Is One Monitor Any Use??...

[Lotus]

Hey gang! This is my second post here...GREAT FORUM!!
I was about to post this in the mixing/mastering section but i thought it best to put it here seeing as its certainly a beginner question...
Im about 3 months away from getting myself a pair of studio monitors...A friend of mine had an old Yamaha MS20S active monitor lying around so he gave it to me for nothing...My question is: Can i do anything at all as regards mixing with this one monitor? It seems quite common for monitors to be sold single so i was wondering how technicians use single monitors in their work... I realise that the Yahama MS20S isnt a great monitor to begin with but maybe i can practice a little with it anyway...any tips or suggestions would be more than welcome!

[MadAudio]

Mixing in mono?

[Lotus]

Originally Posted by MadAudio

Mixing in mono?

I set my output to mono and mix then??
I had thought of that but wouldnt there be different dynamics involved?..what i mean is,,,if i mixed in mono and got a good sounding mix would it not sound different then in stereo??

[MadAudio]

Huh? A mono mix would have no stereo properties. It would sound the same.

[Lotus]

what i meant was that i could set my 2 stereo channels to come out out of the one monitor and then mix...The signal from both left and right channels would be present but just all in one speaker......dont know if it would work though..which is why im here i guess!!

[true-eurt]

Originally Posted by Lotus

I set my output to mono and mix then??
I had thought of that but wouldnt there be different dynamics involved?..what i mean is,,,if i mixed in mono and got a good sounding mix would it not sound different then in stereo??

Mono is basically used for radios or TV's with one speaker...Stereo on the other hand is used for music...soundtracks ..etc....I think....I do not know a lot myself yet...so if I told you wrong, I am SORRY....hopefully someone else will come along...

[Lotus]

Originally Posted by true-eurt

Mono is basically used for radios or TV's with one speaker...Stereo on the other hand is used for music...soundtracks ..etc....I think....I do not know a lot myself yet...so if I told you wrong, I am SORRY....hopefully someone else will come along...

thanks anyway!!
...i was thinking that you could maybe use a single monitor for mixing volume levels and maybe some channel frequency settings, you know, stuff that isnt exclusively related to the stereo field, although im probably way off, i bet its much more complicated than that!!

[MadAudio]

Originally Posted by Lotus

what i meant was that i could set my 2 stereo channels to come out out of the one monitor and then mix...The signal from both left and right channels would be present but just all in one speaker......dont know if it would work though..which is why im here i guess!!

No, because you'd probably get some phase cancellation along the line and then wonder why it sounds like crap. To mix in mono you'd only need to use one output (typically the left) and have everything panned center.

Mono used to be used for music, too. Think early Beatles records.

[RhythmRmixd]

Most software sequencers have an option to check your stereo mix in mono. I believe mix engineers often check their mix in mono during a mixing session to help determine if there are phase problems or to see if it still sounds well-balanced. Sort of off the point, just thought I'd throw in some useful purposes for listening in mono.

[gordone]

Do you have ANY idea what stereo is???????

Originally Posted by Lotus

what i meant was that i could set my 2 stereo channels to come out out of the one monitor and then mix...The signal from both left and right channels would be present but just all in one speaker......dont know if it would work though..which is why im here i guess!!

[Lotus]

Originally Posted by gordone

Do you have ANY idea what stereo is???????

...simply put, stereo is 2 separate channels of audio containing two separate audio signals...there IS a difference between having a single channel routed to one speaker and 2 SEPARATE channels routed to one speaker...For example, if you had a vocal in the left channel and a different vocal in the right, in the first config you would only hear one vocal (depending on which channel had routed) and in the second config you would hear both vocal channels..both sounds would be from different channels sources and could be altered separately even though routed through one speaker...does this answer your question?

[Richard Monroe]

Actually, one powered monitor is very useful, but not necessarily as a monitor. Try this for jollies.- Plug an electric guitar into the high-z input of a preamp, direct box, or a modeler, such as a POD. Plug the balanced line out of said device into the line in of the powered monitor, and mic it up. Most powered monitors are the "near field" type. Start with your ear close enough so you can hear the tweeter and woofer as separate sounds. Move back slowly until you can't separate them. Stop. Put the best mic you have right there. You can get some wonderful clean sounds that way. Don't crank it so that it distorts. A distorting monitor is not a pretty thing. Keep the volume low. Almost no noise, and a very accurate rendition of the amp and cab model from a modeler. It will sound like ass in the room as the only place it will sound right in the near field, It will rock on headphones, though, if you do it right. -Richie

[mshilarious]

Use it as a 3.1 rear surround.

[Riverdog]

Hmmm...

Very interesting thread...
- 1. If you're going to record music - Use stereo...

- 2. Montiors are usually sold individually so that manufacturers can give you the price (ea.) and make you think the TWO speakers in the picture are cheaper... (This is my thought anyway! )

- 3. I like mshilarious's idea that you use it in conjunction with a larger system... Get two studio monitors and use it as a subwoofer (If the frequencies are that low), or part of a surround system...

- 4. The only thing I can think of that I'd use a single monitor for would be some of the suggestions listed here... a. check for phasing b. plug in an effects pedal as an amp or something like that...

Do you understand the stereo concept???

[Riverdog]

Question in the last post was posed to 'gordone'...

[gordone]

Of course I understand Stereo. I was just commenting on how Lotus thought he could mix in stereo using one speaker, because both the L/R would come of the single speaker. The problem is that there would be no stereo image, so you might as well be mixing without ANY speaker (or just not mix!)

Originally Posted by Riverdog

Question in the last post was posed to 'gordone'...

Originally Posted by Lotus

what i meant was that i could set my 2 stereo channels to come out out of the one monitor and then mix...The signal from both left and right channels would be present but just all in one speaker......dont know if it would work though..which is why im here i guess!

[Riverdog]

Sorry... I meant no Offense...
I've seen worse questions though!

[noisedude]

Originally Posted by Richard Monroe

Actually, one powered monitor is very useful, but not necessarily as a monitor. Try this for jollies.- Plug an electric guitar into the high-z input of a preamp, direct box, or a modeler, such as a POD. Plug the balanced line out of said device into the line in of the powered monitor, and mic it up. Most powered monitors are the "near field" type. Start with your ear close enough so you can hear the tweeter and woofer as separate sounds. Move back slowly until you can't separate them. Stop. Put the best mic you have right there. You can get some wonderful clean sounds that way. Don't crank it so that it distorts. A distorting monitor is not a pretty thing. Keep the volume low. Almost no noise, and a very accurate rendition of the amp and cab model from a modeler. It will sound like ass in the room as the only place it will sound right in the near field, It will rock on headphones, though, if you do it right. -Richie

What a cool idea! Have you tried the putting a pair of headphones over an acoustic guitar trick? I keep meaning to but I always worry I'm gonna bust them or something.

[Lotus]

christ!!..i forgot about this thread!..thanks for the input guys,,,gordone, of course i understand what you meant,,i cant use one speaker to hear a stereo field..well duh!!! im not THAT much of a newbie!!

[tourettes5139]

Just out of curiosity, what is the headphones over the guitar trick?

Would you use the headphones as a mic, or what?

Thanks.

[noisedude]

Yeah, I've read about people who've gotten a usable sound (more as an effect, I think) by putting phones straddling a guitar body. Press your ear onto the guitar as you play and listen to the difference in tone there.

[Richard Monroe]

Just for the record, I meant that the sound would be OK when listened to *through* headphones, because you will hear what the mic is hearing in the near field. I did not mean I was using the cans for a mic or a speaker, or anything else. It does intrigue me, though. I wonder what I would hear if I plugge some cans into the POD, and then rubber banded them to both sides of a figure-8 mic, and sent *that* to the Avalon. That's got to be different. Who knows? it *would* move air. It might or might not suck. I may try that tonight just for shits and giggles. One thing's for sure- I should get great isolation.-Richie

[noisedude]

Man .. be careful not to blow that mic .. the SPL inside a pair of closed-back phones could be deceptively high!

How would I go about trying the trick over an acoustic? As in - plug it into a DI box? Or would it treat the stereo input as a balanced input and screw stuff up? Hmmm ... what kinda stuff accepts unbalanced one-jack stereo inputs?!

[Richard Monroe]

No worries on blowing a mic. You start at 0 and slowly increase gain. Unless the track is wildly dynamic, nothing that's tracking at -6 db is going to blow a C414, or for that matter, a B.L.U.E. Kiwi.-Richie

[Richard Monroe]

Well, I tried the experiment for jollies. I used the Kiwi,in figure 8, into Avalon AD2022, with Sennheiser HD280's coming out of POD Pro 2.0. I used preset 1a, which is very clean, as they go. I think it's a model of a blackface twin.
Result? I was wrong. It *doesn't* move air. It sounds almost exactly like the Pod DI. However, the interesting part was- if you use any reverb whatsoever, it becomes an instant tutorial in phase distortion. Ooh baby. You can add reverb later, in the box, or by re-amping, and it's OK. But why go through the gyrations if it's going to sound the same as if you plugged it in? Let's call this one an educational failure.-Richie