Mono to stereo

[jimmy2sticks]

dude. Tell us what software you are using. All you want to do is bounce your session to a disk, correct? A stereo mix to burn to cd, right? When you export something from software, you can normally choose if it's stereo interleaved or multiple mono files. RAG already pointed this out. Is that what you are trying to accomplish? Or are we not understanding your issue here?

 

[travelin travis]

So far i have gotten nothing! Can someone just tell me the orthodox way of mixing down all MONO tracks into stereo!

you're not listening. mono mixed down "stereo" is still mono. stereo means that different sounds are present from left to right...........a different performance of the same guitar part panned left and right is stereo. even if you use the exact same recording setup for both performances, the nuances of each performance create a difference which gives the stereo sound.

in a mono mix, everything is coming out of both speakers equally. a stereo mix adds the left to right sound stage, like standing in front of a live band. if you move to one side of the stage, you will hear one guitar player more than the one on the other side of the stage.

 

[RAK]

yeah dude, at least Scrubs, Myself, and Jimmynoshafts over there have mentioned to some degree about bouncing whatever you have to a stereo interleaved file (say like .wav of .aiff) then burn that to a disc. Ta-Da, you have a 2-channel audio file which will play one channel in the L speaker, and one in the R speaker (even if the information in that file is dual mono).

 

[legionserial]

Lacking a setup that can record two mics simultaneously and using mic placement to get "stereo"- I'd agree that retracking is the best solution.

But how did you spend so much time adding a little delay to one side?

Did you copy each sample separately?

I didn't say it took me ages to add a little delay, I said it took me ages to make it sound half decent.

Even with 2 mics simultaniously, I prefer to have 2 guitars at least instead for stereo, instead of one in stereo. 1 performance left, 1 performance right. The minute differences in each performance make it sound kind of more...real I guess. I just prefer the sound of it. Even with 2 mics its still one performance. Unless its acoustic, in which case 2mics and 1 guitar is fine to me.

However, I'm talking about heavily distorted guitars. Which is mostly what I do. Anything else I do is more just about what works well, which could be anything depending on what I'm doing.

 

[scrubs]

So far i have gotten nothing! Can someone just tell me the orthodox way of mixing down all MONO tracks into stereo!

There is no "Orthodox" way, only what sounds right. Listen to some of your favorite recordings (on headphones) and listen to how things are panned. For me, I generally like to have snare, kick drum, bass, and lead vocal down the middle (unless I double the lead vocal and pan them to opposite sides). Guitars, keyboards, drum overheads, background vocals, etc. get panned out of the center to wherever I want them. Most instruments will get a touch of stereo reverb, regardless of where they're panned.

 

[myhatbroke]

There is no "Orthodox" way, only what sounds right. Listen to some of your favorite recordings (on headphones) and listen to how things are panned. For me, I generally like to have snare, kick drum, bass, and lead vocal down the middle (unless I double the lead vocal and pan them to opposite sides). Guitars, keyboards, drum overheads, background vocals, etc. get panned out of the center to wherever I want them. Most instruments will get a touch of stereo reverb, regardless of where they're panned.

But by panning things left and right, I could still export the mix as mono couldnt I? Im using cubase by the way, but thats what im not understanding. If i pan one guitar on the left and the other on the right, its stereo?? I thought stereo ment that its all together??!! AHHH im confused...how bout first explaining to me exactly what stereo means?

 

[drstawl]

how bout first explaining to me exactly what stereo means?

It's an artificial means of attempting to reproduce in a recording the different signals presented to your TWO ears at the same instant. The reasons being:

1) It sounds more real.
2) It sounds "fuller".
3) It sells more speaker systems!!!!

 

[XLR]

The word stereo is used two different ways in recording lingo. Officially it means a realistic capture and reproduction of a L/R soundstage and room ambience played back through two speakers. The term is also used to mean just having different things on the left and right in a mix.

Tim

 

[myhatbroke]

The word stereo is used two different ways in recording lingo. Officially it means a realistic capture and reproduction of a L/R soundstage and room ambience played back through two speakers. The term is also used to mean just having different things on the left and right in a mix.

Tim

so how do i achieve the FIRST one?

 

[XLR]

so how do i achieve the FIRST one?

When I record my acoustic guitar playing I put up a stereo mic pair in XY or ORTF configuration 4 ft away in a nice sounding room, and record each mic to a separate track. If I listen back keeping the mic's hard panned L and R, it's true stereo. I'd do the same with an ensemble, recording it live to 2 track. What ends up coming out of the two speakers on playback is an attempt to reproduce what a listener would hear if they were sitting right where the mic's were.

Doing a similar thing with multitracking, when you record each instrument one at a time then mix them together, is a more artificial way to do the same kind of thing.

Tim

 

[sweetnubs]

jesus christ fools, it took this many posts to get to the correct answer?! Hey fools, don't try to answer a question if you don't know what the hell you're talking about. And the award goes to Timothy Lawler, you are correct sir! Sheesh!

well except: "Doing a similar thing with multitracking, when you record each instrument one at a time then mix them together, is a more artificial way to do the same kind of thing"

If by this you mean recording the source with one mic as different takes then mixing them together to "comp" one stereo track this is not true stereo as you are not initially recording both left and right information.

 

[myhatbroke]

WOW nice info Timothy, um let me make sure I got this straight. True stereo has to be recorded with two mics in one take and "artificial" stereo is like panning everything to give a feel of where each instrument is.
The only thing unanswered now is DO I EXPORT IN MONO OR STEREO if my tracks hade a wide pan already. Or is the stereo option pointless?? THATS my only last confusion

GOOD points for both of you

 

[noisewreck]

I think it's more than the hat that's broken for you... check the thing that's under the hat

The question has been answered... IF YOU WANT TO BURN THAT FILE ON A CD SO YOU CAN PLAY ON A CD PLAYER, THEN EXPORT IN STEREO!

 

[myhatbroke]

I think it's more than the hat that's broken for you... check the thing that's under the hat

The question has been answered... IF YOU WANT TO BURN THAT FILE ON A CD SO YOU CAN PLAY ON A CD PLAYER, THEN EXPORT IN STEREO!

Im the type of person that doesnt like to just be told what to do. I like to know the logic behind it.

 

[XLR]

WOW nice info Timothy, um let me make sure I got this straight. True stereo has to be recorded with two mics in one take and "artificial" stereo is like panning everything to give a feel of where each instrument is.
The only thing unanswered now is DO I EXPORT IN MONO OR STEREO if my tracks hade a wide pan already. Or is the stereo option pointless?? THATS my only last confusion

GOOD points for both of you

Export in stereo.

Tim

 

[myhatbroke]

Ok Cool :d

 

[RAK]

myhatbroke, I would suggest doing some reading on the definitions of Stererophonic/Monophonic. I'm a big believer in Wikipedia, and if you do a search for "Stereo" that should help you understand the logic behind it, not just the answers.

 

[XLR]

The Wikipedia article on "stereophonic sound" is good. It discusses both the scientific definition and the common usage of the word as used by most people doing multitrack recording.

You'll rarely see stereophony discussed accurately in its "official" context here for the same reasons you won't find AES white papers on audio physics discussed here either. But you will see posts flaming away when common usage of a term varies from the scientific, even though in an instance like this one both have practical value.

No amount of arguing is going to make someone start saying "two channel recording" instead of "stereo". Just deal with it sweetnubs.

Tim

 

[RAK]

I hear that.
And sweetnubs, I think the correct answer to the original quesiton was given at many different points by many different people, which was essentially, export as stereo interlaced file.

 

[sweetnubs]

naaah, you gotta initally record both left and right information and then pan that information left and right. It's still mono until that is done dipshit.