Mixing in mono is fucking HARD

[AdamWathan]

So last night after decided I wasn't happy with how my instruments were battling each other in my mixes I thought it would be beneficial to try mixing it in mono and give everything it's own space via EQ and a little compression and verb so that when I went back to stereo and actually panned everything out I would end up with really well separated tracks. Needless to say this completely put me in my place, I am a n00b and I am awful at this.

How do you guys normally do the mono mix thing? Do you do a sort of half finished mix in stereo, then go to mono to EQ out the battling frequencies and then back to stereo to finish it off? It just seems like starting in mono with all the faders at unity is totally overwhelming with 30-40 tracks all battling for the same space

 

[Ola Englund]

The cool thing about mixing in mono is that if you close your eyes you can hear every frequencies from lows to high in the shape of an I.

Hard to explain but it ranges from low(like the kick under my desk) and up to highs above my LCD-screen(cymbals and shit) . So if you work hard you should have everything placed somewhere between under the desk and just above the computer screen

Maybe I sound like a new age dork but I really benefit from mixing this way.

 

[AdamWathan]

I definitely see the benefit of it and I'm really looking forward to experimenting with it more, it seems like it should be an awesome tool for giving everything it's space in the mix!

 

[Soundlurker]

Sounds interesting, I might give it a try when I have time. I hate crammed recordings, though. One of the first things I do when mixing is adjust the panning.

 

[AdamWathan]

Sounds interesting, I might give it a try when I have time. I hate crammed recordings, though. One of the first things I do when mixing is adjust the panning.

I was reading "ReaMix" the other day which is like a mixing book written specifically for Reaper and the way it explains this basically tells you that panning things before EQing things into place is sort of cheating... It gives everything it's space in the stereo field but everything is still battling for frequencies, it's just harder to notice when everything is spaced out... My current mixes sound like ass when you switch to mono but all my favourite mixes are still listenable so I'm definitely going to be using this technique a lot more.

 

[Torniojaws]

I did that on one of my test mixes for the latest Vortech album, but I wasn't happy with the results. Everything sounded too detached, not glued together even with lots of subgroup compression (not to mention without) Almost like everything was overdubbed on top of a ready mix, so to speak. I guess there's a fine line between regular ready stereo mixing and mono mixing - just do what you do, and every now and then check it in mono.

 

[Soundlurker]

I was reading "ReaMix" the other day which is like a mixing book written specifically for Reaper and the way it explains this basically tells you that panning things before EQing things into place is sort of cheating... It gives everything it's space in the stereo field but everything is still battling for frequencies, it's just harder to notice when everything is spaced out... My current mixes sound like ass when you switch to mono but all my favourite mixes are still listenable so I'm definitely going to be using this technique a lot more.

On the other had, you may sometimes butcher an istrument in an attempt to make space when all you had to do is move things around a bit.

Anyway, I guess it's just a different method of working. In my case, all I have to do usually is make everything sound the way I think it should sound based on my preference and experience and on what I'm hearing from pro records. Once I'm done with narrow EQ and with compression, it's down to slightly adjusting wider areas of the spectrum. In which case the problem is getting used to that particular area and making poor decisions based on that. But again, that's overall tonal balance of an otherwise tidy mix.

 

[AudioGeekZine]

ehh, fuck mono, it's two thousand fucking nine.

if you're not sure where you should pan something, push the mono button on your master (I use TT dynamics meter for this) and then mess around with the pan on that track until it sounds best.
When I check my mixes in mono I just make sure the guitars don't disappear or the vocal.

I usually only use 3 pan positions also. Whatever works

 

[Zombietakeover]

ehh, fuck mono, it's two thousand fucking nine.

if you're not sure where you should pan something, push the mono button on your master (I use TT dynamics meter for this) and then mess around with the pan on that track until it sounds best.
When I check my mixes in mono I just make sure the guitars don't disappear or the vocal.

I usually only use 3 pan positions also. Whatever works

I kinda noticed my guitars disappearing when i switch to mono and i noticed when i listen to some more professional mixes. i hear the guitars alot more in mono than mine. What is causing this? i do the standard panning 100L / 100R...

cool thanks

 

[AudioGeekZine]

could be in the mastering, or there's just some guitars panned center in those other mixes.

 

[Pxz]

CLA stated that he always hard panned stuff like guitars but if i swicht one of his mixes to mono, you can still hear the guitars preety well.
There is something more to it than just checking for mono compatibility .
Also after checking many mixes in mono im more confident that many bands use a center guitar track in their mixes.

 

[AudioGeekZine]

CLA will also make things up in interviews.
Seen the Sound On Sound article that said he if he wants another setting on an 1176 he'll buy another?

 

[Pxz]

Yeah he did say that about buying different 1176`s instead of changing the settings hahahh, that was bs i guess ...

 

[Rockchops]

CLA will also make things up in interviews.
Seen the Sound On Sound article that said he if he wants another setting on an 1176 he'll buy another?

And why would that be a lie? I mean, he probably has the money, I don't see why he would need to invent something like that.

 

[BrettT]

Wouldn't the pan law come into effect when mixing in mono? You would want it set to 0db to effectively mix in mono, correct?

Normally, pan laws are set to -3db in DAWs by default, so when you center your guitars, they would be -3db quiter than if panned hard left or right, correct?

 

[Erkan]

CLA will also make things up in interviews.
Seen the Sound On Sound article that said he if he wants another setting on an 1176 he'll buy another?

Haha, that is just... wow.

 

[Fox Mulder]

I kinda noticed my guitars disappearing when i switch to mono and i noticed when i listen to some more professional mixes. i hear the guitars alot more in mono than mine. What is causing this? i do the standard panning 100L / 100R...

cool thanks

1. If you are using stereo imaging plugs in the mix, could be cause of that.
2. Sounds like you are dual tracking, and the mixes that you're referring to could be quad tracked.
3. I'd love to find out myself what the problem could be.

 

[fade_2_black]

The cool thing about mixing in mono is that if you close your eyes you can hear every frequencies from lows to high in the shape of an I.

Hard to explain but it ranges from low(like the kick under my desk) and up to highs above my LCD-screen(cymbals and shit) . So if you work hard you should have everything placed somewhere between under the desk and just above the computer screen

Maybe I sound like a new age dork but I really benefit from mixing this way.

Interesting......... Haha.

Not really sure what youre getting at here to be honest

 

[smy1]

Interesting......... Haha.

Not really sure what youre getting at here to be honest

You should read Gibson's book on Mixing:

[ame]http://www.amazon.de/Art-Mixing-Mix-Pro-Audio/dp/0918371171[/ame]

After reading this my mix imaging became a lot better and my spatial hearing improved tenfold.

 

[Styvo]

I love starting off my mixes in mono,i generally just put waves s1imager and pull it back so there is no imaging work through most of what i need to do,and as i get closer to completion i switch back to stereo.
For myself i find it very useful.