curtiswyant
New member
I've never mixed in mono before. Is it as simple as panning everything to the center (using Nuendo) or do I need to just use one speaker or what? Any help, especially from old farts, is appreciated! 
Help me mix in mono!
- Thread starter curtiswyant
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glimmer_doll
New member
i would imagine it's as simple as just panning everything to the center....
why for the love of jeebus would you want to mix in mono...?
why for the love of jeebus would you want to mix in mono...?
curtiswyant
New member
Why not? Maybe it's a forgotten art...or something.
you dont have to send it to one speaker. Just set up a mono Sub Buss and send everything to it. That way you can use both speakers and it be panned in the center. Its a little difficult to mix in mono but you should get the hang of it and if you pull it back out into stereo it will be very very smooth.
Danny
Danny
glimmer_doll
New member
aha, but maybe there's a reason some things are forgotten...curtiswyant said:
It's actually more common than you think:
Part of the process I go through before making a session "Post Ready" (mastering) is checking my mixes through stereo and mono setups.
For me, it's as simple as pressing a button which automatically gives me a mono reference through my speakers. We do this to make sure a mix sounds as good as possible between stereo and mono. Think about it: songs won't always be played in the best stereo systems.
Think on a broader level, a commercial level. Mono TVs, mono radios...even for the hearing impaired, whom might not benefit from two perfectly good ears.
In mono mixing, you probably wouldn't have to concern yourself with panning as much as volume control. When you don't have a left and right to deal with, volume tends to take over perception of distance and placement of a sound as well as other things.
Hope that starts you off....
Part of the process I go through before making a session "Post Ready" (mastering) is checking my mixes through stereo and mono setups.
For me, it's as simple as pressing a button which automatically gives me a mono reference through my speakers. We do this to make sure a mix sounds as good as possible between stereo and mono. Think about it: songs won't always be played in the best stereo systems.
Think on a broader level, a commercial level. Mono TVs, mono radios...even for the hearing impaired, whom might not benefit from two perfectly good ears.
In mono mixing, you probably wouldn't have to concern yourself with panning as much as volume control. When you don't have a left and right to deal with, volume tends to take over perception of distance and placement of a sound as well as other things.
Hope that starts you off....
glimmer_doll
New member
i agree that that is an important part of mixing, but a mono compatible stereo mix and a full out mono mix are two totally different things...LRosario said:
you don't hear a lot of mono mixes today, i'm just wondering why someone would make such an odd choice....
curtiswyant
New member
I was just reading some stuff about Brian Wilson and how he preferred to mix in mono. What does he know, after all?
Blue Bear Sound
New member
The fact that he was deaf in one ear might have had a lot to do with his decision........curtiswyant said:I was just reading some stuff about Brian Wilson and how he preferred to mix in mono. What does he know, after all?
curtiswyant
New member
Blue Bear Sound said:The fact that he was deaf in one ear might have had a lot to do with his decision........
I read that too !
i guess if your gonna keep it in mono it doesnt matter.
Its a common technique for engineers to start the mix in mono. If they can get it balanced in mono then its going to be balanced anywhere. So if you put it back into stereo you can add the space with panning without having to adjust levels. And it works really well to do it this way.
I think its common because sometimes stereo can trick you into thinking things are cutting threw better then it is. Stereo seperation is all determined by how far apart the monitors are. If you have them far apart it will be easy to find the sonic space to put stuff in, but its a false impression. After you mix like that you run into the problem of things not cutting through like they should if you get it on a less than wide stereo system, or a mono one perhaps. Things that were cutting through before might not cut through then.
Thats why monitor placement is also critical. You can learn to get by with it if you learn how its behaving. But if your monitors are spaced too far apart your going to get a wider and innacurate stereo image. Supposedly the best and in phase technique is to have the monitors in an equilateral triangle to you. Everything is is the same distance apart. If you are 3 feet away from the speakers then the speakers should be 3 feet spart.
Makes sense if you understand how the waves would be flowing. Everything would be as close to phase as possible.
Danny
Its a common technique for engineers to start the mix in mono. If they can get it balanced in mono then its going to be balanced anywhere. So if you put it back into stereo you can add the space with panning without having to adjust levels. And it works really well to do it this way.
I think its common because sometimes stereo can trick you into thinking things are cutting threw better then it is. Stereo seperation is all determined by how far apart the monitors are. If you have them far apart it will be easy to find the sonic space to put stuff in, but its a false impression. After you mix like that you run into the problem of things not cutting through like they should if you get it on a less than wide stereo system, or a mono one perhaps. Things that were cutting through before might not cut through then.
Thats why monitor placement is also critical. You can learn to get by with it if you learn how its behaving. But if your monitors are spaced too far apart your going to get a wider and innacurate stereo image. Supposedly the best and in phase technique is to have the monitors in an equilateral triangle to you. Everything is is the same distance apart. If you are 3 feet away from the speakers then the speakers should be 3 feet spart.
Makes sense if you understand how the waves would be flowing. Everything would be as close to phase as possible.
Danny
Ronan
New member
glimmer_doll said:
In a few days i am recording to a revox tube, mono 1/4 inch machine from 1958. we are sneaking into Saint Marks square in Venice at 3am to record a vocal/duet for a retro psychedelic rock album I am producing. we are going to get as much on tape as we can before the cops show up.