Recoring a mono instrument and adding stereo effects.

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FVH

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Hello.

I really hope you can help me with this, as it is probably a very easy problem to solve.

I'm running Cubase 5 on my PC, and my soundcard is the M-audio firewire 410.

My problem is that when I record i.e. an acoustic guitar directly into my m-audio (choosing monotrack in Cubase, since the guitar signal is mono), the added effects will also only be mono.

I've tried to record the guitar onto a stereo-track. Then the added effects will be in stereo, but the pure direct recording of the guitar will only be in one channel so that you can hear a nice stereo reverb, but the guitarsound in just the left channel. What am I doing wrong?

When I make a stereotrack and plug my guitar into channel 1 on the soundcard and record, I will only get that left channel signal.
Isn't there any way of getting the signal from the guitar from both left and right?

I hope you understand what I'm talking about - I'm really stuck here.

Thanks a lot.
 
IDK how this works in cubase, but in ProTools, i create a mono track, make a mono recording, then put a stereo effect on it.

This immediately gives me a stereo fader and two pan knobs for that track.

It's done automatically, so long as the effect is stereo.
 
Don't think in terms of mono / stereo when tracking

Recording one track doesn't make it mono, it makes it one track. Having a "stereo" effect which works over the entire panning range doesn't make it stereo, it makes it an effect that works over the entire panning range.

Mono is when every track is dead centre. Stereo is where your tracks are panned over the panning range, including the "mono" or single guitar track you've recorded.

Anything like a "stereo" delay / reverb etc, works fine on any single track, but you always have to position the track somewhere in the panning spectrum... it's the effect that should spread out, not the basic track, which remains where you put it. Depending upon what the effect is, this may be more or less obvious.

Try a "stereo" delay with a "mono" track and pan the L delay and R delay hard in each direction at completely different time settings and you should hear this clearly, with the echos bouncing all over the joint but the.

The other question that needs to be answered is how you can have been here for over 6 years and only posted twice?

Something we said?:laughings:
 
FVH said:
Hello.

I really hope you can help me with this, as it is probably a very easy problem to solve.

I'm running Cubase 5 on my PC, and my soundcard is the M-audio firewire 410.

My problem is that when I record i.e. an acoustic guitar directly into my m-audio (choosing monotrack in Cubase, since the guitar signal is mono), the added effects will also only be mono.

I've tried to record the guitar onto a stereo-track. Then the added effects will be in stereo, but the pure direct recording of the guitar will only be in one channel so that you can hear a nice stereo reverb, but the guitarsound in just the left channel. What am I doing wrong?

When I make a stereotrack and plug my guitar into channel 1 on the soundcard and record, I will only get that left channel signal.
Isn't there any way of getting the signal from the guitar from both left and right?

I hope you understand what I'm talking about - I'm really stuck here.

Thanks a lot.
Click to expand...

It is an easy problem to solve. Use an effects loop.
 
Thanks a bunch, both of you.

Hehe, Armistice - that's a good question. In fact, I didn't realize that I was registered here - so when I decided to post this noob question, I went into the process of registering first.
So that goes to show that I really haven't progressed much in those six years.

Back on topic: That example you just suggested is what made me post this in the first place. If I add a stereo effect - like a stereo pingpong delay - to a recorded mono track it will only sound mono. No bouncing around - just mono. Not only that, but what is supposed to come from the right channel in the effect is silent. If I add an autopanning effect onto the track it will fade out and in instead of panning from right to left. That tells me that when the sounds is panning over to the right channel, it disappears.

However, Cubase has track presets you can choose. These have certain effects added to them. These are in stereo.
 
Don't add those kinds of effect directly to the track. Use an effects loop. That's how it's been done for decades. I'm sure Cubase has some provision for setting up an effects loop, even if they use their own terminology to describe it.
 
FVH said:
Thanks a bunch, both of you.

Hehe, Armistice - that's a good question. In fact, I didn't realize that I was registered here - so when I decided to post this noob question, I went into the process of registering first.
So that goes to show that I really haven't progressed much in those six years.

Back on topic: That example you just suggested is what made me post this in the first place. If I add a stereo effect - like a stereo pingpong delay - to a recorded mono track it will only sound mono. No bouncing around - just mono. Not only that, but what is supposed to come from the right channel in the effect is silent. If I add an autopanning effect onto the track it will fade out and in instead of panning from right to left. That tells me that when the sounds is panning over to the right channel, it disappears.

However, Cubase has track presets you can choose. These have certain effects added to them. These are in stereo.
Click to expand...

Are you sure your monitors are working in stereo?
 
Thanks all for your input.
Yes, my monitors are working in stereo.

I did some reading, and found that one way to add stereo effects onto a mono track was to add effects channels (effect loop?). That seemed to be a very versatile way of doing it, as well as a way to apply the same effect to several tracks in order to save CPU load.

Thanks all!
 
FVH said:
Thanks all for your input.
Yes, my monitors are working in stereo.

I did some reading, and found that one way to add stereo effects onto a mono track was to add effects channels (effect loop?). That seemed to be a very versatile way of doing it, as well as a way to apply the same effect to several tracks in order to save CPU load.

Thanks all!
Click to expand...

Yes, that sounds like Cubase's non-standard terminology for an effects loop (which is different from Pro Tools' non-standard terminology). Use that method for effects that add to the original sound, like reverbs and delays. Effects that change the original sound, like eq and compression, generally belong inserted on tracks.
 
FVH said:
Thanks all for your input.
Yes, my monitors are working in stereo.

I did some reading, and found that one way to add stereo effects onto a mono track was to add effects channels (effect loop?). That seemed to be a very versatile way of doing it, as well as a way to apply the same effect to several tracks in order to save CPU load.

Thanks all!
Click to expand...

there is a video on how to do it in the cubase forum
 
Don't know if it relates but in Sonar (if I get theis right) all paths are dual (stereo if you like). There is a nono/stereo button/indicator, one of its functions is to force some plugs -dual delays, verbs inserted in the track can be made mono.
 
Thank you for that, all of you.

I still cannot get what I'm doing wrong - because it's evident that Cubase has to be intended also for that kind of use (adding effects directly to a track). In the menu for each track there's an insert tab in which I can put on all the plugins I wish. The only problem is that I'm apparently doing something that makes the whole thing malfunction. For instance, why can't I add the mentioned autopan effect to a single track and make it work as it should; if I record a monotrack, the effect it all mono - if I record a stereotrack, it cancels the right channel all together making the autopan sound like autofade instead. I just can't figure it out.
 
Are you sure your outputs are setup right? Inserting a stereo delay on a mono track in Cubase 5, definitely gives a stereo effect. You must have something strange going on with your output routing, interface, or monitor connection.
 
jimmys69 said:
Are you sure your outputs are setup right? Inserting a stereo delay on a mono track in Cubase 5, definitely gives a stereo effect. You must have something strange going on with your output routing, interface, or monitor connection.
Click to expand...

@jimmy69: are you sure about the stereo using an insert on a mono track. The only way I got true stereo was to add an FX channel and route my mono track to that.

@FVH: Did you try the FX Channel? Also are you EVH's (Edward Van Halen) long lost brother Freddie Van Halen who unfortunately decided to take up the Flugel Horn at a young age instead of the guitar. Not a lot of songs call for Flugel Horn shredding.

@FVH: your not cancelling the right channel, your just not recording to it. A stereo track needs a stereo input bus.
 
jimmys69,

that's exactly what I was thinking too - that the stereo effect should be evident even if the track was recorded in mono.
The hardware setup is kind of hard to get wrong. The M-Audio is connected by firewire to the pc, and I have a mixer from out 1 and 2. And two monitors connected with XLR's to the mixer.
The M-Audio also has headphones out. But it's the same result wether I'm listening back via the monitors or the headphones.

So I'm thinking like you that I must have done something wrong with the routing or interface settings.

In the controlpanel for the M-Audio there's an option for direct monitoring on/off. What should this be set to?
The same setting can be found in the devices menu in cubase. What should that be set to?

When I record a stereotrack now by putting in a guitar in input 1 on the M-Audio, I will get only sound in the left channel. This is visible in the track afterwards, as I can see the wave moving on the left channel while it's a flat line on the right. Isn't there a way to record the same monosignal onto both left and right channels? It seems to be a default setting that input 1 on the m-audio goes to left channel, and input 2 to the right. But if I choose to record a stereo track (with i.e. a guitar in input 1), I cannot find the option anywhere to make it record onto both left/right. I want the single signal from input 1 to record on both channels in a stereotrack.
I hope you understand - I'm from Norway, so english is far from my first language.
 
TetraFish said:
@jimmy69: are you sure about the stereo using an insert on a mono track. The only way I got true stereo was to add an FX channel and route my mono track to that.

@FVH: Did you try the FX Channel? Also are you EVH's (Edward Van Halen) long lost brother Freddie Van Halen who unfortunately decided to take up the Flugel Horn at a young age instead of the guitar. Not a lot of songs call for Flugel Horn shredding.

@FVH: your not cancelling the right channel, your just not recording to it. A stereo track needs a stereo input bus.
Click to expand...

Hehe, no I'm not him - although FVH are my initials :-) Also, Flugel Horns are nice but not my cup of tea.

Yes, I'm not recording the right channel. But I just don't know how to activate that channel if I want to record a mono instrument onto a stereo channel. It doesn't matter if it sounds mono to begin with, but I need signal on both channels in order to apply a stereo effect. But how?

Thanks a lot - your input is higly valued.
 
But even if there was a way to record a mono channel to stereo you would be doubling the size of every recorded file.

Again, Have you tried the FX Channel method. Worked like a charm for me.
 
Armistice said:
Don't think in terms of mono / stereo when tracking

Recording one track doesn't make it mono, it makes it one track. Having a "stereo" effect which works over the entire panning range doesn't make it stereo, it makes it an effect that works over the entire panning range.

Mono is when every track is dead centre. Stereo is where your tracks are panned over the panning range, including the "mono" or single guitar track you've recorded.

Anything like a "stereo" delay / reverb etc, works fine on any single track, but you always have to position the track somewhere in the panning spectrum... it's the effect that should spread out, not the basic track, which remains where you put it. Depending upon what the effect is, this may be more or less obvious.

Try a "stereo" delay with a "mono" track and pan the L delay and R delay hard in each direction at completely different time settings and you should hear this clearly, with the echos bouncing all over the joint but the.

The other question that needs to be answered is how you can have been here for over 6 years and only posted twice?

Something we said?:laughings:
Click to expand...

^^^^good stuff right there.
 
guitaristic said:
^^^^good stuff right there.
Click to expand...

Yeah, good stuff but it doesn't seam to work in cubase. The only way I could get a stereo effect on a mono channel is to send the mono channel to a stereo FX channel.
 
TetraFish said:
But even if there was a way to record a mono channel to stereo you would be doubling the size of every recorded file.

Again, Have you tried the FX Channel method. Worked like a charm for me.
Click to expand...

Hi Tetrafish.

Yes, I've tried that, and it worked very well.
But it would be nice to see if I could get the other way to work as well.

Thanks :-)
 
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