Mono or stereo recording ?

  • Thread starter Thread starter James Argo
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James Argo

James Argo

Fancy Rock N' Roll
...How do you like to record keyboard/synth or guitar with L/R output in direct recording session (No amps). Say the machine has unlimited track so it's not an issue here. Do you preffer take it mono (one signal L or R) or both (Stereo signal or L & R) ? Why ? Realy ?
 
It really depends on what I'm recording and where I want the sounds to be in the mix. If it's a solo instrument part (guitar, sax, bass, etc...) I usually record that mono so I can put it exactly where I want in the mix. If it is an instrument (piano, organ, elec. piano, etc...) I tend to record those types of sounds in stereo (separate L and R tracks) and adjusting panning position as needed. If it is a pad that I'm recording I usually record those mono and pan to taste... But, all the above can change with each project...

Vice
 
Yup I got your point make sense... My case, I do alot of MIDI sequencing. Sometimes, it sounds good while it's in MIDI world. Using multi mode (KORG thingie) or GM mode. When I'm about to translate them to audio, I take 'em one by one from program (patch) mode to mixer, to PC. However, the effect setting are different now different in program mode, and so the pan/level... I take 'em most being stereo due to get better and "realistic" sound it may produce. But I just curious, how about you guys...
 
If there is only one or two things going on, I will usually record in stereo. If there is a lot going on, then I much prefer recording most things mono. It gives me more freedom in the mix, which is what I want.

Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Also depends what fx are "built-in" to the sound - for instance a stereo vibrato.

Certain synth/sample programs suffer when collapsed to mono more than others - best thing is to check it out both ways. String ensemble samples, for instance, almost always sound a lot better in stereo.

Some others utilize panning pretty effectively, like a bell-tree sample which moves from left to right as you play from top to bottom.

As always, best advice is to use your ears and decide.
 
I have noticed that many of the better piano fonts pan the keyboard from lo end to high, left to right to make it sound like the player is sitting at the piano.

This makes it hard not to make a stereo audio file so you can capture the whole piano. It also makes it hard to mix because sometimes you want the piano down one side or the other.

Anyone have a suggestion for making these into mono track versions?
 
That's why I sometimes record an instrument (like piano) to separate mono tracks (L and R respectively). It gives me more discretion as to where I place the piano in the mix... A piano that has a sound in which the lows start hard left and highs end hard right, I can still utilize that in my mix by leaving say the left channel center and panning the right channel hard right. Now the lows will start in the center and the highs will go hard right. It leaves the left side of the mix open for other instruments, but I still keep some of the integrity of the original piano patch...

Did any of that make any sense? It's late here...


Vice
 
...I'm gonna try recording mono and stereo on a same project this weekend, and see how's the differences. Same material, same machine, same set... just different paning. We'll see...;)
Thank's

James
 
You'll be surprised how many synth patches are mono with a delay panned to the other side giving a "phony" Stereo sound.

Make sure its a REAL Stereo patch.
 
I record everything in stereo center and play with panning later. I also do it with bass and am wondering if I`m wasting bandwidth with it since I have only dual tracked it twice. Does that even matter? Would I be better off just recording it mono and then patching it to another track if needed?
 
Toki987 said:
I record everything in stereo center and play with panning later...
Click to expand...

That is an interesting question. If you are using a patch with stereo settings built into the patch, I'm not really sure. When I record something that I know is stereo, my pan pots are hard left and hard right on my mixer channels. I will test when I get my equipment set back up...


Vice
 
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