Recording Synths...Stereo or Mono? Random Thought...

[dennis f]

ahhhh the long running debate.

recording synths in mono in days gone were to make sure there were no phasing issues and mono compatibility issues.

As long as you have a mono switch button to check for the compatibility you should be ok.

I learned the hard way. Trust. You don't want synth parts disappearing in the club since a ton of club systems are mono believe it or not.

So ok you find that when you switch to mono the particular synth sound drops out in volume...well then...close the stereo field a bit on it. Use a dual panner and instead of it being smashed left right...try L60 R60. Adjust the volume while in mono...and then switch to stereo to check.

Ideally the individual volume of every sound should not change when you switch from mono to stereo. Nothing should disappear.

I can't tell you how many bad records i've heard like this....and this shows how much of an amateur you are when the records is released.

There are so called rules but i tend to break them....lol

Kick in mono...ugh..i dunno i've done kicks in stereo and they've been fine. Especially if it's a sample and tends to have a bit of extra information in the stereo field. Sometimes it makes the sound what it is ...so why f with it? I guess I'm on the fence with this one to tell you the truth. It's 50/50 for me at this point.


Bass in mono...this one tends to be true for me more often than not.


df

[djgel]

Great post Dennis.

I hear you on this one. Wish I'd known about it longer ago...The first record I ever did sounded like complete crap in mono (yes, I was one of those people who sounded like an amateur when the record was released). I remember it being played on a system at a huge club and wondering where all the detail that I spent so much time on went...I really didn't know what I was doing back then at all. I now mix through a Presonus Central Station to check for mono compatibility religiously (or just mono the master bus of the DAW, but it's easier to press a button in front of me!).

Nice tip on the dual panner.

I now record virtually all of my synth parts in mono, then add panning & 3rd party spatial effects like reverbs, choruses, panning delays, etc. after the fact (exceptions are sometimes synths with great sounding analog choruses, like old Rolands). I've found that most "stereo synths" are in fact simply mono, slathered in the synth's sub-par internal effects. I'd rather use the panning delays in SoundToys' EchoBoy or an Eventide than the effects most synths have on them.

You're probably already familiar with the Brainworx stuff. I think it's a real life saver - worth every penny. I keep Brainworx BX Digital on my master buss. It allows you to set a crossover frequency, that divides the mono portion (bass/low end) of your mix from the stereo portion (mids & highs). I tend to keep the x-over set between 80 - 100 Hz. It's great b/c it allows the highs of a stereo kick to keep their spatial "presence", while the bass of the kick remains in mono, preventing any phase cancellation of the bass. Cool, as it lets you have your cake & eat it with kicks and other stereo sounds that have a mixture of stereo & mono stuff going on..
It's got volume knobs to increase or attenuate both the mono or stereo portions of your mix. The nice thing is that it uses M/S encoding, so as not to cause any phasing issues, like most stereo expanding tools do.


Out of curiosity, at below what frequency do you tend to keep your bass stuff in mono?

[dennis f]

300hz