Mono vs. Stereo

[Reverend Joshua Sloane]

Hello everyone,

I've just realized that i'm wasting a lot of musical talent by wasting away infront of a television all day. Whether I make something of myself in the actual music business is not much of a worry or concern for me. I am going to start back up with music as my hobby that consumes my time and spares me from absolute boredom and a deepening depression. Tonight I listened through over 30 songs which I had recorded in the past few weeks and then left discarded for the seagulls. It seems that I am too harsh on my work, since the music drew many an ear and delighted me very much. My question to you folk is how shall I go about recording the tunes I will be making? I myself want to enjoy that lush beauty that is a properly done mono mix. It has subtle beauties which contribute to a fantastic rainbow of sound when listening. On the other hand I want clarity ---- I want to actually hear the instruments I have recorded, none of that lush rainbow crap. Screw that junk. I want loud, in YO face sound. If you were watching over a mixing session of your new favorite album from an up and coming band, not even thinking about which sounds sell and which don't, how would YOU mix the album?

Your opinions are the only ones which will hold the method of my recording from now on. I am putting the responsibility in your hands and minds and hope that you choose wisely. I understand that this thread seems quite comical but I am dead serious on the issue. My life is nothing right now. I have no future ahead of me so music, once again, is going to be the hobby which distracts me from my fate. I will subsequently not be posting as much, less topics about bowel movements and the like. I promise to post my musical efforts to you all for those who are interested. Thank You for reading and taking your time to cast a vote, it's greatly appreciated.

[Chris Brown]

As much as I enjoy the clarity of stereo, mono is more powerful for me.  It gives you more control over how the listener hears your mix...plus it presents a challenge, as it can be tough to find space for all your instrumentation without really being able to pan.  So, basically, mono would be my choice...good luck man, keep us posted!

[JRauch]

Can´t really answer that question, since it TOTALLY depends on the song/kind of music. Some work only in mono (Spector), some in stereo, and some music only makes sense in 5.1.

[Billgoodman]

I prefer mono if the artist made his or her decision based on a mono mix (Beach Boys-Beatles)
But at least when it's not wide stereo, I think stereo opens a lot of doors in the creative department.

[PMcC]

I enjoy both equally. I enjoy mixing stereo to get the full effects of panning, and some great effects can be achieved with stereo. Some of my favorite mixes are stereo, but there is a power and dynamic to a mono recording that is very interesting to listen to (maybe not AS interesting thru headphones as a stereo mix, but effective) I have never been able to get a mono mix on any of my music that I was satisfied with. It is missing the fullness, probably because I am recording mono tracks individually, instead of recording mono on 2 stereo tracks, and panning left-right. I really don't know, but the time honored history of a good mono mix cannot be denied, and it's harder than it sounds. It's true that you have to think about placement of the instruments more carefully because you do not have stereo panning to fall back on. But I am one of the few who thinks the Sgt Pepper mono mix is over-rated. I know all of the Beatles were present for the mono mix, and could care less about the stereo. I know that it took them almost 3 weeks to get the mono mix down, and the stereo mix was wrapped up in 3 days. But , to my ears, Mr Kite sounds better in stereo. Within you without you is a glorious stereo mix, The 'chicken turning into a guitar' between Good Morning and (reprise) came out better on the stereo mix. And Day in the life , with the vocal slowly panned from left to right channel can ONLY be heard in stereo, and it blew my mind when I 1st heard that. As historic a mix as the mono mix was of Pepper, I must prefer the stereo mix of that album by a nose. At the same time, I cannot seriously listen to a stereo version of Pet Sounds. It sounds like they are trying to colorize a great black and white film, and it is a nice novelty, but I want my Pet Sounds mono, Sgt Pepper stereo, Spector mono...you hear what I'm talking about...(CCR and Stones...I love the mono mixes..did you know that no stereo copy of 'Proud Mary' exists. It was never made. That is a completely mono record, and a classic)

[Reverend Joshua Sloane]

After I woke up at 3pm today  I started recording some stuff while trying to decide on how I should be recording my music. I use my keyboard as the MAIN instrument for all recording, most of the samples are mono. Flute, Sax, Organ, Vibes, all of their combinations are usually mono samples. The piano samples are mostly stereo, full and wide stereo, much like a properly stereo-mic'd piano. This often provides difficulty mixing. Do you leave the stereo track panned as is? I once read an engineer, (think it was about a Bruce Springsteen album) speak of how he records EVERY track in mono. He liked the distinction of placing mono tracks in certain places to get a fake live set up going on. I tend to move away from that "live" mix as much as possible, it's a bit dull for me. I wonder how things like "Guess I'm Dumb" would sound recorded by Steve Desper in 1970 at the Sunflower sessions! Those horns would be raging, the drums huge, the piano's and guitar's with startling clarity.

Sunflower has the sound that the most recent few Stereolab albums have, except Sunflower isn't as LOUD, it's more beautiful.

[PMcC]

Stereolab learned a lot from Beach Boy mixes (not to mention Beach Boy edits) and Desper would have done a bitc*h of a mix on "guess I'm dumb" Sunflower is one of the most underrated pop mixes in history...(not on this board, of course)

[Jonas]

I prefer Stereo, especially for big productions. Sometimes Mono is alright, but for some mixes a lot of elements just get too muddy and lost in the mix.

[wonderphil]

...plus it presents a challenge, as it can be tough to find space
for all your instrumentation without really being able to pan. 

Actually, when working in mono, you can sweep the pan knob on
the individual tracks and you can hear a 'sweet spot' when the
track sounds best...basically hearing the phase shifts (even in mono)...

Mono mixing like this is best done using
only one monitor speaker;
turn the other speaker off for best results...

Some engineers use this pan-in-mono technique
to locate optimal placement of a track first...

Then switch back to stereo mixing to
apply any eq, compression, fx, etc...

Give it a try...

Bob Phillips
20to20soundesign

[wind chime]

I like the fact that both were available commercially in the 1960's...you could get almost any album from 1963-1967 in either stereo or mono...

I try to mix my own music in both to get a good feel for what is best for the songs reproduction.

[PMcC]

Wonderphil...
   Great advice. I will give it a try very soon. thanks.