Mixing In Mono ?

Discussion in 'Mac / Hackintosh' started by james123, Nov 6, 2014.

  1. james123

    james123 Newbie

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    Hey Friends

    I am new In Music Production, Want to know something from you friends.
    I read that ''Mix In Mono'..What does that mean ? I Use FL Studio.
     
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  3. mercurysoto

    mercurysoto Audiosexual

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    Regardless of the DAW you use, mixing in mono means using a mono configuration in your monitors and make mixing decisions like that. This mono summing could come from a plug-in, a mono button at your monitor controller or mixing console, or a mono master fader. The rationale behind this is that in stereo, both speakers - if well calibrated - form a ghost center image: You feel there's sound Information coming out inbetween the speakers. This gives you depth and 3D imaging in your mixes. However, if you deviate from your mixing position or if sound comes from only one speaker, your effort in balancing the mix gets whacked. Although not many people really pay attention to this, if you mix in mono, you increase the chance of retaining a mix that is more prone to sound balanced in undesired listening conditions (like an FM alarm clock radio on top of a fridge, for instance).

    It doesn't mean that you don't use the pan pots. You actually mix as if it were stereo, but your monitors are in mono setup. What's going to happen is that as you move the pan pots, some sounds will get masked and others will be fronted. Once you feel that a good balance has been achieved, when you turn to stereo, you realize how open now the stereo image is.

    I hope this helps.
    Best of luck.
     
  4. Catalyst

    Catalyst Audiosexual

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    There is a great video in AudioSex Academy (Part I: Mixing) on this topic. I highly recommend taking a trip down to that section of the forums, a lot of great information that is concise and easy to understand for the fledgling producer or even those that are more advanced.
     
  5. james123

    james123 Newbie

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    Thanx For The Important Info Brother ..I definitly go with this :)
     
  6. james123

    james123 Newbie

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    Thanx Catalyst (y)
     
  7. lyric8

    lyric8 Producer

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    Mix first normally in Stereo/Stereo Buss and then use a Plugin that has a Mono Button on the last insert or Some DAW's have a Mono button and some Studio Monitor Controllers have a Mono Button Then Check your Mix in Mono and if your Mix collapse Meaning if you Loose any instruments because they are out of phase or Paned to wide then adjust your Mix to to get it back there is more to it but that is kind of the short version :wink:
     
  8. GodHimSelf

    GodHimSelf Platinum Record

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    I have seen a Laidback Luke tutorial where he says he ALWAYS premixes in mono. He said that mono mixing allows you to set the correct volumes very easily, and most of all, frequency mixing is more accurate.

    It would be logical mainly for bass and KD to try to mix in mono, but it came to my attention that everything bellow the 1 kHz or so, volume wise is easier to mix without having to gamble to much with the fader in stereo.
     
  9. korte1975

    korte1975 Guest

    if it sounds good in mono it sounds great in stereo. mono has huge sonic energy.

    if you get a stereo vocal track , narrow its stereo field to almost mono. in studio one the tool is called "dual pan", in ableton it's "utility", reaper/cubase/pro tools has dual panners.

    record in mono : guitars,bass vocal. you can add stereo ambient later to anything.
    -----
    mastering tricks : narrow the stereo field to zero(mono) under 150-250Hz -> instant clarity. m/s processing : drop the bass on the sides under 250-350Hz. (Ozone, bx_digital v2,whatever m/s eq).


    so yeah, mono is still widely used and it's great. bad examples : rihanna,one direction and all that shit. everything is super stereo -> no impact, no clarity, no nothing. just a big pile of shitty mixing/mastering decisions
     
  10. relexted

    relexted Producer

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  11. uber909

    uber909 Member

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    Audiosex Academy? How come I never heard about it?
    I think I got this morning covered now :wink:

    Thanks.
     
  12. kope

    kope Newbie

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    Most public places actually have mono setup (like clubs, restaurants, cafes etc) so it is a wise to check up mix for this condition. Sometimes you will find that they play just one channel :dunno:
     
  13. Resonance

    Resonance Newbie

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    I havn't read the audiosex tutorial on this,so its probably covered my following comments, but mixing in mono is a easy way to check if channels are all in correct phase alignment.
    another little trick is when your not sure where to pan a instrument and the stereo image is getting quite full, if you pan about in mono it can help you hear where there's space for it, it'll sound a little clearer when you hit the spot.
     
  14. SyNtH.

    SyNtH. Platinum Record

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    the main answer is usually related to phase cancellation, which is a problem im having with a track that ive sampled, see back in the day mic positions used to be panned pretty much 90% to either direction and they werent distanced apart in the same way. this means that there might be a slight amount of delay from one microphone or reverb from one microphone which causes phase cancellation when monoing it out. Which means that trying to clean out your mix and get things sounding balanced in terms of L/R is usually impossible.
     
  15. mono

    mono Audiosexual

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    Sad to say but fl studio dont mixdown in mono,
    you can set it to mono in the mixer
    but when you render it to wave it will still be in stereo.

    you could try (PSP MicroWarmer) on any mixer channel you want to be in mono when rendered.*

    leave the plugin set at default settings.
    then on the bottom right you will see the stereo and mono switch
    its easy on cpu as well.
    use 24 bit as its as good as the 32 floating what will just eat your hard drive,

    http://www.pspaudioware.com/plugins/dynamic_processors/psp_vintagewarmer2/

    i found this txt years ago its a good read if you have the time,

    =======

    1. Make sure any sounds in your mix using 140hz and below are MONO, so that they are centered in your mix (most commonly basses and bassdrums)

    2. When using bass samples, try to layer the bottom end with a synth, as samples don't recreate that low end perfectly when changing pitch
    as it loses some quality and colour.

    3. Always check the order of your processing chain (FXs) and think of what is happening to the audio as it goes through each one.
    (bad example: applying a filter after a reverb means you are also filtering out the reverb, so your sound is losing its sense of space)

    4. Be sure to EQ/Filter cut any sounds that are not paticularlly using all frequencies,
    as they might still be taking up frequency space even if its inaudiable (use a frequency analyser to see),
    which can cause a muddy mix and also take up headroom in your mix. -

    Example:
    Some percussive samples have some low end that you may not paticularly need which can clash with your kick and bass
    so you would low cut the percussive sample.

    IMPORTANT:
    Be wary of some effects, as some add their own inaudiable frequecies,
    which can be down to effects quality or the general effects purpose such as distortion.

    5. There are many techniques to widening your mix.

    - PANNING: Simple and subtle panning to percussions, claps hats, and even synths can make a big difference to the overall mix

    - Stereo Seperation: I find this most commonly used on vocals but it can be used on a majority of sounds.
    This is simply splitting your audio channel into 2 audio channels. Panning one all the way left and the other all the way right.
    Then it slightly plays one of the audio channels late by ms(miliseconds). The more time between them,
    the wider the sound seems until it becomes distinctivly noticable to the human hearing there is a delay.

    - Stereo Seperation 2: Whilst the first technique might have effect to automatically do this. This second technique can be done manually.
    Similar to the first technique, we could copy our audio channel and pan one left and the other right again,
    but instead of using time between them.
    Add effects giving them subtle differences, such as EQin, have one channel with a slight high end boost and the other with a slight mid boost.

    - Reverb: Reverb is a good way to give your audio a sense of space, like making your sound seem like its in a big room.
    This is a commonly used effect,
    were even adding small reverb can make a big difference.
    Delay FX is similar to Reverb but more like an echo.
    This is great at keeping the sound dry and up front but still making it seem like its in a big room.
    Some delays have stereo seperation inbuilt to there interface to make the delay seem wider itself,
    but usually using bigger time delays which is sometimes refered to as the Ping-Pong effect.

    6. Try to avoid using a limiter/maximiser on your master channel whilst constructing your mix, as it can effect your mix,
    giving your an inaccurate preception on your mix.
    This is usually noticable when the limiter has a slow attack and long release and can cause your mix to have a ducking effect,
    which is a usual default setting on limiters.

    7. Try to have a workflow that your comfortable with, like a starting point were you know you can build from easily.
    I personally find that organising my sound whilst i add them into groups(Bass/Drums/Pads/Leads), make it easier for me all round,
    especially when i want to change section and mixing down.

    8. Don't be put off using presets, because if you worry about trying to make your own sounds whilst making the mix,
    you'll lose some of your creavity when constructing your mix.
    Just try and find a sound you want or one that is close enough to what your looking for
    and come back to it once you've got your track down and then look into making your own, or layering.

    9. Fattening Up Your Synths: Besides just widening your sounds, you might want to fatten them up. Most simplest trick there is, octaving your melody.
    Some synths are mono due to portomento effects, so to get around that,
    just duplicate your synthisizer and pattern and move it an octave down/up on your copied pattern.
    EQin' can make a big difference if your, wanting to brighten your sound, boost more of the high end, if your wanting to add some power and depth,
    carefully apply some boost to the low mid.
     
  16. korte1975

    korte1975 Guest

    fucking great tips man !!!
     
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