Stereo or mono foldback?

[Agent47]

Hmmm... Just doing a quick ask-around: When feeding your vocalist's cans, do you send them just a mono aux output, or do you set up a stereo feed?

I'm planning to use the pre-fade aux on my Mackie mixer for the singer's foldback, which'll be mono. Or should I do a bit of rewiring and make a stereo mix which'll probably sound nicer in the singer's ears?

I see most headphone amps are stereo...yet auxes are in mono...

 

[puffin]

I normally send the mix in 'stereo', although you're only really sending different volumes to the left and right side of the cans if it's a mono channel being sent.

If the vocalist sings with one side of the cans off, which some prefer, you might be better making the mix mono so it's the same in both ears. Or you could send the mix in stereo and just mono it if she's gonna have one of the cans off.

Hope this is helpful.

 

[Massive Master]

With the number of "one eared vocalists" (who only keep one can against one ear and leave the other open) I'd default to mono.

 

[Agent47]

Cool. Yes, I mean true stereo and not just dual-mono.

Obviously it'd sound better for the singer if she gets all the bits panned out and reverb'd with a sense of depth to the backing track, perhaps she'll feel more 'inside' the music. But I guess it'd be easier for me to just send her the mono aux...

I work in audio-post for broadcast, and all guides and M&E tracks etc. I feed actors and presenters are in straight mono. Keeps things simple I suppose!

 

[robin watson]

With the number of "one eared vocalists" (who only keep one can against one ear and leave the other open) I'd default to mono.

That makes good sense. And in performance mode, I'm sure a singer isn't pareticularly listening for a nice stereo spread (which could even be distracting).

That said, when recording backing vocals, a singer I know likes the previous vocal take(s) over to one or other side slightly and the take he's currently doing to be centre, which of course requires a stereo mix in his cans.