I've been forced to mix in mono - and I like it!

[Star Ark]

About 7 months ago now one of my KRK RP5's died. It keeps blowing fuses and I am in a weird spot where I am sick of spending money on music, it is my day job 6 - 7 days a week and has been for about 5 years, I'm over spending money on it, it's supposed to be where I get MY money!

Anyway, this has forced me to mix in mono, and it is awesome!

For years I've checked out recording forums and read books, studied it at Tafe and Uni and mixing in mono has always been mentioned as a good thing. I used to try it, probably for just one hour, or just for one mix and always went back to mixing in stereo. Now after about 7 months of mixing mono with headphone checks I've been able to coax a much higher quality mix out of my modest setup. It's like I can now see the forest and the trees aren't of much importance. When everything is panned an eq'ed correctly you just know when you mix in mono. Everything goes from sounding 'off' to 'sliding perfectly into place'. I mix in a different way, it's like the lack of detail and separation helps me see the bigger picture. I still go to my headphones to check somethings and use my car to reference just as much, but overall I am mixing much faster and I belive better.

Anyone else have any thoughts on this?

If you are like the old me and you have tried mixing in mono but gave up quickly, I really suggest you give it a longer shot.

This makes me wonder what other often neglected techniques are out there that many of us are over looking .... ?

 

[HCL]

I generally switch to mono sporadically to check everything is fitting well. Will have to try this.

 

[ahjteam]

I start all my livemixes mono, then pan during the soundcheck song.

 

[JeffTD]

I check my mixes in mono on a single speaker all the time - usually for level relation and overall space/clutter. It's a lifesaver sometimes!

 

[Joshua Wickman]

I check my mixes in mono on a single speaker all the time - usually for level relation and overall space/clutter. It's a lifesaver sometimes!

How do you hook up one speaker so its centered?

 

[AllanD]

How do you hook up one speaker so its centered?

Mono in stereo is both speakers playing the same thing, so one speaker on one speaker off does it, nothing need to be rewired.

 

[Joshua Wickman]

Mono in stereo is both speakers playing the same thing, so one speaker on one speaker off does it, nothing need to be rewired.

If you have a left and right speaker though and say you turn off the right speaker, now your only hearing the left speaker and anything panned hard right would be missing correct?

 

[Fama]

If you have a left and right speaker though and say you turn off the right speaker, now your only hearing the left speaker and anything panned hard right would be missing correct?

No, since it's mono (there's only one channel). That means the both speakers play the same thing - there is essentially no "right" and "left" speaker, just the same thing coming from 2 different places.

 

[kev]

If you have a left and right speaker though and say you turn off the right speaker, now your only hearing the left speaker and anything panned hard right would be missing correct?

Most Mixers (well my saffire mixer anyway) has a cheeky little button you click which just turns the signal mono.

 

[crillemannen]

I tend to check levels in mono from time to time when im mixing. A great way to hear if vocals are to loud, snare to loud etc.

 

[waltz mastering]

About 7 months ago now one of my KRK RP5's died. It keeps blowing fuses and I am in a weird spot where I am sick of spending money on music, it is my day job 6 - 7 days a week and has been for about 5 years, I'm over spending money on it, it's supposed to be where I get MY money!

Mixing and checking in mono is great and all...but if you have been making your living from music for the last 6 years, why would it be such a hassle to send the faulty speaker in for repair or spend the $2.50 for a 5 pack of fuses when needed or replace the speaker.

Your talking about a speaker that would cost $150 to buy new. Here's one for $119 http://www.zzounds.com/item--KRKRP5 ...is it worth tying one of your hands behind your back for 7 months?

 

[Joshua Wickman]

Most Mixers (well my saffire mixer anyway) has a cheeky little button you click which just turns the signal mono.

Yea I just use the mono button on my Digi002 when i check mono.

Now is there some advantage to using one speaker in mono vs two if there both playing the same thing?

 

[B36arin]

You don't get frequency cancellation between the speakers.

 

[JeffTD]

If you have a left and right speaker though and say you turn off the right speaker, now your only hearing the left speaker and anything panned hard right would be missing correct?

Other people explained the frequency cancellation, but the FireFace mixer has a nice mono switch in it's control panel that I use.

 

[Aaron Smith]

Neil Kernon just plugs one ear.

 

[Star Ark]

Mixing and checking in mono is great and all...but if you have been making your living from music for the last 6 years, why would it be such a hassle to send the faulty speaker in for repair or spend the $2.50 for a 5 pack of fuses when needed or replace the speaker.

Your talking about a speaker that would cost $150 to buy new. Here's one for $119 http://www.zzounds.com/item--KRKRP5 ...is it worth tying one of your hands behind your back for 7 months?

There are more ways than just audio to make a living in music. I taught guitar for 1 and a half years whilst getting my degree in jazz/contemporary performance, then worked for a company called Allans music in Kew Australia for 3 years at the same time giving guitar and drum lessons to all the rich school kids, I charge $1 a minute. A year ago I quit and have been teaching piano/guitar/bass/drums and I even do what Jack Black does in rock school and direct/supervise young rock bands. I earn almost triple what I did a year ago and I still don't want to spend more money on gear, I want to buy nice food, nice clothes, take my mom out for dinner and save to start my teaching school or house.

The fuses keep blowing, I have gone through the spares that come with the KRK's, it is a generation 1 and now they have generation 2 why buy a new one that doesn't match my old one? In Australia they don't cost $150.

Not sure why you seem to distrust me.....

Plus my hands aren't behind my back - my mixes are killing these days compared to a year ago. Maybe I'm just getting better at everything else but the improvements have really started to kick in as I grow accustomed to mono mixing and occasional stereo checks.

myspace.com/starark

Write is the latest mix, done in mono in a cheap home studio for fun

My older mixes are much worse

 

[Star Ark]

So nobody ever mixes mainly in mono and only a little in stereo? I swear I've read numerous articles in audio mags and forum guys talking about almost exclusively mixing in mono and checking at the end for stereo. I've also read the same thing about name mixers doing almost all their mixing on consumer stereos and using there high end monitors at the end to check specific things. That's pretty much what I do now unless I wanna hear the width of my guitars and the tightness of the performances then it's to headphones, or bass checks so I can take my room out of the equation (which is treated but not even 33% coverage)

 

[waltz mastering]

Not sure why you seem to distrust me.....

I didn't distrust you..just found it odd,... and know that's it's easy to justify procrastination...earning triple what you did a year ago makes it easier to get a set of working speakers (basic tools) although I don't doubt that working with one speaker improves your mixing skills I would also imagine that you don't do a lot of attended sessions. Anyway I hear what your saying.. $tudios can be a never ending financial black hole with really good acoustics if you let them.

 

[Star Ark]

Neil Kernon just plugs one ear.

My real band Teramaze is getting it's album mixed by Kernon right now.
Well, apparently he fell down some stairs and is out of action for a month but real soon our album will be mixed by Kernon.

Keep an eye out for Teramaze's new album in the coming months

 

[Star Ark]

I didn't distrust you..just found it odd,... and know that's it's easy to justify procrastination...earning triple what you did a year ago makes it easier to get a set of working speakers (basic tools) although I don't doubt that working with one speaker improves your mixing skills I would also imagine that you don't do a lot of attended sessions. Anyway I hear what your saying.. can be a never ending financial black hole with really good acoustics if you let them.

Well I'm glad you don't distrust me

I can understand a mastering engineer getting more bothered by my situation than a hobby recorder, your field involves extremely precise actions pulled off using very high end and specialised equipment. I don't work in audio and other than recording school bands and girls quiors I don't record for money and nobody attends my sessions other than girl friends (it's a bedroom studio) and people I happen to feel like smoking some weed with and having an amp sims/digital drums jam on Friday Saturday nights.

Sorry, I should have specified my situation a little better, some people on this board are professionals I should make it clear I am not.