Summing to Mono = Horrible guitars

[danimoraniz]

it’s hard to be specific because it’s mostly dependent on circumstances that will vary song to song and mix to mix. you’ll probably need a variety of techniques in your locker to tackle issues like this in different ways.

if you can hear a problem then you’re half of the way there - I think it’s best to overcome them in a creative and logical way on a case by case basis. I’d recommend a less is more approach to stereo things - being too heavy handed is likely to cause more damage than good

I agree with you my friend! And I know it depends on the song itself but there might be some similarities or tricks we could replicate.. that's my point with that video.

 

[danimoraniz]

Just to add my two cents in, I think partly it's not something you should be overly concerned about. I think I big thing with mono'ing is that there's enough midrange information. Your stereo info should dip in volume, that's the point, but having a rich midrange will make them still sound apparent in mono.

If it is a huge concern for some reason, you can always add a mono triple of your rhythms in the center.

Take any golden age sneap mix (like killswitch or testament) and run it through an MS eq or something. Listen to just the sides, it's basically guitars and cymbals and vocal fx and that's it. Listen to the center and it's basically kick/snare/bass/vocals and the tiniest amount of guitars. They collapse fairly well to mono, but his mixes always have a killer midrange.

Totally true! I did that M/S listening and in fact there's just guitars, fx and cymbals... but the bands I'm referencing (korn, Deftones, POD, SOAD and Linkin Park's Hybrid Theory) has the same guitar volumes on M/S fields and translates AMAZING to mono, guitars still sounds powerfull.. hence I'm guessing they used something similar to the video I posted before. Or they spread guitars in another way. I'm pretty newbie and I am searching this around internet but I can't find a specific solution.. and thank you for your help!

 

[C_F_H_13]

....but the bands I'm referencing (korn, Deftones, POD, SOAD and Linkin Park's Hybrid Theory) has the same guitar volumes on M/S fields and translates AMAZING to mono, guitars still sounds powerfull

I can tell you there's nothing special going on in some of those records except for mono instances of the same part in the mid channel, or really careful tones choices that stack well. Some of it is also because the guitars are rarely panned all the way wide on a lot of those records.

I worked with Korn pretty closely on and off from 2004-2007, and was pretty intimately involved with one of the albums right through to mastering. There is no studio trickery, there's no widening at all, or anything special in the mixes. It's literally just tone choices, and balancing. Terry Date literally just did console EQ / console compression, and balance. See You On The Other side in particular was all mixed analog on a console.

 

[danimoraniz]

Wow! That's impressive brother! I will also search up about the mono instances for the mid channel you're talking about.

So.. what pan setup do you recommend for guitars? I see a lot of new producers talking about 100 - 100. I did that and it lead me to this thread..Then I also find out my pan law was -6 and when I changed it to -3 it got a little bit better.

 

[C_F_H_13]

This is also something to consider

 

[Paulie!]

Just to add my opinion, I mix in mono 90% of the time. Mainly because it's 2021.. and a lot of people consume music via blue tooth speakers. I still pan in the stereo field, I just get my balance together in mono. I get my kick snare bass and vocals at a level I like, then push my guitars until they're ALMOST too loud in mono. Flip to stereo and they're usually just about right. Granted, I don't do this professionally so YMMV. But from everything I've researched over the last few years, the general consensus is mix in mono first.

 

[danimoraniz]

Just to add my opinion, I mix in mono 90% of the time. Mainly because it's 2021.. and a lot of people consume music via blue tooth speakers. I still pan in the stereo field, I just get my balance together in mono. I get my kick snare bass and vocals at a level I like, then push my guitars until they're ALMOST too loud in mono. Flip to stereo and they're usually just about right. Granted, I don't do this professionally so YMMV. But from everything I've researched over the last few years, the general consensus is mix in mono first.

Yeah that's pretty much how I'm thinking these days.. I like your approach, thanks! I'm just a little confused on how much the guitars are suposed to be panned. On youtube some say hard pan is the way to a wider mix but then they sound very quiet in mono.