Stereo and Mono

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MILLSY5

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Hello

I'm wondering if any of you experienced (or otherwise) music makers could possibly help me with some basic understanding.
The terms stereo and mono are widely used and i was wondering exactly what they mean.

I have a rough idea but i have been reading various articals in magazines which mention stereo fields and panning sounds from left to right. I have tried panning noises and in mono they transfer completely from left speaker to right speaker but in stereo the effect appears to be more subtle.

I would be grateful if someone could shed some light on the subject for me.

Thanks
 
You cann't pan anything in mono.
Mono = one channel and one speaker (You can also listen to mono on 2 speakers, but if you pan anything, that's already stereo).
Stereo = 2 channels 2 speakers where you can pan things to the
left and right spaker (channel).

Keijo
 
Mono on two speakers would mean that both speakers contain exactly the same signal.

Stereo on one speaker would mean that you are drunk.
 
And if you get 5.1 surround on one speaker, I'd like some of your stash, thank you very, very much.
:cool:
 
Actually I do play stereo mixes on one speaker a lot. my neighbours complain a lot when I'm using stereospeakers late at night on loud volumes. So I record them mono, and reverse the phase on one of the channels. Now I can play it as loud as I want on a single speaker without the neighbours complaining.

I am drunk.
 
So if you play a mono recording the sound will only come through one speaker?

When you choose to record something in stereo does it record an identical copy on both channels? How does this all work?

Thanks for the help

Millsy & Long Don
 
Okay, lets clearify this simply.

Mono actually means a single source. this can be a single speaker, or perhaps a single channel.

Stereo means there is a double source consisting of a left and a right channel which are different.

If I play a stereo recording and mix it into a single speaker, the output will become mono since there is only one source playing it and it's not possible to have differences between left and right (one speaker remember !)

If I play a mono recording and mix it into two speakers, the output will still be mono since there still will be no difference between left and right.

If I play a stereo recording and mix it into two speakers, the output will be stereo, with one speaker containing the left, and the other containing the right signal.

A cd always has to have two channels. So if you want to burn a mono recording to cd, the software will automatically turn this into two exactly the same channels, which means its still mono.

Mayby somebody else can try to explain this much more simple.

So if you play a mono recording the sound will only come through one speaker?
Click to expand...
No, it will play the exact same on both of the speakers. A cd that only plays on one speaker actually is stereo since there is a difference between left and right.

When you choose to record something in stereo does it record an identical copy on both channels?
Click to expand...
No, this would be mono, since there is no differences between left and right. Recording in stereo puts different signals on both channels.

Imagine standing on the street with only one mic and recording a passing car. If you play this back you will hear the sound of the car becoming louder until it passes the mic, after which it will become softer.

Now record the passing car with two mikes standing 100 feet apart from each other besides the road. When you plack back this recording and put two speakers 100 feet of each other with yourself standing in the middle you will hear the car passing from left to right. (or the other way round if your in England)
 
Thanks for your help mate i think half the confusion is trying to apply these principles (which you have explained very well) to my various pieces of studio equipment. I have a supernova synth and the noises are all produced in stereo and i was wondering how to manipulate each channel seperately.

Could you explain what pan is actually doing when i have a stereo sound going to 2 channels. Which channel is the pan effecting? Is it effecting the amount of noise going to each channel?

Thanks

Millsy & Long Don & Snatch
 
Panning lets you control the amount of signal going to left or right. you are talking about channels so I assume you have a mixing board.


Each input channel acts as a mono channel. So if you connect your synth which has two master outputs (L&R) you will have to connect both outputs to a seperate input on your mixing board. I guess you allready figured this out.
The panning knob on the channels determines where the signal is going to be placed in the masteroutputs (L&R output of your mixingboard)

If you pan channel 1 to the left, it will only come out of Master Left.
If you pan channel 1 to the right, it will only come out of Master Right.
If you pan channel 1 central, it will come out of Master Left & Right.
Imagine every degree between the above possible.
If you pan channel 1 at 9 o'clock, it will come for 75% out of Master Left, and for 25% out of Master Right.

So if you want to stereo connect your supernova to a mixing board, do the following :

Connect left out of the supernova to channel 1 of your mixingboard and turn the panningknob to the left.
Connect right out of the supernova to channel 2 of your mixingboard and turn the panningknob to the right.
 
Hmmm.... Downside is one of my favorite posters. Somehow his English is always better than that of many native English speakers. Something about processing all those ideas through a Dutch filter and a pint of Jagermeister. :-)

A couple of things were missing from the responses. If you play back a mono recording (of a solo singer, say) through a stereo system on both channels, you will perceive the singer to be dead center between the two speakers. In my experience, most listeners will mistake a mono recording for "excellent stereo imaging," believe it or not.

I think it's easier when dealing with monoaural sources to think in terms of one or two channels. Another way of saying what others have already said is, two channels of monoaural playback (of the same signal) is NOT a stereo playback -- it's just two-channel playback. If you had five speakers, it would be 5-channel playback. Stereo means the source was picked up by two microphones in a 3-dimensional space, and if it is played back accurately, you will again hear that sense of 3-dimensionality reproduced in your listening room. Ideally, the sense of realism should be much more than simply drums on the left, guitars on the right, and singer somewhere in the middle, all of which can be accomplished without any stereo recording.

Panning and other techniques can be used to simulate some of the qualities of a stereo recording. You CAN pan a monoaural track from left to right channel and back, for instance. On an electronic keyboard, the output can be programmed to two channels, and by making them slightly different, many people think of them as "stereo" (although it's a two-channel simulation of stereo).

You see why I think it's better to talk in terms of number of channels unless you're actually creating a live stereo recording with two or more mics in a physical (non-electronic, non-virtual, non-simulated) space in which "left" and "right" actually exist and the sounds from each reach your ears at slightly different times?

Best wishes,

Mark H.
 
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