Mix sound better in mono than stereo

[bouldersoundguy]

I record in a small apartment, so I'm just using a good set of headphones. They're actually flat response and quite accurate when I move the mix to other systems. But I never thought about how they'd affect the stereo image.

I had a feeling it was a monitoring issue. Headphones have the same problem as widely spaced monitors. Either one will exaggerate anything panned wide compared to anything panned center, and then when you play it on properly set up speakers the panned stuff sounds weak and the centered stuff sounds loud.

 

[Farview]

I had a feeling it was a monitoring issue. Headphones have the same problem as widely spaced monitors. Either one will exaggerate anything panned wide compared to anything panned center, and then when you play it on properly set up speakers the panned stuff sounds weak and the centered stuff sounds loud.

His problem is the arrangement. The only thing he was panning was a lead track and a wah track. When he pans them, they are just hanging out at the sides, not tethered to the rest of the song, which is panned straight up the middle. Kind of like panning two harmony parts completely away from each other, they don't gel...