Mono now, Stereo later?

[BibleMan]

I am looking to record mono sources (guitar, bass, etc.) that I would like to pan in opposing directions for stereo imaging later.

My sound card is a Sound Blaster Extigy.

I have the option when I choose my input source to choose Left, Right or Stereo.

Does it matter which I choose? I want the source to be available on the Left, Right or both channels so I can choose later which side I place it in the mix.

Thanks all.

-BM

[AlChuck]

Choose L or R, whichever is the one that your mono source comes in on. It's not worth recording a stereo track because either the L or R half will have zero amplitude, or the L and R halves will be identical. In either case you get twice as much WAV data taking up space on your disk than you need. Panning a track that is already really a pair of panned tracks is also not straightforward.

[Middleman]

AlChuck, Splain please!

I have been wondering about mono recording too. Let me see if I understand (Sonar 2). You say record in on the L or R channel a mono signal? But will I get the mono track to pan for test mixing?

Also, how about effects? Will they operate the same on a mono track?

I have been recording in stereo because I thought I needed to. I can see having more tracks and less data files as an asset.

[BibleMan]

Thanks Chuck.

Just one more issue in this area:

If I bring in data on just one side (L or R), and I want that instrument centered on the final recording (i.e. drums), will it pose a problem?

Thanks again.

-BM

[dachay2tnr]

If I bring in data on just one side (L or R), and I want that instrument centered on the final recording (i.e. drums), will it pose a problem?

No. That's the way it works. You record a mono track, and then you determine where you want it to sit in the mix by adjusting the pan setting for the track. If you leave the pan setting in the ceter, the track will play back centered.

Don't be confused by the fact that your input source is labeled L and R. Recording from the left input source does not mean you will get a Left track. It simply means you will get a mono track that was recorded using the left side of a stereo input. (Remember, stereo is just two mono tracks played simultaneously.)

I have been wondering about mono recording too. Let me see if I understand (Sonar 2). You say record in on the L or R channel a mono signal? But will I get the mono track to pan for test mixing?

Not sure I understand this question. If you pan a mono track, it will play back where you have it panned to. Pan it 100% left and it will only play in the left speaker. Pan it 100% right and it will only play in the right speaker. Pan it 75% left, the signal will be stronger in the left speaker than the right, and it will sound like it's closer to the center than if panned 100% left.

Also, how about effects? Will they operate the same on a mono track?

Yes.

[AlChuck]

Also, how about effects? Will they operate the same on a mono track?

A little more elaboration on effects:

For those effects that typically provide a stereo result (delays, reverb, chorusing, etc. -- anything that has some spatialization inherent in it), you send a copy of the original mono signal through an aux send to the effect, and the effect returns a stereo signal to the L and R side of the output bus. The sends and returns have adjustments to control the level of signal sent and returned.

Alternatively you can stick an effect right into the path of the signal -- this type of signal routing is called an insert. In this case the entire signal goes through the effect and back through the same "channel." It's as if you cut the virtual wire carrying that signal and then spliced an effects box into the gap. This type of routing is usually used for an effect that effects only the character of the sound (for example, compression, EQ, distortion) and not its spatialization.

All this is much more difficult to grasp and to visualize with the virtual all-in-one environment of a software recording application than it is with a hardware console, outboard effects, and a tape recorder.

[Middleman]

Wow, getting in on this board is brutal over the last week.

Alchuck, dachay2tnr, so I'm thinking why would I ever want to record in stereo. Doing it with mono seems to be much more efficient from a resources (CPU usage) point of view.

Is the quality, or I guess the A/D conversion going to be more efficient/accurate, when I record in mono vs stereo. Perhaps having the sound card focus on a single signal vs. trying to create 2 at once would produce a more accurate conversion.

I don't know maybe not, any thoughts?

[dachay2tnr]

I agree, it has been quite difficult to get on this site recently. I don't know what's going on, but I keep getting a "too many members on at this time" message. First time I've seen that in the two years I've been coming.

As regards your comment, middleman, in general you are correct. Most of your recording will probably be in mono. There are, however, several situations where you would record in stereo. Overhead micing of a drum kit is a case that comes to mind - where you want to capture the "spread" of the drums in the recording. While this could be done by micing each drum individually (in mono) and "placing" them in the stereo field, it consumes a lot of tracks and mics. Generally you would single mic the snare and kick, and overhead mic the rest of the kit with a stereo pair.

Also, some keyboards are designed to connect to your board using stereo cables. These could also be recorded in stereo.
Piano's are often recorded in stereo as well to capture the "width" of the piano. If you recorded it in mono, the sounds would all have to come from the "same place" in the mix, whereas recorded in stereo, the lower keys could sound left while the higher keys could sound right. You get the idea?

Vocals, bass guitar, kick drum, snare, lead guitar, etc. are all usually recorded in mono.

[Munchkin]

I did all my EQ and compression on the band I'm mixing now in mono, as they were recorded (except for the drum set).
Later I bounced some tracks (piano and giutars) down to single track stereo and applied some reverb to them to make them sound as if they were in a bigger room. Then a slight pan to keep them from sitting on top of each other. Really sounds good to me.

[BibleMan]

Alchuck and Dachay2tnr:

Thanks so much for your great comments. It was one of those dreadfully simple issues that had me confused ("Can't see the forrest for the trees...").

I appreciate it.

-bm

[Middleman]

Yes, thank you both for clearing up the mono vs stereo thing. Bibleman, sorry for tromping on your thread but I had the same issue. Please walk on me some time in the future if you have the need.

To all, if you go to your browser and delete all of your cookies, you can blast right into the site, then login and everything works OK.