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ESPplayer7
New member
hey guys i was wondering what the difference between using a stereo track and using mono would be if there are parts that your going to pan all the way to the left or right
Massive Master
www.massivemastering.com
Stereo is the difference between left and right. Mono = 1.
You can pan a mono signal to one side -- A stereo signal is *two MONO signals* panned hard to either side.
You can pan a mono signal to one side -- A stereo signal is *two MONO signals* panned hard to either side.
Farview
Well-known member
If you don't have a stereo source, which most sources are not stereo, there is no reason to use a stereo track.
1 mic=1 source=mono
If you are recording a keyboard, that is a stereo source. However, sometimes it's better to use two mono tracks. If you pan a stereo track all the way to the left, you are just turning down the right channel. With some patches, that's OK, but with others, you will lose a very important part of the sound.
If you use two mono channels, you can pan the right channel to the left and have the entire thing on the left, instead of just half of it.
1 mic=1 source=mono
If you are recording a keyboard, that is a stereo source. However, sometimes it's better to use two mono tracks. If you pan a stereo track all the way to the left, you are just turning down the right channel. With some patches, that's OK, but with others, you will lose a very important part of the sound.
If you use two mono channels, you can pan the right channel to the left and have the entire thing on the left, instead of just half of it.
SouthSIDE Glen
independentrecording.net
If you're asking what the difference is assuming the recording setup were identical, and it's just a choice between actually recording to two mono tracks or a single stereo track, the only real differences are what point in the processes you set the panning, and what you can do to the individual tracks after their recored.
For the mono tracks, you set the panning for each track in mixing. For the stereo track, there is no panning to set; that's automatically encoded when you record one source to the left side and the other to the right.
And once you have recorded to a stereo track, you are suck with that hard panning no matter what (unless you break the stereo track back into two mono tracks.) Also, depending upon your make of DAW software, what you can or cannot do to each individual side of a stereo track in terms of automation, EQ, etc. can vary; some will only automate volume or EQ to the whole stereo track, for example, whereas others will let you set up separate automation paths for each channel in a stereo track.
As a matter of just keeping things straight and leaving the best options and least work open, though, in general, stereo tracks are only used to capture an actual stereophonic image, not just as a single package for two isolated tracks:
Do you have two separate guitar tracks that you want to hard pan because it sounds "k3wl"? Use two mono tracks.
Do you want to capture a stereo image from a stereo pair mic setup, but be able to adjust the "width" and position of that stereo image in your overall pan space? Use two mono tracks so you can manually adjust the panning.
Do you want to capture an actual natural stereo image from a stereo microphone pair (however they me be set up), or - as Jay said - record stereo outs from a stereo electronic instrument such as a stereo keyboard or a stereo reverb? Use a stereo track to record to.
G.
TyphoidHippo
1Trillion K Platinum User
I have never recorded two sources to a single stereo track...not even when conventional wisdom might suggest to do so - I use stereo only if I get to a point where I find myself repeating the same things on two tracks in EXACTLY the same way....and that's pretty much only with stacked up guitars that I've already swept and notched, overheads that I've already compressed, or keyboards. With any of those three situations, I have already performed individual tasks on the mono tracks (if necessary) and decided exactly where I want them to sit in the stereo field - then and only then will I bounce them to stereo and even then, only if they need further (identical) attention. A rare occasion, but when it pops up, using stereo tracks saves time and CPU power... both pretty good things to save, heh...
Farview
Well-known member
It may save time, but it doesn't save CPU.
TyphoidHippo
1Trillion K Platinum User
Wow. You're right, in the context of how I worded that, the most likely interpretation of what I meant is incorrect, hahahaha... Thanks for pointing that out
I was pretty tired, I guess. It should be noted that only saves CPU when I bounce the tracks to stereo (printing the compression/EQ/whatever *plugins* I may have been using on the original mono tracks). When you print two hungry compression plugins (one on each mono track) into a new stereo track, and remove the originals from the project, CPU is saved. One stereo track = two mono tracks when dealing with CPU though, and I can see how you thought I was saying it's more efficient...I agree that it's not.
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