Stereo or Mono tracks and why???? All opinions needed

[J FRANK]

When I was in school and we worked in Pro Tools LE I can honestly say most of the tracks me made or recorded were mono.

LE having a limit of 32 tracks at once to me is/was the main reason why.

I'm mostly involved with creating Hip Hop beats and as far as I know I have always made mono tracks, then panned them accordingly in the mix.


Does anyone have any real benefit in recording tracks to stereo ?
Also if you were recording vocals would you do it in stereo or mono?

Last but not least we are using LE so track counts are always a problem so how do you guys deal with this

Thanks A lot

[twig]

Originally Posted by J FRANK

When I was in school and we worked in Pro Tools LE I can honestly say most of the tracks me made or recorded were mono.

LE having a limit of 32 tracks at once to me is/was the main reason why.

I'm mostly involved with creating Hip Hop beats and as far as I know I have always made mono tracks, then panned them accordingly in the mix.


Does anyone have any real benefit in recording tracks to stereo ?
Also if you were recording vocals would you do it in stereo or mono?

Last but not least we are using LE so track counts are always a problem so how do you guys deal with this

Thanks A lot

record mono signals mono (guit , bass, single perc. vox)......stereo signals stereo...(stereo midi loops, instruments or effect units that have left and right outs, audio samples in stereo) 32 tracks should be plenty for hip hop if your tracking is efficient....good luck

[Naagzh]

Well, most sources are mono (coming from one location), so it makes sense to record them that way; it's a more accurate representation.

But a string quartet, or a choir, or a piano, will have left and right information. Recording these in stereo reveals the "location" of the sound sources in the horizontal plane, and we hear a more realistic representation of the source.

Recording in stereo because it's "better" is... well... silly.

It's a shame that school didn't let you record a piano in mono and in stereo, just to hear the difference. I suggest you try it yourself.

By the way, I'd bet that the real reason you recorded most of your sources in mono was that you were creating mixes with lots of tracks. A stereo track will have more width, and take up more sonic "space". A mono track will (for the most part) fit into a dense mix more easily.

Oh, and to get around track limitations, just print a group of tracks to one stereo track. For example, 8 backup vocals get recorded to one stereo track. Then, inactivate the original 8 backup vocal tracks. Voila, 6 more tracks available.

[Jamtime]

Originally Posted by Naagzh

Well, most sources are mono (coming from one location), so it makes sense to record them that way; it's a more accurate representation.

Allmost all signals are in stereo, as long as you got two ears... A single point soundsource will be reflected by objects differently and at the point it reaches your ear, it´s in stereo. So it depends on what type of music you are workning with. A single piano = stereo. Piano and acobass = stereo. The exception would be a lined basguitar for example. But, as you say, the mix will be to busy if you try to have lots of track picking up room ambience. A Big Jazz Band, maybe one/two stereos (picking up the whole picture) and the rest monos. Offcourse you can have two monos panned as an alternative to stereo a track, having two faders wich you could group and so on. Do it the way you like. For me, a stereo signal from a synth most often goes to a stereo track if I want it in stereo, feels right. :)

[ondruspat]

If your mixing down your project into stems you might have need of stereo tracks. All of my source tracks for a drum kit are mono, but it would be silly for me to mix it to a mono stem track (unless I was going for that super mono big kit sound!!! LOL).

[J FRANK]

Ok......

Well thanks for the input guys, Mono tracks it is panned accordingly. Also just for reference I might use a stereo track here or there.

Thanks for the help fellas


peace

[erthquake]

Originally Posted by Jamtime

Allmost all signals are in stereo, as long as you got two ears... A single point soundsource will be reflected by objects differently and at the point it reaches your ear, it´s in stereo. So it depends on what type of music you are workning with. A single piano = stereo. Piano and acobass = stereo.

But this only applies if you're recording with two microphones. If you only have one mic, you should use a mono track.

[Jamtime]

Originally Posted by erthquake

But this only applies if you're recording with two microphones. If you only have one mic, you should use a mono track.

So true!