Lately I've been working on a few audio projects out in the garage. When
testing some devices I will often have one speaker hooked up to an amp to
monitor the output. I'm starting to appreciate how good mono can sound. I've
noticed in the past when multitracking that I always seem to like the sound
coming from a single omni in the room more than the sum of all the spot mics.
When listening to a recording in mono I sometimes feel like I can actually tell
more about what is going on than when it is in stereo. What might sound big and
spacious in stereo can really sound like garbage in mono. I've been hearing
about this and reading about this for years, I know why this is the case... but
I never really put it into practice much. I felt that most of the listeners of
my music would be using a stereo system and I didn't have to worry too much
about mono compatibility. I realize now that auditioning in mono is a great
tool even if no one will ever listen to the recording in mono. I feel that it
is also refining my perception of what is going on below 300 Hz and above 8 kHz
when listening to a stereo recording.

Peter

I monitor in mono a whole lot. To run the computer and edit on it,
I'm not able to sit in the sweet spot so I often end up listening in
mono on one speaker that's nearest. I pretty much mix levels in mono,
and then use stereo to adjust the panning or if I'm adding a stereo
effect.

Check out some of the Rolling Stones' recordings from the 1980s, they
are just barely stereo... you hit the mono button and the only thing
that changes much is that the stereo reverb collapses a little bit.
The drums and pretty much everything else are dead center. They
wanted to make their records in real mono but the record companies
wouldn't go for it, so they kind of fooled them.

Al

On 26 Sep 2004 18:50:54 GMT, (TheCatsPjamas)
wrote:

Lately I've been working on a few audio projects out in the garage. When
testing some devices I will often have one speaker hooked up to an amp to
monitor the output. I'm starting to appreciate how good mono can sound. I've
noticed in the past when multitracking that I always seem to like the sound
coming from a single omni in the room more than the sum of all the spot mics.
When listening to a recording in mono I sometimes feel like I can actually tell
more about what is going on than when it is in stereo. What might sound big and
spacious in stereo can really sound like garbage in mono. I've been hearing
about this and reading about this for years, I know why this is the case... but
I never really put it into practice much. I felt that most of the listeners of
my music would be using a stereo system and I didn't have to worry too much
about mono compatibility. I realize now that auditioning in mono is a great
tool even if no one will ever listen to the recording in mono. I feel that it
is also refining my perception of what is going on below 300 Hz and above 8 kHz
when listening to a stereo recording.

Peter

I monitor in mono a whole lot. To run the computer and edit on it,
I'm not able to sit in the sweet spot so I often end up listening in
mono on one speaker that's nearest. I pretty much mix levels in mono,
and then use stereo to adjust the panning or if I'm adding a stereo
effect.

Check out some of the Rolling Stones' recordings from the 1980s, they
are just barely stereo... you hit the mono button and the only thing
that changes much is that the stereo reverb collapses a little bit.
The drums and pretty much everything else are dead center. They
wanted to make their records in real mono but the record companies
wouldn't go for it, so they kind of fooled them.

Al

On 26 Sep 2004 18:50:54 GMT, (TheCatsPjamas)
wrote:

Lately I've been working on a few audio projects out in the garage. When
testing some devices I will often have one speaker hooked up to an amp to
monitor the output. I'm starting to appreciate how good mono can sound. I've
noticed in the past when multitracking that I always seem to like the sound
coming from a single omni in the room more than the sum of all the spot mics.
When listening to a recording in mono I sometimes feel like I can actually tell
more about what is going on than when it is in stereo. What might sound big and
spacious in stereo can really sound like garbage in mono. I've been hearing
about this and reading about this for years, I know why this is the case... but
I never really put it into practice much. I felt that most of the listeners of
my music would be using a stereo system and I didn't have to worry too much
about mono compatibility. I realize now that auditioning in mono is a great
tool even if no one will ever listen to the recording in mono. I feel that it
is also refining my perception of what is going on below 300 Hz and above 8 kHz
when listening to a stereo recording.

Peter

"TheCatsPjamas" wrote in message
...

I felt that most of the listeners of
my music would be using a stereo system and I didn't have to worry too
much about mono compatibility.



If anything you create ever finds its way onto TV, you'll thank yourself
for making sure it was mono friendly. Even if you have a stereo TV,
odds are seven or eight to one that it'll be mono before it gets to you.

--
"It CAN'T be too loud... some of the red lights aren't even on yet!"
- Lorin David Schultz
in the control room
making even bad news sound good

(Remove spamblock to reply)

"TheCatsPjamas" wrote in message
...

I felt that most of the listeners of
my music would be using a stereo system and I didn't have to worry too
much about mono compatibility.



If anything you create ever finds its way onto TV, you'll thank yourself
for making sure it was mono friendly. Even if you have a stereo TV,
odds are seven or eight to one that it'll be mono before it gets to you.

--
"It CAN'T be too loud... some of the red lights aren't even on yet!"
- Lorin David Schultz
in the control room
making even bad news sound good

(Remove spamblock to reply)

"Lorin David Schultz" wrote in message news:XF57d.1249$j24.615@clgrps12...



If anything you create ever finds its way onto TV, you'll thank yourself
for making sure it was mono friendly. Even if you have a stereo TV,
odds are seven or eight to one that it'll be mono before it gets to you.


Do stations run everything in mono and then create stereo with delay
effects?


The only things I watched on TV this year were Reno 911, Jerry
Springer and a recent presidential political debate.

I really scrape the bottom of the barrel when it comes to taste in
programming.

Peter

"Lorin David Schultz" wrote in message news:XF57d.1249$j24.615@clgrps12...



If anything you create ever finds its way onto TV, you'll thank yourself
for making sure it was mono friendly. Even if you have a stereo TV,
odds are seven or eight to one that it'll be mono before it gets to you.


Do stations run everything in mono and then create stereo with delay
effects?


The only things I watched on TV this year were Reno 911, Jerry
Springer and a recent presidential political debate.

I really scrape the bottom of the barrel when it comes to taste in
programming.

Peter

"Peter B." wrote

Do stations run everything in mono and then create stereo with delay
effects?


No, network programming *usually* makes it through in stereo (and/or
surround). It's local stuff that's at really high risk for getting
summed (or only a single channel getting through).

The problem is partly with the way equipment is set up, and partly with
the meat interface. Editing stuff from the field is usually done with
camera audio on one channel, and in-house stuff on the other (yeah yeah
TV guys, that's an oversimplification, but that's close enough for this
discussion). When a music clip is added to a story with field audio and
or a "host" voice, it winds up being fed to that single "in-house" audio
channel. Even in cases where it's not part of an edited package, the
equipment is routed that way by default and that's the way the meat
interfaces have been taught to do it, so they don't bother to repatch
for stereo.

Sometimes network feeds get screwed up too, but that's usually because a
Master Control operator who doesn't know any better pushes the wrong
button.

--
"It CAN'T be too loud... some of the red lights aren't even on yet!"
- Lorin David Schultz
in the control room
making even bad news sound good

(Remove spamblock to reply)

"Peter B." wrote

Do stations run everything in mono and then create stereo with delay
effects?


No, network programming *usually* makes it through in stereo (and/or
surround). It's local stuff that's at really high risk for getting
summed (or only a single channel getting through).

The problem is partly with the way equipment is set up, and partly with
the meat interface. Editing stuff from the field is usually done with
camera audio on one channel, and in-house stuff on the other (yeah yeah
TV guys, that's an oversimplification, but that's close enough for this
discussion). When a music clip is added to a story with field audio and
or a "host" voice, it winds up being fed to that single "in-house" audio
channel. Even in cases where it's not part of an edited package, the
equipment is routed that way by default and that's the way the meat
interfaces have been taught to do it, so they don't bother to repatch
for stereo.

Sometimes network feeds get screwed up too, but that's usually because a
Master Control operator who doesn't know any better pushes the wrong
button.

--
"It CAN'T be too loud... some of the red lights aren't even on yet!"
- Lorin David Schultz
in the control room
making even bad news sound good

(Remove spamblock to reply)