So basically if I make a minified version of a Kontakt library it wouldn't make a difference if I converted the close mic files to mono files?

 

Take a single mic and move it around an acoustic guitar. You will hear that it sounds different wherever you position it. People have two ears, so each ear picks up a different sound. That's why X/Y sounds more natural on an acoustic guitar, as it mimics the position of our ears on our head. The trick is to know when to use 1 mic, 2 mics, or multiple mics.

 

Last edited: Jan 23, 2024

That's what the op is about though.

 

Believe it or not, that's Alan Parsons' philosophy. He thinks close micing an acoustic in stereo is "dumb". I think a fully mono acoustic sounds dull though. We do hear mono things in stereo, even if we're not aware of room acoustics. I like to mic them in stereo. Otoh, say a sax... for some reason the same argument doesn't apply for me. Who knows.

(All this has nothing to do with the actual op, of course.)

 

I'm just highlighting that sometimes you want to record with a single mic and sometimes you don't. The person making the sample library has to make that choice, and they need to have a good knowledge of the various studio recording techniques.

 

For rock music I would use mono for sure, but for singer songwriter it would by X/Y stereo all the way. If I was making a Kontakt library I would provide both options

 

I think people often consider possible later conversions. A file recorded as stereo should not lose any recorded information when converted to mono, or dual-mono if someone decides to do it. A converted mono file duplicates the existing information, it does not create true stereo information. The reason for originally sampling in mono was to extend the hard disk space of hardware samplers, and most "sampling" was originally done from other media sources and not microphone recorded. Misconceptions and old habits have staying power.

 

Is there such a thing as a guide to recording sample libraries?

 

Last edited: Jan 23, 2024

Stereo samples/stems of a mono signal (identical information in left and right channel) have always annoyed me to no end, especially now that I have to buy a bigger SSD for my sample library. Again.

It's a waste of storage space and RAM, often also unnecessary strain on the CPU. It results in higher costs for equipment over time, as well as increased electricity consumption. Not only that of the end-user computers, but also of all the servers and other equipment/infrastructure used daily in up/downloading all those terabytes of sample libraries all over the globe.

Another negative impact on environment is in forcing users to prematurely upgrade and/or discard otherwise perfectly adequate equipment. For example, just look at the endless stream of complaints and rants over at the Akai MPC Forums from users who find 2 GB of RAM insufficient for their workflow. The MPC factory library is full of such samples, btw.

It's just a matter of time before similar thing happens, on a larger scale, with the current generation of Apple Silicon computers, most of them base models with 8 GB RAM.

 

I see what you mean now. So it's not the recording method that is causing the problem, it's the person who is making the library that is to blame?

 

Last edited: Jan 23, 2024

This is why I love Myriad.. First thing I do whenever I get a new sample pack, is run it through Myriad's batch processor and have it check each file. If both sides are the same, right side goes right to the trash and I get left with a mono source.

You would be surprised at how many of these modern sample packs are actually dual-mono.. You can set Myriad to varying levels of 'difference' between the two sides, and just about every commercial pack I've bought, about 85% of it gets trashed because the 'stereo' files are really dual mono.

 

I really think they do it to inflate the size of the library, to try and fake value for money.

"Over 40, errr, 60 Gb of samples!!!"

 

So they are charlatans, and not real recording engineers

 

Well... maybe not charlatans entirely, but maybe changing a bug to a feature?

 

Btw, if I record an acoustic in mono I double track it and hard pan.

So, still stereo.

 

No ,no-no-no-noooo , Clear back to owning several of my synths , including jupiter 8 , Poly 8-II , my oberheimer , my DX7 , ALL
had two OUTPUTS !! you could run the left output on most for just mono signal or use both R & L to record in stereo ,
So I dont think you know what your talking about dude !!

 

Most are mono. Effects may be stereo, such as delay, reverb, chorus etc. Some synths have panning, not stereo. 2 outputs is not an indicator of any actual stereo capability.

 

That only happened after onboard effects came along. Chorus could add a stereo effect. Prior to that synths had mono outputs. (I guess Oberheim polyphonics had a thing where individual voices could be placed randomly in a stereo field...)

I honestly don't remember how a DX7 supported a stereo output. Did it do the voice panning thing?

 

How to Tell if a Sound is Mono or Stereo in REAPER. I suppose you can do it in other daws

 

The left being marked as a "mono" output probably indicates a TS instrument cable should be used rather than a TRS pair, or it would result in phase cancellation.

You can, but the earlier post about checking this was in reference to batch analysis of files, so that you do not even need to load them into your DAW. https://www.zynaptiq.com/myriad/

 

Last edited: Jan 24, 2024