should i record vocals in mono or stereo?

[SouthSIDE Glen]

Why make the style of music a limiting factor? Most styles of music don't have a single singer but even for those that do would have an added option for the singer to use panning as you go without being stuck to a knob.

The way I see it is tracking a vocal in mono actually gives one more options. A mono track can alway easily be copied and converted to a dual-mono stereo track if one wanted to apply stereo processing to it, so you can have the best of all worlds. A stereo track - one that is a true stereo recording and not just dual mono track - does not always transparently convert to mono however - there are often phase or comb filtering issues - so recording to stereo limits ones options.

Again, it's a different story if one is recording stereo for a specific sonic purpose (e.g. to get the room, to get different nearfield timbres, etc.) But if one is recording a mono source with stereo miking mainly just to have a stereo track, that's what you gotta work with unless it sums ok, no good options.

G.

 

[Farview]

Tracking in stereo is not going to double your cpu load although it will increase it. Processing power shouldn't be the deciding factor anyhow because you can always freeze tracks once you've apply all the compression and eq you need.

If you're having problems with the singer moving you have options.

Why make the style of music a limiting factor? Most styles of music don't have a single singer but even for those that do would have an added option for the singer to use panning as you go without being stuck to a knob.

Do you have any examples? It would seem to me that stereo micing a vocalist to get the room sound would take away from the focus of the vocal. It would also make punching in more difficult because now you have to make sure the singer is standing in the same place side-to-side as well as the same distance from the mic. There must be something that I am missing.

 

[mixaholic]

yea i was talking about setting up the software to mono or stereo like Southside Glen said not tracking the vocals in mono or stereo. so after reading this i guess it's best to record vocals in mono. i should record addlibs and overdubbs in mono too right?

 

[RAK]

yea i was talking about setting up the software to mono or stereo like Southside Glen said not tracking the vocals in mono or stereo. so after reading this i guess it's best to record vocals in mono. i should record addlibs and overdubbs in mono too right?

Like Southside said before, if you're recording a mono source, then you just need a mono track. If it's just one mic, then one track is all you need.

Now (and this may be getting off track) if you want to take a mono source, send it to a effects processor (say like a delay) and then return that to a stereo track (because the delay is stereo), that is a pretty normal thing to do. The input into the delay is mono (your 1 microphone), but output is in stereo (because the delay effect is stereo).

 

[Farview]

i should record addlibs and overdubbs in mono too right?

Here is what you seem to confused about. In order to have stereo, you need to have a stereo source. One microphone will never be a stereo source. Even if you send that signal to a stereo track, it is still mono. So, you might as well record it on a mono track.

 

[NYMorningstar]

A stereo track - one that is a true stereo recording and not just dual mono track - does not always transparently convert to mono however - there are often phase or comb filtering issues - so recording to stereo limits ones options.

When's the last time you put out a mono recording?

Again, it's a different story if one is recording stereo for a specific sonic purpose (e.g. to get the room, to get different nearfield timbres, etc.) G.

That's what I was saying basically.

Do you have any examples? It would seem to me that stereo micing a vocalist to get the room sound would take away from the focus of the vocal. It would also make punching in more difficult because now you have to make sure the singer is standing in the same place side-to-side as well as the same distance from the mic. There must be something that I am missing..

Examples? Tracking a choir with a backup band live? One time shot at recording a rock band live in a kick-ass room? How do you figure having room sound in a vocal detracts from it? If it's a good room it will enhance it. If you are tracking a vocal that needs multiple punch-ins you will have the same problem with distance from the mic in mono which is minimal anyways, and the side to side issue is an issue unless only if you are too close to the mics.

Here is what you seem to confused about. In order to have stereo, you need to have a stereo source. One microphone will never be a stereo source. Even if you send that signal to a stereo track, it is still mono. So, you might as well record it on a mono track.

You do not need to have more than one source to track in stereo. It's a bit confusing when you call the mic the source because it is not. You have to have two mics to record in stereo and since you'll end up with a stereo recording you might as well track in stereo. Of course if your room sucks you'll want to close record your sources in mono and then create an imaginary stereo field as best you can.

 

[RAK]

When's the last time you put out a mono recording?

I think, what he meant was that if you do a stereo micing of the vocal, and then fold that down to a mono track, you have the potentional of running into phase/comb filtering issues.

If I misunderstood, than "my bad," as the kids say.

You do not need to have more than one source to track in stereo. It's a bit confusing when you call the mic the source because it is not. You have to have two mics to record in stereo and since you'll end up with a stereo recording you might as well track in stereo. Of course if your room sucks you'll want to close record your sources in mono and then create an imaginary stereo field as best you can.

I think the point was that he had 1 mic, and should record in mono. If you want to make a stereo recording with two microphones of your vocal, I suppose it doesn't ultimately matter if you track to two mono tracks or one stereo track. Plus, and I know I'm probably stating the obvious here, if one does use two mics on a vocal, it doesn't mean you're doing a stereo recording, maybe you just want different sounds from the same source, say by using a LDC and a dynamic to their own mono tracks.

 

[Farview]

Examples? Tracking a choir with a backup band live? One time shot at recording a rock band live in a kick-ass room?

That's not what we are talking about here, that's where you lost me.

How do you figure having room sound in a vocal detracts from it?

Now, we are talking about a single vocalist sining the lead vocal part. In that case, by the time you got enough room sound, the vocal would sound too far away to push up in front of a mix.

If you are tracking a vocal that needs multiple punch-ins you will have the same problem with distance from the mic in mono which is minimal anyways, and the side to side issue is an issue unless only if you are too close to the mics.

How far away do you put your singers? Mine tend to be between 6 and 12 inches away from the mic. It will make a difference.

You do not need to have more than one source to track in stereo. It's a bit confusing when you call the mic the source because it is not.

The mic is the source of the signal. It is the funnel that all the sound captured has to go through. You will never get a stereo signal out of a single mic. I think it's a bit confusing when you come into a thread that's asking about which type of track to set up in his DAW for recording a vocal and you start talking about some oddball stereo micing technique that 99.9995% of all the CDs at Tower Records right now did not use. In fact, in the last 25 years, I have never seen anyone do this in a pop, metal, rock, etc.. context.

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

When's the last time you put out a mono recording?

No, what I was saying was that during mixing one can always convert a mono track to a stereo track for stereo processing, but one cannot always go in reverse. If you record a stereo track from multiple sources (i.e. two mics on different aspects of a vocal) you're stuck with the stereo track with no option for tightening it up unless you want to worry about phase issues and such.

If I wish to record a single vocal from two different perspectives for whatever reason (and, sure, there are good reasons), I'd much prefer to record them to seperate mono tracks so that I can deal with them or use them individually as needed.

The only time I would want to record to a single stereo track would be if it were an actual stereo image I was grabbing, such as a coincident pair or a stereo mic, or a stereo electronic keyboard track, etc. But in that case, the way I think of it, that stereo source is a single stereo image; it is one source that happens to be in stereo. The L and R components are indeed L and R, and will 99.99% of the time never be treated seperately. Tracking that as a single stereo file makes sense.

But that's different than tracking a single mono source to a stereo file - which is entirely unnecessary. It is also different than a dual-miking of a single mono source in order to pick up different forments or reflections. In that case, that's actually two different sources - e.g. one close miked vocal, one of the room reflections of that vocal - and not an actual stereo image. In that case, I'd track them to seperate mono files and not to a stereo file.

Why would one X/Y a close-miked vocal? There's no need for it. X/Ying a backup chorus or X/Ying the stereo reverberation inthe room of a single vocal? Sure, that's a different story; those are actual stereo images that belong in a stereo file.

But the point - I think - is that the OP, if I read it right, is not asking if one should record a vocal in stereo or mono. He's asking whether to record his (assumedly mono) vocal input to a mono or stereo file. In that case, there is only one logical answer; track it to a mono file unless it's a stereo source.

G.

 

[NYMorningstar]

Well to rap it up in a nutshell, I was attempting to expand the scope of the answers to the original question "should i record vocals in mono or stereo?" I didn't assume or restrict the answer to he was asking about micing with one mic though it turns out he was and so the obvious answer is mono. I looked at it as why would he be asking that if he was using only one mic, my bad.

There were some interesting views and head banging pulled out of this though. My philosophy will continue to be thinking outside of the box and not to do things just because no one else does.

I did a little surfing and found a wonderful sight on this subject and it's much more articulate than I care to be . Enjoy!
http://www.tape.com/Bartlett_Articles/stereo_recording_procedures.html
http://www.tape.com/Bartlett_Articles/stereo_microphone_techniques.html

 

[FajitaTone]

Unless you are in agood sounding room, I don't think vocals should be recorded in anything but MONO. Groups of people are a different story. I can't remember the last time I saw somone mic a solo vocalist with an ORTF, M/S, or Blumlein setup.



If you want to add "spacial cues" fire up the 'ole Lexicon 480.


my $.02

 

[s_amuel]

But processing power isn't. Once you get 6 or 7 vocal tracks, all with compression, EQ, etc..., if you record them in stereo, you have just doubled the CPU load. Not to mention the fact that the singers movments would become very distracting in a mix. I'm trying to think of a style of music that would lend itself to having a single vocalist mic'd up in stereo and I'm coming up blank. Help me out.

"Loney, Dear" does that. But I think he´s a little too lo-fi for you guys

 

[chessrock]

There's this thing on our site ... called "the Newbie section."

And it's really cool.

And even if your name isn't NYMonrningstar, you can still get a lot out of it.

.

 

[Bigdlh]

Stereo

I'm sure all of you have not read this before I record one verse/hook in stereo then I do to two more recordings in mono making one left and the other right ending with the final punch recording in stereo I do this to save time and to get a more fuller and profecional audio so know that I have all my takes I start the mixing process I do this by keeping in mind that the stereo vocals are always lauded I don't know if u have notice but stereo is more of up front then mono witch tends to be way at the back u should try it this way u get the best from bough worlds

 

[Bigdlh]

If u are gana record more then 2 stacked vocals it's best to do it in mono audio wise their is not a lot of difference or u can do what I do mix stack vocals

 

[Farview]

Unless you are singing into two mics pointing slightly different directions, you are not recording in stereo, you are just recording to a stereo track.

One mic = mono. A stereo track is called that because it can store and play back a stereo signal. But if you record a mono signal (like from a single mic) to it, it will still be mono.

The signal from a single mic recorded to a stereo track is exactly the same thing as a signal from a single mic recorded to a mono track panned to the center.

When you record two performances to two mono tracks and pan them, you get stereo. Stereo is about the differences between the left and the right side.

If you record one performance, copy it to another track and pan them both wide, you still have mono. This is because you still have the exact same thing coming out of both speakers.

Single performance on mono track panned center = same thing coming out of both speakers = mono

Single performance copied to two mono tracks panned wide = same thing coming from both speakers = mono.

It could be louder, depending on you pan law settings, but that is because you have twice the signal, no because it is stereo.

BTW, I'm pretty sure the OP has sorted his problem out in the last 4 years since he posted this.

 

[gonzalez]

One more comment! Just to agree with Farview Recording! If you insert a signal analizer and do the tests Farview posted, you'll see that it outputs the same mono signal, the only thing that changes is the position according to panning. The only difference on how wide the signal gets is by drastically changing the EQ (my experience with the signal analizer). But you can insert reverb, delay or other effects and just select different response timing on left from right, that's what I do with Snare also.

I'm with Farview!!! Thanks for the comments!

 

[syntheticwave]

Here is what you seem to confused about. In order to have stereo, you need to have a stereo source. One microphone will never be a stereo source. Even if you send that signal to a stereo track, it is still mono. So, you might as well record it on a mono track.

Besides some exeptions as like organ or grand piano, from certain distance all sound sources are Mono sources! All spatial impression caused from the recording room reflections.

read Mono: The Purest Of the Pure? in that matter. And record mono!

Regards H.

 

[xander.moser]

...the reason i do it that way is because i usually like to add different delay and reverb times to each vocal track and pan them wide. i think it gives a nice effect. it sounds like one vocal track right in the middle until you hear a slight touch of varying delay times in each ear.

Couldn't you just do two sends from the single mono vocal track up the middle, and pan the effects out? Unless I'm missing something here?