoustic guitar has one resonating hole, the mic picks up sound from the strings themselves. You can set a mic pointed at the hole from the bottom of the guitar to get more of the high (thinner) strings, and you can have the mic pointed down where the low (heavier) strings are to get more of them in the recording... you can also position near the bridge or near the frets for different sound. You can combine these in "stereo" if desired.

There's certainly no rules against doing more complex tracking techniques. Generally this is used to find an internal balance of the single source - more weight vs. more pluck, or whatever. It can be used to create a stereo spread. In fact, you can just as easily do stereo pair at close range. These will be stereo, but not particularly wide stereo spreads and tend to get masked a bit more in dense arrangements. I find these approaches to work better in sparse arrangements. But I wouldn't want to sway people from using this kind of an approach and experimenting.

And with regard to piano, the high and low register strings are so far apart that the instrument benefits from multiple mics... and resonates from around where the strings are... a perfect candidate for "stereo" mic'ing.

Piano's are a great choice for stereo mic'ing. What I was trying to say is there is a lot of shared information across the sounding board. So while they often sound great inside with a spaced pair, they don't usually make for thee widest instrument in a mix. I was sort of trying to go back to that original idea that you actually get a wider signal with different elements on contrasting sides of the stereo field, rather than a lot of shared information. All that said - pianos do work very well in terms of imagining for filling out that "space between left and center, and center and right".

And, as always with stereo mic placement, you must be careful of phase relationships. You can't necessarily just throw up a couple of mics and call it a day.
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In the spirit of all this Mono/Stereo talk here's a tip. If you switch your listening output on your speakers from mono to stereo output back and forth when your mixing you can tell if your mix is going to sound a little off or not. If it doesn't sound the way you want it to in mono, you should probably change something.
 
WeissSound said:
I strongly disagree here. Mono is power. There's nothing as strong as a mono sound straight up the center. Choosing what's mono and what's living in the stereo realm is the question. But usually mono is king, especially if you are talking source sounds rather than playback.
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Totally agree ^
 
I always get my levels right first then put the mix in mono to make any initial eq adjustments.....IMO Eq'ing in mono makes you make better eq decisions....then if you have your mix where you can hear each element on its own while everything is on top of each other down the middle....as soon as you go back to stereo its just sounds that much better....just my thoughts...good thread.
 
so i dont understand one thing.

should the kick be completely in mono?

i usually make one kick nin mono and then layer with one stereo. but what makes it better if u set it to mono?
 
great post

WeissSound said:
Seems to come up a lot so I'm gonna drop a long informative rant.

Defining Stereo and Mono signal and playback.


I think a large portion of the confusion here comes from the fact that people say "mono" or "stereo" without specifying - or knowing - if they are referring to the recording or the playback. You can for example have a mono signal with a stereo playback.

A mono signal is anything recorded from one source, such as a microphone in front of a voice. There is only one input.

A stereo signal is two mono signals (occasionally more) recorded simultaneously with the intention of each signal having different pan positions in a stereo mix. For example, the output of a keyboard, or two or more mics on a choir of singers. The mono feeds of a stereo signal share similar information, but also have dissimilar information.

If you are listening out of two speakers that are receiving different playback feeds - you are listening to a stereo playback. If you are listening from one speaker, or multiple speakers that are receiving the same feed (like in a grocery store, an AM radio station in your car) you are listening to a mono playback.

Your mix setup is 99.999% likely to be stereo. That's the playback. What you are listening to, is most likely an array of both mono and stereo recordings.


So what does that all mean?

For one, it means your vocal is mono. Recording your voice with a single microphone onto a "stereo track" does not make it stereo. There is no dissimilar information on the stereo track, therefore it's just mono - twice. That's not stereo. Copying your vocal, and panning the original left and the copy right does not make it stereo. It makes it louder. If it does anything more than that, something is wrong.

Record your vocal onto one track. Don't make multiple copies of your mono vocal and start messing with them unless you (a) really know what you are doing, or, (b) are willfully experimenting knowing you may screw up your vocal sound.

This also applies to guitars. IF you are using a two mic technique on a guitar cab, pan them to a similar spot and blend them. Don't stick two mics on the cab and pan them out. It's a mono source. But really why are you using two mics on guitar cab? Because Bob Lorde-Kramer says he does that in an interview? One source, one mic. If you ARE going to do a multiple mic thing, do it for room tone, or do it because you really know what you are doing, or do it because you are willfully experimenting knowing you may screw up your guitar sound. When I get multiple close mics on a guitar cab in for a mix, 7/10 times I'm throwing one of the mic feeds out. K - that was a total aside.

Leave your stereo for things that are in fact stereo. Drum overheads. There's a left side, and a right side. Stereo. Although, nothing wrong with a mono overhead. Bottom line is there are multiple resonating sources far enough apart to warrant a stereo pickup. Rooms. Rooms have a left side and a right side that produce different reflections. Stereo. Although nothing wrong with a mono room sound. Acoustic guitar - resonates from a single sound hole. Mono. Piano - resonates from multiple sound holes. Stereo (but barely, and only if you are inside the piano).

IF you want a stereo playback of a mono source you need to realize you are messing with physics. Yes, you can delay one side, yes you can pitch shift one side, or a host of other things. Bottom line, you are going to degrade your center image. Only do this if you (a) really know what you are doing, or (b) willfully experimenting knowing that you are about to screw up your source sound.

A better alternative may be creating a legitimate stereo signal or playback. For example, doing a completely new take of your guitar line, recording that in mono, and panning that to one side. Or, feeding into a reverb or a delay.





I wonder if I'm clearing up confusion or adding to it....
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nznexus said:
so i dont understand one thing.

should the kick be completely in mono?

i usually make one kick nin mono and then layer with one stereo. but what makes it better if u set it to mono?
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The idea of should is very tricky in any kind of art.

I see nothing wrong with that approach. Stereo kicks tend not to punch quite as hard, but have more space. So, layering could give you the best of both worlds presuming your layers work well together.
 
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