stereo help

[antichef]

I've learned a lot about stereo mic-ing here, and I use the techniques frequently and like the results. I also record a great deal of electric guitar with one microphone, and bass straight in, and it hit me the other day that I have made a *bunch* of mono songs.

Assuming that's not desirable, does it make sense to merely duplicate a mono guitar or bass track and pan the clones left and right? I suspect not, but I'd sure appreciate any advice in this area.

[bennychico11]

Originally Posted by antichef

I've learned a lot about stereo mic-ing here, and I use the techniques frequently and like the results. I also record a great deal of electric guitar with one microphone, and bass straight in, and it hit me the other day that I have made a *bunch* of mono songs.

Assuming that's not desirable, does it make sense to merely duplicate a mono guitar or bass track and pan the clones left and right? I suspect not, but I'd sure appreciate any advice in this area.

if you just duplicate all you get is a louder signal. you won't have the stereo image that you would get with stereo micing.

there's nothing wrong with recording mono. In fact, probably 75% of the tracks you should record in mono. there's is a difference between recording in stereo and listening back in stereo. You should ALWAYS listen back in stereo...but whether or not you use a stereo micing technique to reproduce a stereo image depends on what you are recording and what you are trying to accomplish. Electric guitar and bass...normally recorded in mono.

90% of my songs every track is recorded mono. The few ones I do in stereo are usually just solo acoustic guitar stuff with nothing else, except sometimes maybe a lead guitar which is recorded in mono. Every time I record something in stereo I monitor in mono and make sure it sounds good before switching to stereo, and then making sure it still sounds good before recording.

When I record over the stereo track I also listen in mono to make sure everything still sounds good.

The result is usually a great sounding stereo image that still sounds good in mono or other systems with bad stereo imaging (small boomboxes, some car systems, etc.).

[daav]

Originally Posted by bennychico11

You should ALWAYS listen back in stereo...but whether or not you use a stereo micing technique to reproduce a stereo image depends on what you are recording and what you are trying to accomplish. Electric guitar and bass...normally recorded in mono.

Totally agree with bennychico11 but wanted to clarify this point:
You USUALLY want to monitor in stereo, but often a mono play back will help you see some areas where you mix might have problems that might not be as clear witht he stereo image.

Daav

[andyhix]

And to further clarify, those mono-recorded tracks will still produce a "bunch of mono songs" if you don't pan the individual tracks one way or another, even if you are listening "in stereo." A common approach, for instance, is on a song with 2 differerent guitar tracks, pan one of them left, and the other right, to "spread out" the sound. If you keep EVERYTHING straight up the middle, you might as well be listening on only one speaker, straight in front of you.

[Dani Pace]

Sometimes I record a track (say guitar for example) in mono, then clone the track and pan the two tracks wide, then I add different efx to the two tracks. It's not quite stereo but it does help to fatten the sound without actually rerecording the track.

[Richard Monroe]

This may not be relevent to a lot of folks, but it is important to check mixes in mono as well as stereo. Some stereo mixes do not translate well in mono, and it will be just your luck that someone will play your stuff on AM radio, which is mono. I am happy to say it happened to me, a little, and the mixes had already been checked for mono compatibility (thanks, Littledog)-Richie