Anyone Recently Released a Project in Mono?

tonewoods · Post by **tonewoods** » Tue Apr 03, 2007 9:34 am

inflatable wrote:
themagicmanmdt wrote:haven't we moved on from mono? can't so much more be accomplished from stereo?
Ironic coming from the guy with Brian Wilson as his avatar.

Took the words right outta my mouth...

This project I'm working on is interesting in the sense that I spent a lot of time getting things to fit into the mix, panning the 3 horns, 3 vocals, and 2 guitars in a way that made room for everyone...
You know the drill...

Yet when the mono button got pushed to check for phasing, etc., things just sounded more powerful and in your face...

It's not a phasing issue, as I flipped phase to check for that and all is well...

I dunno.
I'm definitely going to throw a mono mix out there, and it wouldn't surprise me a bit if the band goes for it...

Thanks for the input all...

inflatable · Post by **inflatable** » Tue Apr 03, 2007 10:19 am

tonewoods wrote: I'm definitely going to throw a mono mix out there, and it wouldn't surprise me a bit if the band goes for it.

Just don't tell them it's mono. Maybe just mix the reverbs in shallow stereo (10 and 2). They probably won't even notice. But it's like the perfect murder. You will want to tell them after the record is released that it's mono.

When I mix in stereo, I wait until the end to pan things out. I always get initial balances in mono.

floid · Post by **floid** » Tue Apr 03, 2007 10:41 am

a few weeks back some one was talking about panning in mono to find where each instrument sits best... and i gotta tell you, i tried it and couldn't really tell... BUT, just out of curiosity, does the song sound the same way when you actually pan everything mono, instead of summing your stereo mix to mono?

inflatable · Post by **inflatable** » Tue Apr 03, 2007 10:53 am

floid wrote:a few weeks back some one was talking about panning in mono to find where each instrument sits best... and i gotta tell you, i tried it and couldn't really tell... BUT, just out of curiosity, does the song sound the same way when you actually pan everything mono, instead of summing your stereo mix to mono?

It depends on your Stereo Pan Law. If it's -6 (the default in Steinberg products) then it should be the same volume when summing a stereo mix or panning mono tracks. Try it and let me know if it works the same for you.

For anyone not familiar with Stereo Pan Law, it decreases 6 dB when panning things center.

floid · Post by **floid** » Tue Apr 03, 2007 11:21 am

no, i mean this guy was trying to say if you hit the mono button and then started panning toward the general area you wanted a sound to be, you could hear it sit differently, even in the mono mix. or maybe i misunderstood him. or maybe that's what happens when your board ain't got Stereo Pan Law - i didn't know that's what they called it, i just always notice the volume jump when i hit mono.
hmmm... tonewoods, you sure it doesn't just sound better cos it's louder?

tonewoods · Post by **tonewoods** » Tue Apr 03, 2007 12:06 pm

floid wrote:" i just always notice the volume jump when i hit mono.
"

Are you sure your stuff is in phase?

"hmmm... tonewoods, you sure it doesn't just sound better cos it's louder?"

I've been guilty of that before...

But it just sounds more "focused" (duh) to me in mono, even from across the room (which is a place I tend to check mixes from)....

floid · Post by **floid** » Tue Apr 03, 2007 12:33 pm

yeah, it's in phase - actually, that's my main use for the mono button i guess. but still, things get louder. i really don't know anything about inflatable's Stereo Pan Law, but the way i see it in my head, is that when you push the mono button then each speaker is carrying the signal for both speakers, which creates the need for a level adjustment...
really, though, what it seems like is, hmmm
*spreads hands as far as they'll go*
*smacks them together right in front of your face*
...as in, punchy, you know?

i really need to do some mono mixes though. i swear, ever since i cut off my left earlobe left fall, all my mixes have a lean to them.

KilledByAlbany · Post by **KilledByAlbany** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 2:28 pm

Probably 75% of the time I spend mixing I do it in mono. Having every element competing to be heard in a mono mix can really help determine which instruments may be conflicting and how to make them sit well together, instead of just shoving them out of each others way. Once I have everything sounding pretty in that regard, Ill switch back to stereo and do a little bit of panning and tweaking. I've found that my mixes have improved drastically since I started doing them this way.

earth tones · Post by **earth tones** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 2:43 pm

KilledByAlbany....do you have a dedicated speaker that you mix to in mono, or are you summing to mono on a stereo speaker setup?

KilledByAlbany · Post by **KilledByAlbany** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 3:09 pm

I generally just sum to mono in the box. I have the option to run a seperate mono speaker but since I'm kind of jammed into a corner of an already cluttered room when I mix, I don't normally go through the trouble of crawling behind the desk to set it up.

cfMC · Post by **cfMC** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 3:23 pm

I have been doing all mono for a few years now. just finally decided that I wanted to know exactly how stuff was going to sound in any situation, wherever I listen, bad speaker setups, the car, one earbud from the ipod etc. even beyond that, I figure I don't want to hide stuff this side or that, I'm just focused on one central mix and how every aspect sounds right there

inflatable · Post by **inflatable** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 4:49 pm

cfMC wrote:I have been doing all mono for a few years now. just finally decided that I wanted to know exactly how stuff was going to sound in any situation, wherever I listen, bad speaker setups, the car, one earbud from the ipod etc. even beyond that, I figure I don't want to hide stuff this side or that, I'm just focused on one central mix and how every aspect sounds right there

Welcome to the dark side. Me you Brian Wilson and Phil Spector. Pretty dark if if ask me.

I'll do stereo but only pan it 10 and 2. I hate it when I listen on someone's system with the speakers 20 ft apart and the drum kit is panned hard left and right. Toms are only 3 feet apart in real life, yet they span 20 ft on recordings. Stupid.

squeak · Post by **squeak** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 6:11 am

I often mix in mono before I go to stereo, there's something about
maintaining a nice level mix -before you go addressing the stereo
spectrum- and now that I have the ability to mix 5.1 it becomes
more important to maintain balance. (is anyone a Balance Engineer
here? )

Modern music doesn't lend itself to Mono - especially with
the ethereal synths available these days-but I find Mono
increasingly important in developing a stereo placement mix
that sounds real.

toog · Post by **toog** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 7:21 am

I feel just the opposite. I'm becoming enamored with Super-Stereo! I've been recently listening to Mama's and Papa's nonstop for just that reason. I love the songs where all the vocals are in one speaker and all the drums in the other. It's cheesy, and unnecessary, tiring..and so cool! I'm currently working on a totally electronic/IDM type record but I'm planning on mixing and mastering it like a 60's super-stereo record. Tons of spring reverb and unnecessarily forcing "instruments" into one speaker or the other.

wedge · Post by **wedge** » Sun Apr 15, 2007 12:09 am

In the same vein, but different, here's what I've been doing on my latest project. Panning only Left, Center, and Right, but with the core of the song -- lead vox, bass, drums, rhythm guitar -- in the center, so that's kinda like mono, and with the cake-icing goodies -- tamborine, harmonies, keyboards, etc. -- panned full left and full right. So it's kinda that 60's technique, but modernized, so the middle sounds nice and thumpy and, well, modern... Anyway, I like it... I'm nearly done, too, so I'll post samples soon...

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Anyone Recently Released a Project in Mono?

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