Mono Vs Stereo

[TylerDrums109]

Im using sony acid 6.0...how do i know if my tracks are being recorded in mono or in stereo? and whats the difference between the two...when is one better than the other?...sorry about the novice question...feel free to laugh at me as long as you provide me with a serious answer

 

[Sonixx]

it's a call but I would use a stereo track for a Blumlein pair, spaced pair, etc... when I'm tracking two mics on a single source.

a mono track when I'm using a single mic on a source.

I do not use Acid so I can't help you there. I use Samplitude and it displays a stereo object as two waves on a track.

 

[Tadpui]

Right, Sonixx. I think that's the only way to tell that's nonspecific to which software you're using. If there is one waveform on a track, then its mono. If there are two waveforms in a track, then its a stereo track.

As far as how to toggle between stereo and mono track properties in Acid 6, I'm not sure either. I've never used Acid so I dont know its interface.

Normally, there is a button/switch that you click to toggle between mono and strereo. If you hover your mouse pointer over some of the buttons on a track, hopefully the tool tips will tell you which one controls mono/stereo.

As far as application and when to use stereo tracks versus mono tracks, there aren't a whole lot of times when I'll use a stereo track in a multitrack project. Most of the time, its best to record a mono track and then use the track's panning control to set where the track sits in the stereo field.

The exception would be if you've mixed down a separate mix (like a drum kit submix) and want to preserve the panning of that submix.

Or, maybe you have a stereo source that you're recording from, like an effects box, a stereo microphone, or a line-level source like a CD player.

And the most obvious use for a stereo track would be if you've mixed down your project to a stereo .wav file, and load it into its own project for pre-mastering kinds of tasks. You definitely want to preserve the stereo field.

 

[lpdeluxe]

Solo instruments work fine in stereo, but for ensembles I prefer to record most things (other than the drum kit or machine, which I record in stereo) in mono. This allows you to precisely place the instrument on the perceived sound stage; if you have a stereo recording of each of 4 or 5 instruments you hear the mix as mud: there are too many location cues for it to sound clean.

As always, there are plenty of exceptions. A good example is the Rolling Stones' Wild Horses, which features acoustic guitars played in unison, one in standard tuning panned hard to one side, the other in Nashville tuning panned hard to the opposite side, which sounds like a really wide stereo rhythm guitar.

 

[DrewPeterson7]

I record everying in mono - if I'm recording a "stereo" source with two mics, I put each mic on a seperate track. For some instruments, say an acoustic guitar, you could probably justify a single stereo track instead of two mono tracks each representing a different mic from the same performance, but I like being able to control the stereo spread.

For other applications, say two mics on a guitar amp, it's a question of being able to adjust the "blend" between the two mics in the mix, and not locking yourself down in the tracking.

For a single sound source - i.e. a single mic on an electric guitar - there's no reason at all to record in stereo, since a mono track will be half the size and won't lose any information.