Mono vs Stereo

[skygene]

So I just read in another thread that drum programming is best done with mono tracks. Reason for this is that mono breaks are slightly more powerful in sound and better for layering different breaks.

I'm kinda gutted to read this since I have spent several days for slicing up a lot of drum breaks that were in stereo! Now I'm wondering if I can just convert all the stereo sliced parts into mono... Will they have the same quality as if the drum breaks were converted as mono in the first place? I hope so, otherwise I would have to do all the work AGAIN

This may be a stupid question, but I just want to make sure...

[TVG]

fuck mono. shit advice that keeps going around as "the word"

that being said most breaks i sample off vinyl i do pull them significantly more towards center and reduce the width. for your question, unless your slicer does extra processing it ought to be identical to making it mono beforehand. if you flatten it to mono and mix that with your stereo version, you can control how much width you will have. and try panning to move more towards center.

[Statto]

bass needs to be in the centre if you're cutting to vinyl
dunno about drums though

[Lephrenic]

What DAW are you using? In ableton live you can just put a utility plug in on the track and collapse it to mono. If the sound disappears when you do that, try just the left or right channel and see which one sounds best.

[skygene]

for your question, unless your slicer does extra processing it ought to be identical to making it mono beforehand. if you flatten it to mono and mix that with your stereo version, you can control how much width you will have. and try panning to move more towards center.

Thanks! So if it mixes left and right channels it's ok? If you post process a mono break how much width should it usually have? I found out that 20% sounds very okayish.

What DAW are you using? In ableton live you can just put a utility plug in on the track and collapse it to mono. If the sound disappears when you do that, try just the left or right channel and see which one sounds best.

I'm using Renoise and just wanted to anwer 'No' but I actually just found out that the sample editor has this function. Though depending on the break that can have up to 40 snippets it will be a lot of work converting them.

Thank you guys.

[TVG]

Thanks! So if it mixes left and right channels it's ok? If you post process a mono break how much width should it usually have? I found out that 20% sounds very okayish.

you can mix the channels or take one or the other; it'll depend on the break. and do you mean post process the stereo break? im not sure what you are using to measure 20% but how much width you use will also depend on the context of the mix and break.

[skygene]

and do you mean post process the stereo break?

No I meant the mono one, because the sound is in the centre and it shouldn't be supposed to be in the centre in the final mixdown, cause that would sound a bit odd I think. That's why I was wondering that adding certain width afterwards would be necessary. Anyway, I'm okay for now

[LXC]

adding width to a mono break afterwards sounds weird to me.

be careful!

[thush-ara]

i stay away from mono for drums. Mono can sound terrible

[skygene]

Thanks for the tips

[rjv]

you can try panning some breaks hard left or hard right and then monoing the thing, sometimes left and right channels sound totally different.

try it with let a woman be a woman for example

[Shiva]

Hmmm....

Using mono or stereo approriately will make a big difference.

Below a certain frequency the human ear cannot distingish direction and therefore stereo becomes obsolete.

Using sounds in stereo below that threashold will only cloud your mix and add no peceiveable enhancement to your stereo field. If anything, using stereo below that threashold will cloud, add unnessecary clutter to your mix, and use up "space" that could be used more effectively to deliver presence.

Breaks tend to cover a wide frequecy range so stereo information on the mid and high parts of the sample will be noticeable.

If you feel you really need to use stereo drum samples then I would recommend simply using the kickdrum in mono and the rest in stereo. This can be done simply by splitting the kd to another mono channel. Personnaly when working with a stereo drum sample I would audition both left and right seperately to see which delivers the most presence in the bottom end and use that for the kd.

Others may disagree, and there is no right or wrong, but personnally I always use mono when working with KDs and basses as ineveitably they will both share some of the same frequency range and by being in mono there is less chance of murkiness in the final mix.

Shiva :-)

[Wilshy]

Nice info there Shiva. Makes perfect sense.

Hope you're well sir, loooong time!

[Shiva]

Nice info there Shiva. Makes perfect sense.

Hope you're well sir, loooong time!

Ez Sir!!

All good thanks, been a little off track recently with making tracks. hoping to get back on it this year. That said, got a track you might like. I'll pop it over when I get chance.

What you doing for NY? i'm thinking about Traffic/Technicallity at Rhythm Factory?

[Wilshy]

Just going to a mates house. Don't deal with NYE these days. Depressing day/night of the year!! Not been to a d&b do for almost 2 years now as well. But there are reasons for that too long to go into here

Have a good one mate and always up for new tunes

[skygene]

Shiva, that is really super. Thanks!

[Shiva]

Shiva, that is really super. Thanks!

[TVG]

stereo in the low mids is incredibly important. something i spend quite a long time tweaking when making wide drones.

Below a certain frequency the human ear cannot distingish direction and therefore stereo becomes obsolete.

[Shiva]

stereo in the low mids is incredibly important. something i spend quite a long time tweaking when making wide drones.

This is very true, but I am refering to very low frequencies IE below 120hz or even lower and in particular relating to the bottom end of KDs and Subs.

Ask, why is it that sub-woofers (hate that term) come as a mono unit? Even for studio near fields that require an additional LF driver?

This is a really interesting subject and can get deep into mathematics. Here is a quick copy and paste from wiki:

"Evaluation for low frequencies
For frequencies below 800 Hz the dimensions of the head (ear distance 21.5 cm, corresponding to an interaural time delay of 625 µs), are smaller than the half wavelength of the sound waves. So the auditory system can determine phase delays between both ears very precisely. Interaural level difference are very low in this frequency range, so that a precise evaluation of the input direction is nearly impossible on the basis of level differences. As the frequency drops below 80 Hz it becomes difficult or impossible to use either time difference or level difference to determine a sound's lateral source, because the phase difference between the ears becomes too small for a directional evaluation (i.e. the phase difference is great enough that the lagging wave sensed in the offside ear coincides with the next wave which is being sensed by the nearer ear)."