presto5
New member
Okay I`m confused...what gets recorded in Mono and what gets recorded in Stereo? Im doing Drums, Bass, Guitar and vocals...Thanks
Massive Master
www.massivemastering.com
Pretty much everything gets recorded in mono. If you want to record the stereo outputs of a keyboard or something to a stereo track, you can... But it isn't any different than recording to two mono tracks and panning them apart.
1 = 1. Period. One source, one mic, mono.
Stereo is the *difference* between left and right.
1 = 1. Period. One source, one mic, mono.
Stereo is the *difference* between left and right.
Armistice
Son of Yoda
Well IMHO everything gets recorded as a single track (mono) however you can have multiple single track sources (drum overheads, keyboards, split guitar signals/mics and the like) for some instruments but I guess it depends upon how you ldefine "stereo".
Remember that for a drum kit you can have quite a few mics including overheads... that's not stereo as such, that's just multiple mic feeds which you can arrange across the stereo spectrum to taste in your stereo mix.
If you have paired or "stereo" tracks on your interface / machine then I'd save them for dual output sources... keyboards, drum o'heads.
That's the way I look at it anyway...
Clear as?
Remember that for a drum kit you can have quite a few mics including overheads... that's not stereo as such, that's just multiple mic feeds which you can arrange across the stereo spectrum to taste in your stereo mix.
If you have paired or "stereo" tracks on your interface / machine then I'd save them for dual output sources... keyboards, drum o'heads.
That's the way I look at it anyway...
Clear as?
Farview
Well-known member
Stereo tracks come in handy when inserting stereo loops, samples and other such things. Anything else is normally better served being recorded onto mono tracks.
M
moresound
Loud Sun Studios
Lets just not get started on duel mono verses stereo or this thread will run for 30 pages.
H
haymedic
New member
Lets just not get started on duel mono verses stereo or this thread will run for 30 pages.
i 2nd that...
miroslav
Cosmic Cowboy
I wouldn't say everything gets recorded in mono/single track.
I drum kit can sound great done with a true stereo OH pair....piano also works well, but like anything, you have to make it fit within the context of the song.
While dual mono isn’t true stereo, sometimes that's a better way to go so you don't fill out the entire stereo image left to right with true stereo tracks.
Dual mono gives the impression of stereo, but is more controllable AFA where the two tracks sit in the mix.
If you find you are using dual mono tracks and trying to make them sound like true stereo...then you might be better off recording those things with a true stereo mic setup...but your quality of stereo image will depend on the mic placement and of course, the room...and the type of instrument (not all come across well in stereo).
That said, I remember a few years back on another forum...Bruce Swedien was on the forum and talking about how he recorded sessions using many tracks of stereo pairs.
You can read his answer to the first question here to give you an idea of his approach:
http://www.sweetwater.com/feature/swedienvideo/
So while most people do a lot of mono tracks...there's nothing that says you can't work with lots of stereo pairs.
The trick to it is that you have to be already mixing in your head AS you set up your stereo pairs.
IOW...you don't necessarily set up all your stereo pairs so that each instrument sits in the center of its stereo image. Instead, you might do a stereo vocal centered...but then you might do a stereo guitar and "pre-pan" it to a specific point in its stereo image...like hard left or 3:00 right...etc.
When you then mix your stereo tracks, most of the "panning" is already working for your...of course, you still have the ability to move things around some if needed using the pan knob.
You would have imagine where exactly you want each element to sit in the mix left to right...and then set up your stereo mics per/elementt to give you that imagined position for each element.
I drum kit can sound great done with a true stereo OH pair....piano also works well, but like anything, you have to make it fit within the context of the song.
While dual mono isn’t true stereo, sometimes that's a better way to go so you don't fill out the entire stereo image left to right with true stereo tracks.
Dual mono gives the impression of stereo, but is more controllable AFA where the two tracks sit in the mix.
If you find you are using dual mono tracks and trying to make them sound like true stereo...then you might be better off recording those things with a true stereo mic setup...but your quality of stereo image will depend on the mic placement and of course, the room...and the type of instrument (not all come across well in stereo).
That said, I remember a few years back on another forum...Bruce Swedien was on the forum and talking about how he recorded sessions using many tracks of stereo pairs.
You can read his answer to the first question here to give you an idea of his approach:
http://www.sweetwater.com/feature/swedienvideo/
So while most people do a lot of mono tracks...there's nothing that says you can't work with lots of stereo pairs.
The trick to it is that you have to be already mixing in your head AS you set up your stereo pairs.
IOW...you don't necessarily set up all your stereo pairs so that each instrument sits in the center of its stereo image. Instead, you might do a stereo vocal centered...but then you might do a stereo guitar and "pre-pan" it to a specific point in its stereo image...like hard left or 3:00 right...etc.
When you then mix your stereo tracks, most of the "panning" is already working for your...of course, you still have the ability to move things around some if needed using the pan knob.
You would have imagine where exactly you want each element to sit in the mix left to right...and then set up your stereo mics per/elementt to give you that imagined position for each element.
Last edited:
SouthSIDE Glen
independentrecording.net
At the rick of turning this into a 30-page thread 
D), assuming the same stereo pair source (miked or stereo out from electric instrument), there is no listening difference whatsoever between a stereo track and two mono tracks hard-panned. The advantage to recording to two mono tracks depends upon the capabilities of the DAW software.
Some software lets you process the two sides of a stereo track as if they were mono tracks - i.e. being able to adjust gain, pan and plug processing to the two sides separately as if they were two discreet mono tracks. in such cases, the only distinctive difference between recording them to one stereo track and two mono tracks is when it comes to track management, such as moving, copying, or locking tracks. Then the operator should chose based upon their preferred workflow and track management styles; i.e. would they find one stereo track or two mono tracks easier to work with for what they have planned.
Some DAW packages, however, do not allow for separate processing of the two sides of a single stereo track; they'd need to split that stereo track into two mono tracks first in order to do that. In such cases, unless the operator is pretty sure at the outset that they will have no need to treat the two sides separately, it's arguably going to be wiser to just keep them as mono tracks just to give one's self the flexibility to potentially work on them separately, should that desire arise during mixing.
Personally, I never work with stereo tracks unless that's how they originally come to me by someone else who has either done the tracking and tracked them as stereo, or has sent me something in the form of stereo stems or submixes.
G.
D), assuming the same stereo pair source (miked or stereo out from electric instrument), there is no listening difference whatsoever between a stereo track and two mono tracks hard-panned. The advantage to recording to two mono tracks depends upon the capabilities of the DAW software.Some software lets you process the two sides of a stereo track as if they were mono tracks - i.e. being able to adjust gain, pan and plug processing to the two sides separately as if they were two discreet mono tracks. in such cases, the only distinctive difference between recording them to one stereo track and two mono tracks is when it comes to track management, such as moving, copying, or locking tracks. Then the operator should chose based upon their preferred workflow and track management styles; i.e. would they find one stereo track or two mono tracks easier to work with for what they have planned.
Some DAW packages, however, do not allow for separate processing of the two sides of a single stereo track; they'd need to split that stereo track into two mono tracks first in order to do that. In such cases, unless the operator is pretty sure at the outset that they will have no need to treat the two sides separately, it's arguably going to be wiser to just keep them as mono tracks just to give one's self the flexibility to potentially work on them separately, should that desire arise during mixing.
Personally, I never work with stereo tracks unless that's how they originally come to me by someone else who has either done the tracking and tracked them as stereo, or has sent me something in the form of stereo stems or submixes.
G.
S
snatchman
Member
Just be careful with stereo vocal tracks.. Had a friend come in my studio just last week for me to hear a song he had mixed.. Put it in the CD player, hit play. Sounds good until.......I select mono.!...Vocals dissappears..!..
..( phasing problems)..He didn't check it in mono when he tracked/mixed..!..Had to recut vocal..,.in mono this time....
..( phasing problems)..He didn't check it in mono when he tracked/mixed..!..Had to recut vocal..,.in mono this time....
johnsuitcase
New member
I have to admit I never use stereo tracks. If I want to record a source in stereo, I send it to two mono tracks. I suppose editing an automation could be marginally easier using stereo tracks, but I just never think to try it out!
On the subject of recording sources in stereo, I sometimes use stereo room mics on overdubs. So if I'm adding a 2nd guitar to a track recorded otherwise live, I'll have the guitarist move his amp to the other side of the drums, close mic it again, but leave my room mics where they were. Helps a little if you're going for a realistic live sound.
On the subject of recording sources in stereo, I sometimes use stereo room mics on overdubs. So if I'm adding a 2nd guitar to a track recorded otherwise live, I'll have the guitarist move his amp to the other side of the drums, close mic it again, but leave my room mics where they were. Helps a little if you're going for a realistic live sound.