I need some advice-stereo vs. mono tracks?

[wolfetho]

I would like some input from others on this topic. Do you find that when you mix down in DP or any DAW, that you generally get better results (i.e. imaging, clarity, space, etc.) when you use mostly mono tracks and dedicate stereo to a few featured instruments, or do you use mostly stereo instruments. I find when I use VI's (Kontakt, GPO, etc.) that I'm always faced with this decision whether or not to open a mono or stereo instance of the VI. So, I was very interested in hearing what others are doing. This could also be related to the idea of using the mono to stereo reverb (plug-ins) as opposed to just stereo in and out.

TIA,

Tom

<small>[ July 14, 2005, 12:37 PM: Message edited by: wolfetho ]</small>

[blue]

I use MOTUs trim plugin a lot to narrow the stereo field of samples. My mixes sound too messy otherwise.

[Harry]

Normally Mono for all normal tracks like Voice, Bass, Piano, Guitar ( exept 12-string stereo from Real Guitar), many (for each Instrument) Mono-Tracks for the drums, Stereo only for Strings, Padsounds.
So you can position each track in the pan exactly.

[Resonant Alien]

The only time I use true stereo tracks are for things like drum overheads or a submix of toms. I find that keeping everything mono gives the most flexibility during mixdown - you can put things exactly where you want them.

Exception being if you have an effect on an instrument that really needs to be in stereo - i.e. sweeping chorus or something - then you pretty much have to go stereo, but you can use trim plug to target the stereo field in that case.

[wonder]

I do stereo for drum overheads and room. And piano (if its not a solo piano) and background vocals (recorded in mono and stereo).

[fontane]

i use trim as well... mono drums and bass

[duncan]

If you're recording a guitar amp, and the guitar is featured prominently in a sparse mix, it's nice to have a room mic panned to the other side. You can fake it with a room reverb, but there's nothing like the real thing.

[kazuya]

Hi,
i‘m using TRIM a lot. I love Stereo, but in Postproductions for "Hörspiele" (still don‘t know how it‘s called in english...) i do need mono most of the time. Mono makes it much easier to pan a voice and some sounds (steps on ice or whatever...). With stereosounds it‘s difficult... To save some CPU and Diskspace i convert stereos to mono instead of using the trimplugin. Just take the stereofile, drag it on the desktop and the put it back into a monotrack.
When i mix and produce music like hiphop or soul i use mono on all drums (as they are samples most of the time) and stereo on melody-samples and guitars... Sometimes it makes sence to sample drums in stereo because you‘ll get the roomsound or other effects that are used, especially on hihat or snaresound but also on the basedrum.

[danes]

"Hörspiele" is "Listening Games" in English



sorry, but I just can't stand it

[Kubi]

Originally posted by kazuya:
"Hörspiele" (still don‘t know how it‘s called in english...)

"Hörspiel" = radio play

<small>[ July 15, 2005, 12:39 PM: Message edited by: Kubi ]</small>

[sholland]

I thought Hörspiele meant "a prostitute's chatter."

[Panopticon]

If everything's in stereo, nothing's in stereo. Even if I have a stereo effect on vox, guitar, etc, I'll always put it on an aux and blend in some mono. I can't get imaging and depth of stage right with a lot of stereo stuff going on. Pads, backdrops, overheads, ambient room mics, these can all get thrown up on a stereo bus without a lot of second thought, but anything crucial is in mono...at least the meat of it. Meat=mono, fluff=stereo is kind of my broad guideline.

[dpdan]

Tom, I was going to post the list of instruments and their stereo/mono status for GPO's instruments, but I see you are the one who asked this same question on the Garritan forum.

dpDan

[wolfetho]

Thanks everyone for your comments. This is very helpful!

Tom Wolfe

[croyal]

Originally posted by Panopticon:
If everything's in stereo, nothing's in stereo. Even if I have a stereo effect on vox, guitar, etc, I'll always put it on an aux and blend in some mono. I can't get imaging and depth of stage right with a lot of stereo stuff going on. ...

You hear acoustically in stereo and have no problem telling if a sound is coming from your left or right, above or below, right?

Many boxes don't output true stereo- just a delayed double mono, making everything sound panned dead center. So, attenuate slightly one channel of a stereo track- effectively retaining stereo yet sounding more from one side or the other. Trim plug is good for this- not just for narrowing the st. field. Makes multiple stereo tracks fit in to a mix while keeping the air created by the 2 channel recording.

Go listen to a large professional group (orch, choir, or big jazz band) in a real hall and dig how everything is fat and present until the sound man shows up with spot mics and F@#$s up the naturally wide acoustic image. Sure it's louder with mics, but overall sounds nothing like it does acoustically from the 3rd row. Usually more narrow as the all the mics interact like an audience of one-eared people. Fewer, well placed mics capture small environments, or snapshots of the ensembles. Fewer perceived phase issues as the "environments" overlap easier than many single spots.

To the original question; (using live sound as the guide)- things will sound bigger recorded in stereo with a few mono sources for
(general guidelines)
1. solo/lead vocals and instr,
2. certain drums on a kit (but supported by stereo overheads!)
3. bass (because lower frequencies are almost omnidirectional anyway)

Relying on a stereo reverb on a bunch of mono sources for depth, although easier, does not achieve the same effect as using multiple stereo images.