stereo? mono?

emu · Post by **emu** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 4:54 pm

okay so ive always heard that its best to make your tunes in mono cuz its better/louder for big systems especially bass...am i crazy or what?

__________ · Post by **__________** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 4:57 pm

yeah i'd say you're crazy. mono = no stereo image = shit tune.

emu · Post by **emu** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 5:12 pm

fuck haha

kaizen · Post by **kaizen** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 5:13 pm

basically you want ya kik - mono, bass - mono, tho ive heard some people doing it in stereo......

all to do with frequencies........... cos your kik & bass is in mono you want it to punch through the stereo sounds...... all bout space, too much stereo aint good

emu · Post by **emu** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 5:20 pm

yea id never put my sub/kick in stereo... but i guess it makes sense to use stereo cuz of the dope spaces you can create with reverbs/delays n stuff. cool! well i guess i learned something!

kaizen · Post by **kaizen** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 5:28 pm

its all bout trial and error mate........ im always learing something new, best ones are by accident lol

decklyn · Post by **decklyn** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 5:51 pm

There are no rules, but a few things to consider.

1. Vinyl pressing.

During the mastering process all frequencies are centered. This prevents the needle from skipping out of the groove.

2. Sub setups/bass directionality.

Bass is non-directional. Bass frequencies are generally composites of stereo/centered output.

3. Differentiation/space

It is common to pan kicks very slightly left and subs very slightly right to give some space and definition. If you're getting your tracks pressed then this is not applicable.

Sharmaji · Post by **Sharmaji** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 6:36 pm

just check your tracks in mono-- if you're using a lot of spatial effects, they can create phase effects that'll fuck up your mix if it's in mono... a lot of clubs still only run in mono (more power) so if your tracks DON'T work in mono... no dice.

a bunch of old-school studio guys i know do evertything in mono and save panning as one of the last things to do.

two oh one · Post by **two oh one** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 6:37 pm

Mono compatibility is important, but...

...What you want to do is mix in Mono. Take your 2 bus and sum it to mono. Then, turn off one of your monitor speakers and sit in front of the one that is still on...

Do all your levels, panning and EQ on just the one speaker. Make it sound as good here as you can - No phase cancellation and all that. And DO PAN! It sounds mad, but you can find a slot for your part easily when you pan in mono.

Don't monitor loud. Monitor quietly, sometimes knock it down until you can barely hear it, or so you can just feel the peaks. If your setup is hissy, this can be difficult, of course.

Switch the other monitor back on, turn the mono sum off, and...

Voila! How does that sound?

wascal · Post by **wascal** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 7:22 pm

two oh one wrote:And DO PAN! It sounds mad, but you can find a slot for your part easily when you pan in mono.

I agree with most of that apart from the quote above. How can you possibly mixdown a stereo mix accurately on one speaker? Sounds like you'd just be making more work for yourself.

Can you explain?

two oh one · Post by **two oh one** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 7:43 pm

Thing is, I really can't explain it. As a concept, it seems very, very wrong, still to this day.

I learnt this little trick from somebody who studied under a very famous Mix engineer. I didn't believe it either until I gave it a go. When I remember to do it, things come out so much better. I guess you're not so much consciously placing a sound in space, but rather finding space for it.

The best thing to do is try it and see what happens.

two oh one · Post by **two oh one** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 7:47 pm

http://gearslutz.com/board/showthread.php?t=71941

Here are some people discussing it...

I say just try it and be surprised.

wascal · Post by **wascal** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 8:01 pm

two oh one wrote:http://gearslutz.com/board/showthread.php?t=71941

Here are some people discussing it...

I say just try it and be surprised.

Very interesting read. I'll give it a try tonight

emu · Post by **emu** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 12:28 am

If you do a mix in stereo, then fold it to mono it might not rock properly.

If you make a mix rock in mono, then switch to stereo, it will rock even more. You ABSOLUTELY CAN NOT go wrong with making a mix sound kick ass in mono. There is no reason NOT to do it.....

Regarding clubs, most clubs do pump in mono. Some are in stereo, and a few have surround systems. The problem with this is that unless your right in the middle of the dance floor, you won't realize the full effects of it. This is why it is so important for dance mixes to work well in mono, so it sounds good no matter where you are in the club. Then you got the bathrooms and patios and such, all in mono.

Trust me, nothing is more annoying than some mix sounding funny in a store cuz the mixer mixed the whole thing in stereo, without checking it's mono response. Some guys use stereo entirely to their advantage, and this is fine, until it's played over a mono system.

Also, you have to consider how many people don't properly place stereo speakers. How many times have you been to someones house where 1 speaker is on a shelf, and the other is in the other room.....

Mono is more important than you think it is.

k im not as crazy as i thought

tmu · Post by **tmu** » Tue May 15, 2007 1:44 pm

what instruments/instrument tracks should be made in mono? someone allready said that kick and sub should be in mono.
should i make every percussions in mono, what about snare?
what about guitars, piano, violins, synth pads, vocals and other instruments?

could someone explain more about stereo and mono and how to use them, when talkin about a single instrument in the mix? panning in mono and stereo?

someone should start a dubstep mixdowns thread, and go deep within it.

ramadanman · Post by **ramadanman** » Tue May 15, 2007 3:16 pm

listen to a loefah track on headphones and check the mad stereo image!

tmu · Post by **tmu** » Tue May 15, 2007 3:38 pm

ramadanman wrote:listen to a loefah track on headphones and check the mad stereo image!

yeah yeah, but what does it say about individual tracks? mono or stereo?
wich ones stereo, wich ones mono?

b-lam · Post by **b-lam** » Tue May 15, 2007 4:12 pm

tmu wrote:
ramadanman wrote:listen to a loefah track on headphones and check the mad stereo image!
yeah yeah, but what does it say about individual tracks? mono or stereo?
wich ones stereo, wich ones mono?

it's mostly down to ur own preference as far as i know.

kick and sub should be mono i think because low frequencies cause problems panned when cutting to vinyl.

i would put the most prominent stuff in the tune in the centre, then pan other bits to your own taste. i reckon as a general rule, loud stuff should stay in the centre (because it'll confuse the listener if they're panned, altho maybe that's what u want...) and quieter stuff can be panned to ur taste...just experiment, sometimes wacky panning sounds cool, sometimes it distracts from the vibe...

konehed · Post by **konehed** » Tue May 15, 2007 5:05 pm

usually 500hz and down is mono on vinyl, needles dont like it
digitally you can get away with more though

tmu · Post by **tmu** » Tue May 15, 2007 6:05 pm

i read someplace that when you are panning a mono instrument, you are actually moving the sound in the stereofield,
and when you are panning a stereo instrument you are only adjusting the relative levels of the left and right channels of the track. Is this true?
god damn this shit is hard...Fuck,,, mixdowns are way harder than making the actual tune.

someone also said that you should make your snare in mono also?

any links to some articles/tutorials about this

stereo? mono?

stereo? mono?

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