To track mono or stereo that is the question...

[bigwillz24]

Ok I need some clarification here...

First let me point you to the source of my confusion.

http://www.digido.com/portal/pmodule_id=11/pmdmode=fullscreen/pageadder_page_id=119/

About midway down he says "Track every instrument in stereo"

Have I been going about this whole mixing business all wrong?

I usually track in mono so I can pan instruments around.

 

[Halion]

If using only 1 mic, there is no benefit from tracking stereo. If using 2 mics, there is, ofcourse. But something like lead vocals, mono, always.

 

[scrubs]

I don't know who wrote that, but he/she is full of shit. Whether to track in mono/stereo or to use one/two/many mics is entirely situation specific. There is no rule that it must be done one way or the other. Do what sounds right and is appropriate to the song. If one mic is sufficient, then that's all you need.

Geez, I can't wait until a bunch of people start following this advice and we have stereo mics on each drum in the set and two mics for each string on the guitar.

 

[bigwillz24]

I think the guy who wrote this article is named Bob Katz (i mean it is his website)...

It was his name that made second guess what I've been doing.

 

[scrubs]

I think the guy who wrote this article is named Bob Katz (i mean it is his website)...

It was his name that made second guess what I've been doing.

Bob Katz is a fucktard.

Actually, I reread it and he gives the example of a "pair of bongos." I can certainly see recording those with two mics, and panning them so there is a little space between them. Still, many other instruments can be tracked in mono. Perhaps Mr. Katz has more experience dealing with recording and mixing than most (all) of us and can wants to have more tracks to play with at mixdown. That's fair. However, tracking something in stereo or with multiple mics, if you are going to pan it (especially hard panning) can result in dramatic changes in the sound of the track (due to more noticeable comb filter/phase issues) which may suck. Clearly, some stuff (piano, acoustic guitar, keyboards, harp, choirs, etc.) may sound better in stereo. I just don't buy that everything needs to be recorded in stereo. Especially vocals.

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

I'm telling you, I just read that web page twice, and I'll be damnedif half of what he says makes any sense. I'm not saying it's wrong, I'm saying I can't make any sense out of half of it.

I don't know if he's selling snake oil or if he's the real thing but just can't write, but while reading that I got the distinct feeling that this guy used to write "scientific" and "technical" articles on UFO research. There's a whole lot of impressive phrases strung together, sprinkled with a couple of reasonable things here or there, perhaps. But taken as a whole, that pages adds up to a lot more smoke than fire to my eyes.

G.

 

[bigwillz24]

I'm not saying it's wrong, I'm saying I can't make any sense out of half of it.

Phew!



I thought I was the only one!

 

[Ronan]

http://www.digido.com/portal/pmodule_id=11/pmdmode=fullscreen/pageadder_page_id=119/

About midway down he says "Track every instrument in stereo"

I have spoken to Bob katz a few times, nice guy whom I respect a lot but often disagree with, but this bit of advice is nuts. This might make sense in a sparse audiophile recordings, but for the other 98% of records this does not really hold true. I think its a really bad idea. I mic about about 5 or 10% of my elelements in stereo (Drum OH annd maybe a leslie or Piano, but even those its usually mono) recording everything stereo starts making the mix more mono and introduces more image spearing and phase distortion.

 

[usernamebob]

Bob katz is a talented mastering engineer, no idea what he's like at mixing and engineering but I assume he's pretty good, Still that is some strange advice.

Personaly I tend to track things with as many different mics as possible which gives me ultimate choice in the mixing stage. Of course, this make the mixing stage takes alot longer, but I never have to go "oh I wish I'd put a mic on the bridge of that accoustic"

 

[gullfo]

I think he is talking about using time delay to create space in the instrument placement instead of simply panning. if you read the entire quote it looks like he is referring to the time differential in the dual mic placement to achieve the place in the stereo field.

Track every instrument in stereo
For example, even a pair of bongos that are destined to be on the right side of the soundstage will sound better if one bongo mike is panned full right and the other somewhat right of center. This is because the ear decodes the natural space and delays picked up by those microphones, actually enhancing their definition in the mix (if the room acoustics are good).

Use artificial reverberators that enhance depth and space and do not sound flat, plastic or "cheesy."

Use artificial delays to locate instruments in space, not just simple panners.

 

[thajeremy]

I always record mono unless as mentioned before if im recording with 2 mics on the same source. And most of the time when i do that...i still record mono and just blend and pan to get what i want.

 

[Schmange]

I usually record synths and drums in stereo. That way if you want to you can go back later and pan them dead center and still get a stereo effect.
For vocals I usually do it in mono unless it's a choir.
For acoustic guitar I sometimes do it in stereo so I can combine the tracks for the best sound. For the most part though I"ll do mono and then double track and pan the sound extreme left & right.

 

[xstatic]

I always record in mono. if I have two mics on the same source, I give them each their own mono track. That way I can pan them however i want and EQ them or process them seperately should I desire. I believe in flexibility

 

[NYMorningstar]

I'm going with Katz on this one. He's simply giving his preference. Tracking stereo gives natural spacing and delay which he believes is easier for our ears to decode. He also mentions artificial reverbs and delay to help define the instruments space and warns of the possibility of it sounding flat or cheesy doing this. I don''t think he means "always" track in stereo but when the situation warrants e.g. a good sounding room, then capture the rooms acoustics too.

 

[Dom Franco]

If you have the tracks why not?

Accoustic guitars really come to life in stereo, Most keyboards have a stereo out. Drums should always be at least in stereo if not in multiple panned positions. I would tend to agree that lead vocals and bass guitar, are usually better centered (mono) but there are even exception to this rule. IF YOU HAVE THE TRACKS? record stereo.


Dom

 

[chessrock]

It depends on how dense or sparse the mix is.

.

 

[Blue Bear Sound]

I don't know who wrote that, but he/she is full of shit. Whether to track in mono/stereo or to use one/two/many mics is entirely situation specific. There is no rule that it must be done one way or the other. Do what sounds right and is appropriate to the song. If one mic is sufficient, then that's all you need.

You're kidding, right?

Bob's point is that it's better to mic a source in stereo to gain depth as opposed to mono and trying to use crappy reverbs and effects to get the depth you could have gotten in the first place by mic'ing in stereo.

Of course it's situation-specific, but many novices have no real understanding of stereo to begin with and wouldn't know the advantage. (Even many non-novices believe running a mono track through a stereo reverb makes it a "Stereo" track!)

 

[warble]

I'm going with Katz on this one. He's simply giving his preference. Tracking stereo gives natural spacing and delay which he believes is easier for our ears to decode. He also mentions artificial reverbs and delay to help define the instruments space and warns of the possibility of it sounding flat or cheesy doing this. I don''t think he means "always" track in stereo but when the situation warrants e.g. a good sounding room, then capture the rooms acoustics too.

This is basically how I interpreted it.

 

[giraffe]

i track stereo as much as possible, you don't have to use both tracks if you don't want to, and you can always just pan them together if they're taking up to much room, but you still want both.

 

[David Katauskas]

I always track in stereo...even when tracking with a single mic. Why?...because many of the effect plug-ins only affect stereo tracks in a desired way.