Mixing in mono is fucking HARD

[Fragle]

i've tried it a couple of times, didn't work that well for me.

mono sounds weird to me for some reason....and as far as the overlapping frequency thing goes, you can hear that just as well in normal stereo mode (if you know what to listen for that is), with the difference that it's easier to tell in stereo when enough is enough so to say, meaning that you don't over-seperate things like someone already mentioned above.

 

[AudioGeekZine]

Mono with one speaker is even better.

 

[DanLights]

I haven't even tried working in mono, terrified of it. I'm a huge fan of panning, sometimes use it for more than just panning guitars but as a special effect in a certain part of a song. Can't imagine my life without stereo.

@smy1: i have that book but haven't had the chance to read it, seems like a great useful read, will do it as soon as I finish my Industrial Engineering books! (I'm graduating an Ind. Eng. in a few months, need to be ahead)

 

[jesus69lol]

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.

I agree completely. I read that same interview and didn't question that for a second. When you work on the kind of material that he works on in terms of market appeal and record label resources it is absolutely believable that he would have that kind of disposable resources.

 

[gyr_saturated]

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?

actually the -3dB pan law is there exactly for this reason, to keep the signal equally loud in every pan position it is - since when you're hearing something panned in the center it's being reproduced in both speakers, and when you're hearing something panned 100% left/right, it's being reproduced by only one speaker, hence it would be quieter if it were the exact same signal. however, if you double a sound source (meaning that you add an identical source to the one you already have), you're gonna get a 3dB increase in loudness, therefor the 100 L/R signal should be 3dB louder than the centered one

the guitars would be louder if panned only with higher value pan laws (like -4,5dB or -6dB pan law).

 

[OneDaySky]

actually the -3dB pan law is there exactly for this reason, to keep the signal equally loud in every pan position it is - since when you're hearing something panned in the center it's being reproduced in both speakers, and when you're hearing something panned 100% left/right, it's being reproduced by only one speaker, hence it would be quieter if it were the exact same signal. however, if you double a sound source (meaning that you add an identical source to the one you already have), you're gonna get a 3dB increase in loudness, therefor the 100 L/R signal should be 3dB louder than the centered one

the guitars would be louder if panned only with higher value pan laws (like -4,5dB or -6dB pan law).

mmmmh, makes sense. I use 'Equal power'

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

Wow, this was the thread with the infamous "fuck mono, it's two thousand fucking nine" comment. I wondered where I had seen that the other day.

Oh well, it's two thousand fucking eleven now, and I still hear music in mono on a daily basis

 

[AudioGeekZine]

Wow, this was the thread with the infamous "fuck mono, it's two thousand fucking nine" comment. I wondered where I had seen that the other day.

Oh well, it's two thousand fucking eleven now, and I still hear music in mono on a daily basis

sounds like something I would have said.








seriously fuck mono

 

[JeffTD]

^^Fuck that attitude. Mixing in mono is not to make sure your mixes sound good in mono, it's to make sure they sound good, period. You can hear conflict between instruments a lot better in mono, and it's a great way to check levels.

I frequently turn off one of my monitors and hit the mono switch in RME's Totalmix as I'm going.

Comparing your mixes in mono with one speaker (if you're using mono with 2 speakers that's just going to sound like shit) to Sneap, Bendeth, CLA, etc. mixes is a totally humbling process.

 

[Morgan C]

if you're using mono with 2 speakers that's just going to sound like shit

Why's this? A lot of the time when people would be hearing mono (ie YouTube), they'd be listening with 2 speakers.

 

[JeffTD]

To be honest, I really don't know anything scientific on it, I just know I find it really hard to reference things in mono without turning one of the speakers off. It's supposed to reproduce the same signal in the center since it's coming from both speakers, but it never sounds 'right' to me; just cloudy and weird.

 

[Morgan C]

To be honest, I really don't know anything scientific on it, I just know I find it really hard to reference things in mono without turning one of the speakers off. It's supposed to reproduce the same signal in the center since it's coming from both speakers, but it never sounds 'right' to me; just cloudy and weird.

Maybe because the left and right speakers aren't exactly the same, so instead of being the sound straight down the middle, it wobbles left and right on certain frequencies.

Anyway, I find mono really useful for getting snare + vocal levels right, but other than that, I stay in stereo.

 

[AudioGeekZine]

There's definitely a difference, single speaker vs phantom center. what's the distance between monitors?

 

[JeffTD]

My monitors are only like 3 feet apart, but my head is the same distance from each (equilateral triangle).

 

[AudioGeekZine]

btw I do use Mono quite a bit while mixing (phase and balances) but I don't worry about absolute mono compatibility to the point where it negatively affects the stereo mix. If something completely cancels out in mono there's little chance that it actually sounded good in stereo to begin with.

The places where something is played back in mono (besides a studio) do not care about audio quality.

listening to just the sides can be even more revealing.

 

[JeffTD]

Ah ok, I get what you mean more now. I never stress over mono compatibility, but I find referencing in mono to be vital to my mixing process.

 

[AudioGeekZine]

My monitors are only like 3 feet apart, but my head is the same distance from each (equilateral triangle).

that's extremely narrow.

The center point should actually be about 18" behind your head.

edit -
mine are 5ft apart.

look here: http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/equipment/668731-dos-donts-monitor-placement.html

 

[JeffTD]

Yeah, not possible in my current situation unfortunately. Until June, I live in a (relatively well-basstrapped) 9x12x9ft box.

 

[Trevoire520]

Please bear with me, as I'm trying to remember something I read ages ago, so I might be a bit wrong.

Monitoring a mono signal with 2 speakers causes phase cancellations in the 3kHz area, leading to a lack of presence. This is part of the reason that vocal mic's have generally evolved to have a boost in this area, to compensate for the cancellations caused by having something panned centre in a stereo speaker setup.

As I said I'm half remembering something from a while back, so don't hang me if it's bullshit.

 

[Audiosprite]

btw I do use Mono quite a bit while mixing (phase and balances) but I don't worry about absolute mono compatibility to the point where it negatively affects the stereo mix. If something completely cancels out in mono there's little chance that it actually sounded good in stereo to begin with.

The places where something is played back in mono (besides a studio) do not care about audio quality.

listening to just the sides can be even more revealing.

don't clubs use mono systems? the reasoning that they're not trying to build a stereo image in a room surrounded by speakers.