mono through both speakers

[katiegately]

here is a new person problem, if anyone can help, thank you dearly.

i have a sm57 and use it to record on minidisc. i'm first off not sure what the difference is between the a stereo and mono 1/4-1/8" adapter because no matter which one i use, i can only get a mono signal coming out of one speaker once i put the recording into an editing program like audacity. yet the signal plays through both speakers when i'm using final vinyl to get it into the computer. i'm just looking for a setting perhaps...to put the same signal on both tracks i think?

[Adam P]

Your program might have an option to split a stereo .wav into two mono .wavs. Then you could delete the track that has no info on it and save the one with the recorded material.

[scrubs]

You need to make sure you are recording to a mono track in audacity or whatever program you are importing to. Since the SM57 is a mono source, it cannot record in stereo.

[Adam P]

Oh yeah, let me ask...are you transferring the file to Audacity by recording it into Audacity, or are you transferring the file using a MD reader or something? The reason being that if you're just recording it into Audacity, do what Scrubs said and just record a mono track. If you're actually importing a file from the MD, then you'll have to find a way to split the file, or mix the single file down to a mono track. Like Scrubs said, the SM57 isn't capable of a stereo recording on its own, and the MD recorder is probably looking for a stereo mic signal (you can tell the difference by looking at the jack on the end of the cable...if it has one plastic band dividing the metal parts up its a mono connector, if it has two then its stereo). The tip most likely carries the left channel, and the ring carries the right, so regardless of whether or not the cable is stereo or mono, your mic will only be sending signal to the tip, or left channel. I am, of course, basing this on the assumption that the MD recorder is designed to be used with a stereo mic.

[katiegately]

Ok so thank you! But I think I still can't get anywhere with this problem...I cannot seem to erase just the empty right channel track and then paste the left channel mono track there in audacity...and when i spilt the track, audacity just reproduces another stereo track, identical to the first below it it and erases the first? visuals would help this...i'm not directly recording into audacity though but transferring minidisc with a usb mic into mac's final vinyl, then saving it as .wav, then opening that in audacity. i know i can only get a mono recording which is totally fine, it's just that i'm going deaf in my left ear!

[Farview]

You can't change a stereo track into a mono one. You have to export (mix, or whatever they call it in your program) to a mono file, then import that file into the session. You won't have this problem on new stuff that you do because you will be recording on a mono track in the first place.