In=Stereo

[FranklinD]

Will all inputs allow you to record in stereo? Like if you have 4 inputs, would that allow you to record 4 stereo tracks at one time or 8 mono tracks at one time?

Shouldn't you always strive for a stereo recording unless you want the desired instrument/effect/whatever to be panned all the way to the l/r? Or maybe for drums and need more than one mic? Then you can put each mic on its own mono track?
Can't you just copy a mono track in your sequencer and make it stereo? Like record mono, duplicate, put one track on the left and one on the right?

Thanks for any help on this.

[metalhead28]

No.
Inputs are one channel, usually.
If you want a stereo recording you need two microphones anyway, so thats 2 channels.

[metalhead28]

Also, if you record a mono track and pan it in the center it will be on both sides of the stereo field.

[mixsit]

Originally Posted by FranklinD

Will all inputs allow you to record in stereo? Like if you have 4 inputs, would that allow you to record 4 stereo tracks at one time or 8 mono tracks at one time?

Any one input is mono. Each stereo' takes a pair.

Shouldn't you always strive for a stereo recording unless you want the desired instrument/effect/whatever to be panned all the way to the l/r?

No, at least not in multi-track productions where you would more likely be recording and combine a lot of separate sources. You would tend to record most things in mono and save stereo' for special treatments, things where you want to get a single wide, complete within-the-space picture included. The drum kit is a good example though. 'Too many stereos' can add up to a lot of overlap, make for a messy sound stage and extra work.

Or maybe for drums and need more than one mic? Then you can put each mic on its own mono track?

A stereo pair for the foundation of the kit's picture, plus spot-mono mics/tracks combined.

Can't you just copy a mono track in your sequencer and make it stereo? Like record mono, duplicate, put one track on the left and one on the right

Simulated stereo if you do something different to one of the sides. It's two' but not to be confused with a coherent (or otherwise) picture that includes depth for example.

Thanks for any help on this.

Anytime.

[andydeedpoll]

from my limited experience, a stereo image of, for example, an acoustic guitar often isn't intended to sound like you have the exact same sound on 'both sides'... often you go for the sound of the guitar near the 12th fret, and the body, because the tonal qualities at these two places are quite different.

with a piano, you pan the mic recording mainly the lower strings to the left, for example, and the other mic, recording the higher strings, to the right. it gives a 'bigger', more open feeling to the recording.

then again, i have simply copied and pasted the same distorted guitar track, and panned them hard right and hard left, to add to the texture of the recording.

hope that helps,

Andy

edit - oops! mixsit replied at the same time as me, i'm not just repeating stuff or whatever

[Sirnothingness]

The end result is that YOU create the stereo track.

[FranklinD]

Thanks. That makes buttloads of sense now!

Stereo, for example, is simply setting up two mics for two tracks for one take then. So another way to get a stereo guitar recording would be to mic your amp and have it going into a line/mic input by using a direct box, right? Obviously 1 track for the mic and 1 track for the line in.

You people have already helped so much and it's appreciated.

[mixsit]

That would get you some differences -tone and likely at least a little delay from the mic.
Another thing; two mono tracks or a single 'stereo pair'?

Wayne

[FranklinD]

I think I mean 'stereo pair'..?
So does stereo only refer to something that's being miked?

[Farview]

Stereo refers to something that has a stereo image. Keyboards have a left and right output. If you listen, most piano patches have the low notes panned more to one side and the high notes panned to the other.

[FranklinD]

Thanks. I got it.

[AlChuck]

Stereo, for example, is simply setting up two mics for two tracks for one take then. So another way to get a stereo guitar recording would be to mic your amp and have it going into a line/mic input by using a direct box, right? Obviously 1 track for the mic and 1 track for the line in.

No, stereo is an attempt to get depth and realism into recorded music by playing it back through two speakers in such a way that it mimics at least some of the experience of hearing something in realtime, where things are coming at you from many points in front of you or around you. Two tracks of the same thing are two mono tracks of the same thing. The difference in the signal chain sometimes makes for good combinations of tone by blending them together.

Some recording is done in stereo, in an attempt to capture the real sound of a particularly good-sounding room, for example...

I would recommend that you not even try to record anything in stereo until you know what you're doing. There are all sorts of issues with phase differences between the two mics that just plain aren't there if you record the sources in mono.

Can't you just copy a mono track in your sequencer and make it stereo? Like record mono, duplicate, put one track on the left and one on the right

Sure you can. You get a recording that sounds basically the same as a mono source panned dead center, and your song has twice as much data in it than it needs. It's just a useless thing to do.

[mixsit]

Originally Posted by AlChuck

...I would recommend that you not even try to record anything in stereo until you know what you're doing. There are all sorts of issues with phase differences between the two mics that just plain aren't there if you record the sources in mono.

Not to worry. A conincident pair is a good place to start.
http://www.josephson.com/mic-faq1.html