Mono / Stereo Confusion

A

Antz_Marchin

New member
I'm just getting confused byall this mono/stereo talk and which is better. I'm using Sonar2.0XL and have been recording everything using the SBLive Stereo input and never really recorded anything in mono with the Left or Right inputs.

I just don't have a lot of experience with panning and stuff, just wondering what kind of tracks I should be recording stereo and mono....for what kind of presence in the mix should I do it and how would I pan say Vocals adn acoustic guitar tracks accordingly depending if I record mono or stereo. For example the only mono recording I've tried is recording 2 guitar tracks simultaneously, 1 through the right input adn one through the left input then panning them 50/50 and leaving the stereo vocal track dead center......is this a good way??? Thanks ....BJ
 
there's 2 way of mono/stereo.

1) a mixer: if a mixer has a Mono channel, then it can only have one mic in that channel. but if it's a Stereo channel, then it can have 2 mics pluged into that one channel.

2) a monitor system. If your monitor system is Mono, then you only have a speaker (or 2 speaker, but with only 1 working,) and if you have a Stereo monitor system, then you have 2 speakers that are working.

Zeke
 
If I'm understanding you right,I think your getting dual mono and stereo confused.
If you record a single guitar signal to two tracks,it's not stereo.
You would get the same thing if you recorded it once and copied it.

Stereo would be if you used 2 mics on an amp,or had a stereo output from a Pod or something similar.

As far as panning and stereo,depends what your looking for in the final mix.

Most things sound better in stereo,except bass and vocals,which are usually mono,but sometimes doubled.

Pete
 
Man, you guys make him more confused than he allready is:)

I record electric guitars often stereo, but it only makes sense when the reverb you apply is stereo.

About panning: listen to lots of records and search this forum for tips. The most standard panning is vocals, bass guitar, kick, snare and hihat in the middle, stereo image for toms and overheads.
 
Blue Bear Sound said:
er, Zeke.... huh??
Click to expand...

Ok. example: You have 2 monitors. you unplug 1 monitor, therefor creating mono.

example 2: A pod, if you record your guitar stereo, it's sounds like there's 2 sometimes and it's in the right, middle and left of the monitors. If you record your guitar mono (just one plug) then the sound will be in the middle and while it may be loud, it will not be as loud as a stereo recording.

Same way with drum overheads. If you record with 2 mics, one panned right and one panned left, you will get a stereo spead.
 
Totally wrong..........

Stereo and mono have nothing to do with speakers/monitors and everything to do with a sound source consisting of only one channel containing a single sound component vs. a sound source consisting of 2 channels containing a L+R component and L-R component...

If I run a stereo CD thru a stereo PA, and remove a speaker, that won't make it "mono"....... that will be a stereo signal with half its information missing........

And panning has nothing to do with "recording" a source in stereo. Proper placement of a pair of mics will result in a stereo sound track - provided you record onto 2 separate tracks. After you've captured the source using stereo mic'ing techniques, you can pan it as needed to widen or lessen the stereo image.

I know you're getting close to 15 and as such, will soon know everything there is to know, but I suggest you check your facts before posting misinformation.
 
Thanks BlueBear....yeah I didn't think I could get Stereo without 2 mics but I was just getting confused by the Stereo and mono inputs on my SB card options for recording. Just made it seem like you could choose one no matter what kind of source you were running into it....thats what didnt make sense. So since I only have one SP B1 for the time being I'm guessing I should be using mono inputs for recording acoustic guitar and maybe just doubling the tracks if I want to pan at all?? Something like one dry with EQ and one compressed and with reverb??


yeah Zeke....I do know a bit about this stuff and your posts with unplugging speakers just confused me cause I didnt think that was the deal at all.
 
Since you've got a stereo input on your SoundBlaster, you can record two simulatenous mono channels. I'm assuming you have a 1/8" input on the SB. You can purchase a splitter that will split that into 2 separate channels. Assuming that you have a preamp with 2 separate channels (or 2 preamps), and two mics, you can use them both to record in stereo, or record 2 mono channels.

It is pretty common practice to record electric guitars with two mics, and pan the channels left and right a bit. It helps to add dimension to your recording. Alternately, record a couple takes and pan them left and right. (I think that's what you were talking about in the first post?) Record bass and vocals in mono and put them right up the center. If you're only using one mic, don't bother recording stereo files (2 channels) because you only have one sound source, and you'll just waste space on your drive.

If you're playing rock/pop, you probably won't get decent results with drums unless you can record at least 3 channels: 2 Overheads, and Kick. Pan the overheads left and right (you judge how far you want to pan them). Kick in the center. The least I would do on drums is 4 channels: Kick, Snare, 2 Overheads. Sometimes you can get away with putting the drums through a mixer and recording them to 2 channels, but if you do this you have to be sure that the drums sound exactly as you want, because it leaves you no room to work on them in the mix.

I use to record using 2 computers to get decent drum recordings. It took a little guess-work on lining up the tracks once they were recorded, but the results were good.

I don't know if this helps at all, or if I'm just reiterating what other folks are saying, but just figured I'd add some comment.

Rick
 
Re: Totally wrong..........

Blue Bear Sound said:


If I run a stereo CD thru a stereo PA, and remove a speaker, that won't make it "mono"....... that will be a stereo signal with half its information missing........

And panning has nothing to do with "recording" a source in stereo.
Click to expand...

I did not say to get a stereo sound, you needed 2 mics. I said that you could get a STEREO SPREAD. Which SPREADS the STEREO out some. But one thing that i AM sure of, is the fact about a mixer's channels. If you have a Stereo Channel on your mixer, that means that you can plug 2 mics in to it. (i've done this myself so i know that it's right.) and if it's mono (like most of them) then you can only plug one mic into the channel.
 
Zeke, you don't want to rile up the Bear when it comes to this issue.
Although what he is saying isn't really clear to the average joe, he is right.(I think!):D

And I don't know of any mixer that has "Stereo" mic input channels, unless you are talking about some cheap home recorder, or using 2 XLR to 1/4" rat shack transformers to put 2 mics into a stereo LINE IN channel?

There is a lot of great info on this board about this issue, just ask Boray.:D :D :D
 
ummm...let me give it a shot....mono means one, stereo means two(left and right)...for example...a cable coming out of a guitar is going to be mono...when you get it into your board you can pan it...so the guitar sound is more in one ear than the other, but it's still mono because all of the guitar sound moves as one, one = mono. now...the most common things to come with true STEREO outputs are drum machine and sometimes keyboards...for example with a drum machine/drum brain...you find the stereo track on your board, you put one audio cable going from the left output to the left input on the board, then you do the same with the right output and the right input on the board....and what you get is a channel that behaves like a mono channel, only some drums are panned to the left (like you panned the guitar) and some are panned to the right...as far as I know, you usually do the panning on the INSTRUMENT and not on the board....as far as stereo overhead mics for drums...(again, as far as I know) instead of a stereo track you actually just use two mono tracks, and pan one the left to your liking and one to the right to your liking, then you can later mix it down onto the stereo track to free up some tracks (If you're using an analog deck with limited track).

mono source (guitar, mic, bass, ect):

source-----------mixer\_panned right__/```panned left```

stereosource====mixer====some on the right, some on the left

I hope some of this helped.


p.s. I'd only worry about stereo if you're micing drums or using an outboard drum machine or brain...and if you're doing your percussion on the computer, you don't need to worry about it all, because the programs you use shoul dhave pan knobs and put it in stereo automatically (since it never has to go through a mixer)

if you're looking to get a fuller guitar sound by using stereo, just record two MONO guitar tracks and pan them oppositly in "the stereo field" to your liking.

you could just copy and paste the exact guitar riff and maybe mess with the effect a little or something, but I would just sugjest recording the riff twice and panning the different takes.
 
brandon.w said:
ummm...let me give it a shot....mono means one, stereo means two(left and right)...for example...a cable coming out of a guitar is going to be mono...when you get it into your board you can pan it...so the guitar sound is more in one ear than the other, but it's still mono because all of the guitar sound moves as one, one = mono.
Click to expand...

Lord help us here we go again.


I can't watch.:eek:
 
Re: Re: Totally wrong..........

ZEKE SAYER said:
I did not say to get a stereo sound, you needed 2 mics...
Click to expand...
You DO need 2 mic to capture a source in stereo.


ZEKE SAYER said:
...I said that you could get a STEREO SPREAD. Which SPREADS the STEREO out some.
Click to expand...
You can't "spread" a mono signal at all... there's no stereo component - you can position a mono signal between L/R in a 2-channel sound field (or left/right/front/back/center in 5.1 surround), but that doesn't make it "stereo".


ZEKE SAYER said:
But one thing that i AM sure of, is the fact about a mixer's channels. If you have a Stereo Channel on your mixer, that means that you can plug 2 mics in to it. (i've done this myself so i know that it's right.) and if it's mono (like most of them) then you can only plug one mic into the channel.
Click to expand...
I don't understand your point here... but anyways....... :rolleyes:
 
Re: Re: Re: Totally wrong..........

Blue Bear: "You DO need 2 mic to capture a source in stereo."

Take alook at this:http://catalogs.google.com/catalogs?dq=&start=30&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&issue=18477&catpage=16


Blue Bear: "You can't "spread" a mono signal at all... there's no stereo component - you can position a mono signal between L/R in a 2-channel sound field (or left/right/front/back/center in 5.1 surround), but that doesn't make it "stereo"."

Right. i agree with you on this one. But i didn't say anything about spreading a mono sound in my post. Stereo yes but nothing about mono.


I don't understand your point here... but anyways.......

I'm not saying that you info is wrong, but not ALL of myne is wrong.
 
Re: Re: Re: Re: Totally wrong..........

ZEKE SAYER said:
Blue Bear: "You DO need 2 mic to capture a source in stereo."

Take alook at this:http://catalogs.google.com/catalogs?dq=&start=30&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&issue=18477&catpage=16
Click to expand...
oh boy.... :rolleyes:

Dude! A stereo mic IS 2 mics housed in a single unit.... it has a 2-channel output.......


ZEKE SAYER said:
I'm not saying that you info is wrong, but not ALL of myne is wrong.
Click to expand...
Actually - it was pretty much....

A stereo input on a mixer generally doesn't have a mic pre associated to it - they're mostly line level...


ZEKE SAYER said:
Ok. example: You have 2 monitors. you unplug 1 monitor, therefor creating mono.
Click to expand...
No...



ZEKE SAYER said:
example 2: A pod, if you record your guitar stereo, it's sounds like there's 2 sometimes and it's in the right, middle and left of the monitors.
Click to expand...
Not necessarily...



ZEKE SAYER said:
If you record your guitar mono (just one plug) then the sound will be in the middle and while it may be loud, it will not be as loud as a stereo recording.
Click to expand...
Completely wrong...



ZEKE SAYER said:
Same way with drum overheads. If you record with 2 mics, one panned right and one panned left, you will get a stereo spead.
Click to expand...
Not necessarily, and panning doesn't have anything to do with capturing a source in stereo.


Like I said, learn more, expound less....
 
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Totally wrong..........

Wait a minute! I know for a fact and i have done it, that when you record a guitar in mono like on a pod, it is not as loud as stereo, because a use to always record 2 guitars playing the same riff and pan them left and right but when i record the 1 guitar though the pod in stereo, i did not have to record another guitar track because the stereo one was louder.And i know that a stereo mic is 2 mics in one, but when you said: " you need 2 mics to get stereo" it sound alot like you meant 2, mics with 2 mic cables pluged into 2 mic inputs.
 
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Totally wrong..........

ZEKE SAYER said:
Wait a minute! I know for a fact and i have done it, that when you record a guitar in mono like on a pod, it is not as loud as stereo,
Click to expand...
A stereo track is not inherently louder than a mono track......... period.

ZEKE SAYER said:
but when you said: " you need 2 mics to get stereo" it sound alot like you meant 2, mics with 2 mic cables pluged into 2 mic inputs.
Click to expand...
That's exactly what you HAVE to do - it's the same connection regardless of whether it's a stereo mic or not - it's ALWAYS 2-channels of audio information........
 
Zeke is just confused because he thinks that a "stereo channel" is one channel. But it's not, it's actually two separate signals, panned left and right, that just happen to share a fader.

The reason why the POD sounds louder in stereo is because the POD models room acoustics and has stereo reverb. The illusion of "loudness" is caused by the added dimension of the room modeling on the POD. I'm sure the signal itself is not louder, it is just an illusion.

This effect can be similarly simulated by recording two guitar takes and panning them slightly, and this is common practice. Yet again, the two signals together might be "louder", but that's not what makes them appealing. It's the definition from the added dimension that creates the illusion of being louder.

Zeke is just getting "dimension" and "loudness" confused.

Rick
 
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