Mixing in stereo with one ear?

[Mr Clean]

Hi folks!

I'm wondering if anyone has any experience of recording/mixing using only one ear. I was born stone deaf in my right ear so I guess I have a complete different perception of 'stereo' compared to everyone else. Mono has always been a blessing for me, especially where headphones are concerned. I used to mix everything I did in mono but I'm getting better now (I think) at mixing in stereo and adapting my hearing perspective and judgement when panning. I start with a mono mix to get my levels, then pan as I go and get the best sound to my one ear.

I just wonder if there is any advice anyone can throw my way? Brian Wilson was deaf in one ear and he recorded, mixed and produced a fine body of work, so it can't be all bad being deaf.

There is an interesting article here on S.O.S about mixing with one ear.

Anyone else got some words of wisdom to share? Advice/thoughts appreciated.

Cheers

 

[sixer2007]

Although not to your extent, my right ear has always been a bit weaker than my left.. I used to question my mix decisions a lot when it came to volume on the right side. What has allowed me to feel safe with it is when I have dual tracked guitars, and one panned to either side. I know that because I tracked them, they are the same volume level, so even though the right feels a touch too low, the meters in my DAW aren't lying.

So I've given up thinking about any difference, and just go with what feels good. It's been this way for a while, so my brain, and your brain too, can't tell any difference. You hear stereo sounds all the time, because the world is stereo.

 

[Mr Clean]

Although not to your extent, my right ear has always been a bit weaker than my left.. I used to question my mix decisions a lot when it came to volume on the right side. What has allowed me to feel safe with it is when I have dual tracked guitars, and one panned to either side. I know that because I tracked them, they are the same volume level, so even though the right feels a touch too low, the meters in my DAW aren't lying.

Meters are great. I still tend to turn my head or swivel my chair to hear the 'other' side better when mixing. I have my monitors set so I can easily adjust my position to have them both pointing at the good ear.

You hear stereo sounds all the time, because the world is stereo.

I hear stereo monaural though as opposed to everyone else hearing it binaural. Surely there is a difference in relative sound for two ears as opposed to one in the stereo field? I say surely because I just don't know. Maybe there isn't. I've only ever known the way I hear things.

 

[sixer2007]

I hear stereo monaural though as opposed to everyone else hearing it binaural.

Right, I see what you mean. What I was trying to say though is that because the world is "stereo" (Although you don't hear it as such), your brain is used to translating things on your bad side.
For instance, If a sound comes from that side, your other ear will still hear it, and it will be a lot quieter and probably a lot less defined. None the less, your brain is able to tell you "Hey, that's on the right".

I would assume it's similar for people who are blind in one eye. They would have no depth perception, but because it's always been that way, they are able to tell from experience.

I like to ask people "What if we never invented clothes?" and they say "well, that's just gross!". But, if we never invented them, we wouldn't no any different and maybe the invention of clothes today would be really odd. It's all a matter of perspective.

Or maybe I'm talkin out my ass

 

[Mr Clean]

Right, I see what you mean. What I was trying to say though is that because the world is "stereo" (Although you don't hear it as such), your brain is used to translating things on your bad side.
For instance, If a sound comes from that side, your other ear will still hear it, and it will be a lot quieter and probably a lot less defined. None the less, your brain is able to tell you "Hey, that's on the right".

Yeah I know what you mean. I guess I'd just like to find out what I'm missing out on, sound wise, although I'm pissing in the wind as I'll never know. My hearing is what it is and that is all I'll ever know.

I would assume it's similar for people who are blind in one eye. They would have no depth perception, but because it's always been that way, they are able to tell from experience.

My sister-in-law in blind in one eye after having one removed due to cancer. That'll be a good question to ask her how it changed her perception of depth, width, distance, etc. Good call

Or maybe I'm talkin out my ass

Nah, you make sense mate. Although I think having acute hearing on one side will be a lot different to being stone deaf, maybe I'm wrong though. It would be interesting to talk to someone who was binaural and later became monaural and how they can describe the difference in sound between the two. Only someone like that would know for sure, I guess.

Cheers for replying

 

[miroslav]

What you are missing (not to just state the obvious) is the left/right information of the imaging. If you never heard it in your life, it's kind of hard to explain it....but it's no just two of the same thing, one for each ear.

The frequencies/harmonics interact differently in stereo compared to mono, and you have much more sense of 3-D space with stereo, which is how the ambiance is presented.
Even moving your head from the left to right speakers is not going to reveal those things to you.

IMHO....if I was you I would simply work like they use to back in the day, like Phil Specter did with all those great mono-specific recordings....and just forget even trying to do stereo mixes, and/or have someone else do the stereo mix off of your mono mix.

Not to mention, I decent mono mix will usually translate very well into a synthesized stereo process.

 

[Lt. Bob]

I believe Brian Wilson mostly mixed in mono. I never knew why he preferred that but now I do.
I simply see no way for you to really mix in stereo when it's not possible for you to really hear the effect.
I suppose you could basically mix one side at a time by reversing the headphones ...... hear what's going on on one side and then listen to the other side. And some stereo things like a chorus or delay could be simply mixed where the levels are the same to both sides.

But a color blind person could NOT every make good color decisions when mixing and matching colors they can't see.
I think you're gonna mostly be a mono guy and there's nothing wrong with that.
A lot of today's music ends up being essentially mono anyways other than FX. An awful lot of mix advice when I used to post my stuff was "I like vox/bass/kick/keyboards in the middle".

 

[Mr Clean]

What you are missing (not to just state the obvious) is the left/right information of the imaging. If you never heard it in your life, it's kind of hard to explain it....but it's no just two of the same thing, one for each ear.

The frequencies/harmonics interact differently in stereo compared to mono, and you have much more sense of 3-D space with stereo, which is how the ambiance is presented.
Even moving your head from the left to right speakers is not going to reveal those things to you.

Yeah I have no concept of true stereo. I can imagine what it is like but even that assumption is probably wrong to the actual 'real' sound as I have no comparison to judge by having never heard it. I know what I hear and that is all I know.

I do have an exceptionally good left ear though. The last check up I had the Doctor said I had at least 50% better hearing in my one ear compared to an average binaural persons one ear. It is probably working harder to compensate for the lack on the other side.

IMHO....if I was you I would simply work like they use to back in the day, like Phil Specter did with all those great mono-specific recordings....and just forget even trying to do stereo mixes, and/or have someone else do the stereo mix off of your mono mix.

Not to mention, I decent mono mix will usually translate very well into a synthesized stereo process.

I used to do nothing but mono recordings and kept getting advised that panning to create a stereo mix would sound better. This place is great for me while trialing mixing in stereo as I get good honest feedback on the sound, where as I can hear the two sides, I can't really appreciate the stereo sound. I always still start with a good mono mix and then pan, as to what sounds good to me, for a stereo approach.

I love all the old music from back in the mono days. I could listen with headphones and hear it all rather than drums and bass or flipping the headphones over to hear vocals and guitars. It was bizarre to me, before I actually knew I was deaf. It wasn't found out until I was 7 yrs old.

Thank you for your input miroslav. Much appreciated.

 

[Mr Clean]

I believe Brian Wilson mostly mixed in mono. I never knew why he preferred that but now I do.

Yeah Brian mainly mixed in mono but also got some fantastic stereo mixes ala Pet Sounds.

I simply see no way for you to really mix in stereo when it's not possible for you to really hear the effect.
I suppose you could basically mix one side at a time by reversing the headphones ...... hear what's going on on one side and then listen to the other side. And some stereo things like a chorus or delay could be simply mixed where the levels are the same to both sides.

This is what I do, a lot. I have my DAW/Computer going through an amp that I can flip the balance left/right with ease. I also have 2 sets of monitors, a good pair and a crappy pair I can flip a switch and compare. The Mono/Stereo button on the Master in Reaper is a great help to me too. I can hear the difference panning makes to a mix regarding 'muddy sounds' etc. Listening to others work and analyzing the left/right balance has helped me a lot in the last year or so.

I think you're gonna mostly be a mono guy and there's nothing wrong with that.
A lot of today's music ends up being essentially mono anyways other than FX. An awful lot of mix advice when I used to post my stuff was "I like vox/bass/kick/keyboards in the middle".

I love mono.....It's all I know I do like the challenge of getting a good stereo mix that others can appreciate though. I never shy away from a challenge.

Cheers Lt.