Mono compatibility

[crizdee]

Hi,

How worried are we about mono compatibility?

I just did a mix where i put the waves S1 on the guitar track to help move it away from the middle of the track to make a bit of space for the bass and vocals etc and it worked really well! but when i tested the track in mono well the guitarist might as well not turned up for the session!!!

Anyway, deciding to check through my library and went to "next contestant" Nickelback, and guess what?? guitarist had left the building

What say thee?

Chris

[Dimension Zero]

Who listens to music in mono these days? I sometimes switch to mono to mix because it helps me fine tune EQ and level decisions. However, I wouldn't ever change something that helped a stereo mix because it didn't sound good in mono.

For those of you that do care about mono, why?

I remember reading here about someone that mixed in mono because a lot of iPod users only listen with one ear bud. That's crazy in my opinion...If mono listening becomes the trend for iPods let the iPod deal with it and convert the signal to mono. Still, iPod mono users have to be the minority as well. I also doubt they are complaining about sonic quality.

[Andrew. D]

Its all about phase people.
No I don't think there are many people who listen to music in mono but there are still a few AM radio stations out there and if they were to play the aforementioned Nickleback song well it would be dissapointing to say the least.
A good stereo recording will collapse to mono with almost no tonal change only a change in width perception.
I for one think that if a mix doesn't sound good in mono, it won't sound any better in stereo.
phase, phase, phase!!!

[JSR]

I totally agree with Andrew; you should be able to press/depress your mono button on your center section with almost no change in your mix...if anything, your mix should sound a bit more powerful in mono. Besides AM radio, mono compatibility is essential for TV, and most public spaces (shopping malls, sports venues, restaurants, gyms, etc); not to mention cars...a mix that does not have good mono compatibility sounds horrible in cars; and cars these days are where a lot of people listen to music...I know you're thinking, "cars playback in stereo"...true, but where are the listeners in cars? - off to one side or the other...pretty much in front of one speaker. Same thing with clubs...mixes that do not fold back into mono sound horrific in clubs where the listener is pretty much in front of one speaker...I know a lot of clubs convert to mono before sending to the amps because there pretty much is no point to stereo in a club with 50+ speakers...same with most restaurants. If your mix does not fold back into mono, your mix has phase problems, and will not sound how you intend it to sound unless someone is sitting perfectly centered between two speakers.

Plugins like MondoMod and S1 are mix destroyers. Pan to create space.

[Mixchump]

Anyway, deciding to check through my library and went to "next contestant" Nickelback, and guess what?? guitarist had left the building

When you say you're checking through your 'library', I assume you mean your iTunes library (this being the Mac TDM forum and all...) It's worth checking to see if you have 'Sound Enhancer' turned on in your iTunes playback prefs. It's basically a mix-destroyer as well. Only thing is... A lot of people listen on televisions and computers that have the 'centre-sucker'-type processor to increase the stereo width. I hate the damned things, but they're out there...

Worth checking, anyhow.

Cheers, eh?

[JFreak]

Who listens to music in mono these days?

Everybody in the nightclubs everywhere in the world. Although not real mono, but effectively monophonic sound as the club sound systems are usually built to spread the noise evenly and this rarely creates any stereo image whatsoever. Many clubs are even summing the signals so that every speaker puts out the same kind of noise.

It's terrible, I know, but it's reality. Millions of people will be listening to mono(ish) music tonight...

EDIT: ahh, JSR beat me to this. sorry about redundant post...