Sometimes you might find that you've made a track that sounds great on your stereo studio monitors, and then when you come to listen to it on a phone or other sound system it just doesn't sound right.

If you've been mixing your track in stereo you might find that when you play it on a different system the sounds don't sit right. These days a lot of people will be listening to your music on cheaper sound systems like phones, car stereos, in-ear headphones etc so it's best to test your tracks on cheaper systems as well as your studio monitors. To simulate what your track might sound like on a mono system you can turn the stereo separation knob on the master channel to 100% merged. Now you can listen through your track again and see if anything doesn't sound right and make the necessary adjustments. Just remember to switch it back to stereo before you export.

 

Yes, mixing in mono (mono speaker) is pretty awesome when you get it right and get used to it. It also allows for mono-compatibility (duh!).
Edit: To clarify: you still export the track in stereo. Mono is for reference.

 

Last edited: Jul 3, 2017

read it properly.

 

I'm ahead of you. I did.
Read my post again, now with clarification.

 

People always argue in stereo.

 

Totally agree @JonnyRich. One of the most valuable things I learned was to always mix in mono. Luckily Studio One has a mono/stereo toggle on the master output which makes it a breeze to switch between the two but I'm sure most DAWS have something similar, even if it's a plugin.

 

Mono compatibility (aka phasing problems) and translation (aka sound as close as possible to the intended sound on as many sound systems as possible) are two, unrelated mixing issues.

The MixCube can sucessfully diagnose the mono compatibility problems and can contribute to the discovery of a big chunk of translation problems so I hardly believe that Baxter's comment could be labeled as "nasty".

 

Mixing in Mono is helpful. But like jaycflash said that does by no means guarantee that the mix will sound good anywhere if your room is not acustically treated. That's the only way to get it to translate well.

 

The Mother of all Stereo is Mono

 

Like the daddy of all frequencies is a sine.

 

Guys make sure you do your panning 1st b4 switching on the mono switch

 

Screw mono, I don't worry about it anymore. Why dont you just fax me your reply? lol This was direct advice from a well seasoned vet/pro.
ok, true. I dont go overboard with the psychacoustic fx, and theres usually a mono version of most of the tracks in the project in the mix. I will check it, but I dont really mix for it.

 

Last edited: Jul 4, 2017

Actually I do panning in mono. It sounds counterintuitive, but panning in mono makes it easier to find the sweet spot of a track against the others. The only thing you can't forget is to switch back to stereo once you're done, or you'll hear nasty things from clients. Been there.

 

Last edited: Jul 4, 2017

I'd say not mix for it but mix through it.

 

You can't just make these claims and not post a reference..

 

I have a foot controller plugged into my Faderport that I use to monitor in mono. Hold it down, S1 is in mono, release and its back to stereo.

 

Ok, I'll bite. Here's a mix I'm working on. Check for mono compatibility. It may not be perfect, but the guitars are quite broad in the stereo panorama, and in mono the song will mostly keep its balance.

 

I like the track! I think I can tell you made your pans in mono. Cheers friend!

 

Great track! @mercurysoto