So, what is this "Stereo" thing all about anyway?

[JRMoneybags]

I've signed up for a computer recording course and am well underway planning how to put together my studio at the moment.

Problem I have is that the major assignment for the course specifies that the final mix should be stereo.

Sounds easy enough - Where's the problem in that?
Well the problem is that I'm totally deaf in my left ear and I have never even experienced stereo let alone having to mix it.

I can't hear left and right but I do have a limited sense of front and back. My wife thinks it's hilarious watching me search for my mobile phone if I've lost it, I swear I could easily be 20-30 feet out with my guess sometimes.

I'm looking for suggestions on things like monitor placement (perhaps I'd do just as well to buy great headphones rather than monitors since I probably wont hear the "true" sound and resonance anyway)

Perhaps some of you experienced mixers can give me a few tips as to what "should" sound good at what levels etc.

Perhaps I should consider kite flying as a hobby rather than sound recording?

I'm willing to experiment to try to find a way that works for me, but any suggestions will be helpful.

Cheers
JRMoneybags

 

[Creamyapples1]

Interesting, I think everything you've read regarding Monitors and headphones for mixing is still going to apply. You're just going to have to think outside the box to get the job done. I think checking left and right seperately would be a good start to getting an idea of what's going on on each side.

Perhaps listening to some material that you're already familiar with and panning hard left and hard right while listening to use for "reference", and go from there?

I'm not a professional or anything, just throwing out some ideas.

I'll put my thinking cap on though.

 

[Steve Henningsgard]

You'll need to find someone whose ears you trust, and let them hear your final mix. Until said final mix, you're probably going to get your best results by mixing in mono, and making any panning decision based on logic over anything else (e.g. pan overheads a little wider than your guitars, pan your rhythm guitars evenly, put vocals, bass, kick, and snare in the middle, toms spread out a bit, etc.).

I've had inner-ear problems since I was born, and occasionally it results in a big loss in hearing in one or both of my ears. Mixing can still be done, but you really need to have someone with good stereo hearing to give you some opinions.

I suppose you could mix in mono, and to check levels, pan the stereo output left and right, and compare the two?

 

[NL5]

(e.g. pan overheads a little wider than your guitars,

I keep seeing this posted, is it just me, or is that totally unnatural? Not that you can't do it, but in a live situation, I have never seen the guitar amps placed narrower than a drumkit. I can't think of a commercial mix that is panned the way you are describing - I'm sure there are, along with other "unnatural" pannings, but I just can't see this as a "go to" panning......

And to the OP - gonna be a tough battle if you can't hear well - not impossible, but it would be like a blind painter.......

 

[Farview]

I keep seeing this posted, is it just me, or is that totally unnatural? Not that you can't do it, but in a live situation, I have never seen the guitar amps placed narrower than a drumkit.

It would probably depend on how you have your overheads placed. XY will give you a different spread than spaced pair. There is probably more to the story than where the pan knobs are set.

I suppose it's also a matter of taste. I tend to start with my main rhythms panned hard, so there isn't much that will be panned wider.

 

[Steve Henningsgard]

I keep seeing this posted, is it just me, or is that totally unnatural? Not that you can't do it, but in a live situation, I have never seen the guitar amps placed narrower than a drumkit. I can't think of a commercial mix that is panned the way you are describing - I'm sure there are, along with other "unnatural" pannings, but I just can't see this as a "go to" panning......

And to the OP - gonna be a tough battle if you can't hear well - not impossible, but it would be like a blind painter.......

Really? Are the guitars really usually wider than the cymbals? I'll have to spend more time listening to pro recordings! :/

It would probably depend on how you have your overheads placed. XY will give you a different spread than spaced pair. There is probably more to the story than where the pan knobs are set.

I suppose it's also a matter of taste. I tend to start with my main rhythms panned hard, so there isn't much that will be panned wider.

Might be related to my preferred panning: I use an XY pair, and usually don't end up with much of a spread unless they're hard-panned. Overheads are my biggest struggle when it comes to recording drums: I have no idea how they're supposed to sound honestly. I wish there were some tutorials somewhere with audio examples of good vs. bad sounds when it comes to recording. I know there's technically no right & wrong, but it could be put in context, such as "modern metal recordings: typical good vs. bad overheads sounds" or something.

Or I could, you know, listen

 

[NL5]

It would probably depend on how you have your overheads placed. XY will give you a different spread than spaced pair. There is probably more to the story than where the pan knobs are set.

I use an XY pair, and usually don't end up with much of a spread unless they're hard-panned.

Ok, yes, once again, I am a dumbass. I wasn't thinking about XY. Duh...........

I know there's technically no right & wrong, but it could be put in context, such as "modern metal recordings: typical good vs. bad overheads sounds" or something.

Or I could, you know, listen

Yes, as I said, it's not wrong per se, just unnatural. You are placing all the instruments in a space, just as you would at a show. Now, you can choose to go an unnatural route, and that is perfectly fine - in fact I have a layered reverb room that I use in spots of songs that is so unreal that it's unreal. XY though will tend to keep the drums similar to a spaced pair panned at 50% or so, or at least in my experience. I like the XY sound for blues and stuff, I've kinda switched to spaced pair for most things now though, but that is purely a taste thing.

 

[Farview]

I tend to use XY for the overheads and smack them with a compressor. If the lows get in the way, I high-pass them at around 300hz. Then, I will decide to route them to the drum buss to smash with the drums and the verb (which is also routed to the drum buss) or just send them to the main buss.

I almost always pan them hard.

This is just kind of my starting point. Everything depends on the type of music, the type of cymbals (meinl's are the bain of my existence), and the drum part. Sometimes I'm trying to get more 'room' sound with the overheads, sometimes I'm just trying to get the cymbals.

 

[NL5]

I tend to use XY for the overheads and smack them with a compressor. If the lows get in the way, I high-pass them at around 300hz. Then, I will decide to route them to the drum buss to smash with the drums and the verb (which is also routed to the drum buss) or just send them to the main buss.

I almost always pan them hard.

This is just kind of my starting point. Everything depends on the type of music, the type of cymbals (meinl's are the bain of my existence), and the drum part. Sometimes I'm trying to get more 'room' sound with the overheads, sometimes I'm just trying to get the cymbals.

Yep, as I said, I'm a dumbass. I forgot about XY - I always hard pan them as well, so this would be a good starting point if you XY your overheads.

 

[cello_pudding]

i'ld say just position the monitors on your right side.

one in front, one in back. point both to your ear.

i mean. you can put them in front of you, and turn your head to the side and act like it's coming from your right and left side, but that won't be fun for your neck

 

[JRMoneybags]

i'ld say just position the monitors on your right side.

one in front, one in back. point both to your ear.

This is about what I was thinking - unfortunately I don't have a flat wall on either side that in the room I have to work with to mount them on, but I'll have to experiment with that. Also I'll have to work out which angle gives me the best distinction between L and R - just thinking now off the top of my head I suppose that I can just make up a track consisting of a single sine wave osculating L to R while I adjust the monitor position.

Man - I'm not looking forwards to mixing drums! Fortunately I'll be using midi drums for this assignment so I don't have to worry about that yet

 

[NYMorningstar]

Wouldn't it be easier to position the monitors normally and just turn sideways?

 

[blueroommusic]

Brian Wilson is also deaf in one ear...he didn't seem to have trouble mixing Pet Sounds. I read one time that he did just cock his head to one side. cheers!