Hi guys, I have a midi studio, using studio one 8, or fender. I also have 3 guitar modellers/ multi effects, my question is "do I connect them up in mono or stereo" to my daw, the interface only has 8 line inputs, running into a PC. Any ideas

 

Mono --> - Most guitar sounds are inherently mono, and many amp sounds are also widened or double-recorded later in the mix anyway. Mono saves you inputs, cables, and routing effort.

Stereo --> If your preset contains true stereo effects, such as chorus, delay, reverb, ping-pong delay, or stereo enhancer.

 

Are the guitar guitar modellers/ multi effects stereo or mono?

Personally I'd record in stereo, convert it to mono and compair them.
If you can't tell the differance then just record in mono because your not gaining anything by having it stereo.

If you can hear a differance, decide which is better sounding.

We're here for you if you want help choosing A or B when you have the 2 versions recorded.

 

Hi, thanks for your replies, intresting, I have an Ampero2 stomp, a mooer GS1000 and a mooer GE200plus, all have both stereo and mono outputs, I currently have them hard wired as stereo, but I started thinking too hard about recording and adding effects.
In the real world most guitars are monophonic, so it would be logical to record in mono and add effects at a later date on the DAW. My way of working is inferior due to the fact by recording in stereo using the effects at the source i.e. the guitar moddellers, I'm then creating a mixdown situation where matching reverbs and delays etc to the stereo guitars is time consuming....or am I overthinking this, I was always tought to get the source recording correct and then add effects at mixdown. "i'll get me coat."

 

It's your own personal sound, which becomes your sound precisely through the use of specific pickups and their settings, the choice of amplifier, and the selection of effects.

The sound assessment is much more realistic, reflecting what you're currently hearing and have adjusted; this is exactly what you want to record in order to reproduce it later. In the DAW, you can then adjust levels, fine-tune, mix, and master. Actually, mixing and mastering in a DAW is now just one process.

In the past, you had your own sound and settings on your amp. How did that sound get into the DAW or onto tape?
You either had a microphone to capture the amp, which you then routed to a 4-track recorder, tape deck, or hard disk recorder.

Today, however, we have a DAW, and many things are simpler, cheaper, and faster. The sound goes through an audio interface and is converted from analog to digital.

Of course, you can also add all the effects later in the DAW or use VST effects. The decision is entirely up to you.

 

The biggest advantage to mono guitar > DAW > stereo effects is you can tweak them afterward.
It will help a lot to "fit in the mix".

But of course you will need to disable any stereo effect on the multi FX before recording.
You can make a copy of the presets without FX too.

 

The best guitar I ever recorded was supposed to be stereo via an Ibanez Chorus pedal.
From the Effect-loop of an Ibanez GX-60 amp into the chorus - the left side back into the amp, and the right into a Fender Bandmaster ..cranked -up but in the closet surrounded by clothes.
Bothe amps to be recorded via SM57 mics.
Unfortunately the Bandmaster failed to record at all, so I was stuck with just one side of a chorus ... but it was fortunate.
The GX-60 distortion was very low in order to feed the Bandmaster some extra juice, and I the Bandmaster sounded great.
But the sound from the Ibanez , even with just an edge of distortion was something else...like it was pushing through the Earth to get out.

It was not much of a song, and the tape is long gone (8-track) but the SOUND was the best..I never really got that same kind of feel in anything else, and it has kind of haunted me. It was like someone else was playing - not me. Spooky

in the end , only your ears, and good luck :D

 

Last edited: Apr 10, 2026 at 12:37 PM

The Mother of All Stereo is Mono.

 

If recording through a pedal board and using mono FX - record it mono. If using stereo FX and your pedal board has a stereo output record it stereo. If recording a raw guitar or through a mono amp record it mono. Recording with a mic like SM57 is usually done mono, but there are stereo techniques that use 2 mics which can help, gotta watch the phase, though, and align them if off.

 

I record my electric guitar in mono unless going through time based effects which should usually go last in an effect chain unless through special use need, ie, splitting that stereo to process the two mono lines separately. I used to have Rickenbacker which had stereo outputs but that's an entirely different scenario.