Mixing in mono gives you a good feeling of where your sounds are in level if one sound is clashing with another sound or maybe too loud that you can’t hear the other sound and it also help you to pick up harsh frequencies in a sound
Excellent video Chris. I’m exactly like you. I mix in stereo, but check in mono. I like to make sure frequencies are not masking each other in mono and then mix in stereo. It’s always easier, to me at least, to hear things that need to be corrected in mono.
Up until the late 1960s or so, it was common for recod labels to release separate mono and stereo versions of the same album, because getting a stereo mix to translate well to mono is not the same as getting it to actually sound good in mono. Translating well just means there's no frequency cancellation or masking, not that the balance stays the same. If you want a mix to sound good in stereo, your best bet is to mix it in stereo, and occasionally check it in mono for translation issues.
All I know is, if you can get instruments, vocals and effects to sit on top of each other well in mono, and switch back to stereo, the mix will blow you away. By all means, mix in mono!
The fabfilter series about stereo mixing has a TON of great stereo techniques that are going to be more/less mono compatible, and also helps explain why there are some things you don’t care about keeping too much in mono - biiiig reverbs, ambience, etc you might be fine without having them muddying up the mono mix
Hello Chris! Need a talk about Pan law in cubase! Please possibly explain all the modes that are available in Pan law! And also explain what is the main difference between 0 db and equally powered!! Thanks in advance
Hi Chris ! I use a Mackie 1402 VLZ-2 to monitor my system, the electronic circuit is designed so that the volume of a signal is equivalent, whether it is panned on the side or in the center, because the console compensates for the perception of the volume of it, according to its position in stereo space. This "Constant Loudness" function is I think a bit unknown of this very good console to check mixes in mono! (I don't know if the following generations VLZ3 VLZ4 etc ... have this function)
I Was mixing in stereo for 3 years, when I started making music but the last year that I mix in mono I get better headroom and clear sound compared to my previous work. I think its an important step as Dr. Dre said
Great thoughts here. if I may ask, how do you conclude that most people listen in stereo? And can you share the source you used to get to that conclusion? Thanks and God bless!
What you think about Fostex 6301B small monitors? I found to buy them cheap. Do they can do auratones job? And do i need a pair or single mono speaker is enough.
I'm confused, on one side we can say everybody listen now in Stereo and there is no point to mix in mono. But tons of people listen on these single Bluetooth speakers. What are they? Mono? Mono summing? What do we hear with these plugins who transform the signal to mono, mono or mono summing? is the mono equivalent to the mids when we listen only the mids? Would be nice a more explanatory video. Thanks!
Thanks Chris. That really clarifies a lot for me. I’ve seen numerous videos relating to mixing in mono and consequently I was using mono when I shouldn’t have been eg. re setting levels of heavily panned instruments
Thanks a lot for this video Chris. As always very helpful. I mix time to time in mono, or should I say, I often check it in mono, but your insight made me understand some mistakes I made. Thank you
Hi Chris. I'm not so sure all phones are stereo, these days. Mine's not, (Samsung), which is why, it's the only time I get to check a mix in mono. I mix in stereo, always, because it's fun and exciting. And, as we're in the Atmos mixng era, there's nothing wrong with mixing in 50 year old technology 🤣 All the best
As always, a TON of worthy, reliable info from you. If possible kindly explain about the Pan Law wwthin Cubase & how we go about it... THanks a lot.. Cheers !
Hey Chris, great channel. Please do an in-depth mix to mastering session. I think a lot of us use Cubase Pro who are not only the songwriter, performer, producer and engineer, and there's nothing worse been getting that great performance in mix but falling short in the mastering. I'm constantly trying to get that in your face radio sound but never seem to be able to keep any special integrity that I work so hard for in the performance and mixing.
Hey Josh, I have a playlist on Mastering that you can check out. ruclips.net/p/PLHfS_0liDLINy-gMAAlx4u4-o-E5tb-NO Maybe that will help. Hope that helps!
Great video as always Chris. I'm relatively new to mixing and have seen other video's where they will take a stereo track, reduce it to mono (using stereomonoizer), duplicate it on a new track then pan them hard left and hard right then sum them to a stereo Group or Aux bus creating a phase corrected dual mono sudo stereo bus. I know that a true stereo track has slight differences between the left and right tracks which can have slight phase issues (sometimes pleasing, sometime not) but is there any real advantage to this process other than ending up with a phase correct stereo channel? It seems like allot of extra work to really get back to where you started with a stereo track.
Never did that in my life, but I guess it can be useful if you're stuck with such a sound. I would bother with this unless you're dealing with stereo bass sound that disappears in mono.
Great video Chris, thanks for sharing and caring, Im seeing a huge market now for surround mixing, maybe not naming it correctly but Apple seems they got an approach with their earphones in which they can translate into surround or similar so you can start to find some artists albums mixed for it. what is your take on this , are you mixing in surround ? Maybe you can do a video if it helps you better, cheers !!
Apple's approach is more aiming Atmos than surround which is the new thing. On my side, I don't have an Atmos setup and not planning on getting one for now. We'll see where the market for music will go.
How do we set things up to go from stereo to mono? It seems as though there would likely be a quick function button or something to go from one to the other, or route to a single channel or something. BUT, i'm still fairly new to all of this and neither want to assume, or waiste time with inneficiencies if unnecessary.
I use the gain plugin in Logic Pro. Just tick the mono button in the gain plugin and then I can quickly enable or disable the plugin to go back and forth from stereo to mono
Headphones and phone speakers are never truly stereo in terms of psychoacoustics. In fact you have to into account that people nowadays use bluetooth mono speakers, phones and even in bars you only dominantly hear one channel. Mono is making a comeback. A really good mix has to sound great both in stereo and in mono.
Frequency , panning.. it's all about volume. That is where all the other bucks stop. Also why mono is one of the most useful tools, no matter the end format
Under 20k? All of them. I don't know if I ever heard of a sound interface at 20k. I'm working on a 2022 Gear Guide for the Home Studio that I will release in the near future.
Great video, but the thumbnail...ouch. Yours was right next to another video in my feed titled "Producers, do this to make..." - both with the youtuber reaction face and large red "STOP - doing this" vs. red "X - not this". We will look back at this trend and go, "what were we thinking?"....hahaha. I know, I know... the algorithm. : )
But I've heard a million times that clubs will mono the signal. To the extent that this is true how the mix sounds in mono can be of considerable importance.
A lot of clubs work with mono sound systems and some not. Like I said in the video, the key is to reference your Club Mix with Pro Mixed EDM Music in MONO to can determine what elements to focus on, that doesn't mean that stereo elements are not important in EDM. Listen and compare Stereo vs Mono with Pro Mixed EDM Music like old Lady Gaga and Deadmau5 you will hear that we get a very nice Stereo Experience compared to MONO that only keeps the main elements.
There could also be the case of tracks being given to clubs that are built for mono speakers and not stereo, or the DJ EQ's them to sound good in mono. Same way the backing track an artist plays at their concert will have a different EQ(louder bass, louder drums, louder guitars, louder synths, louder backing vocals, etc) to fit what they want to have the most presence
@@Sheriffvlogs Yes and again, this is still a new thing used by a small amount of people (for now) so I'm gonna wait before investing thousands of dollars for a Atmos Mixing Setup and see if there's gonna be a good market for the regular music consumer.
You shouldn't mix in mono, but you should DEFINITELY CHECK how the mix sounds in mono. I found that my mixes are way too stereo, everything falls apart in mono, well not everything, but my leads, mainly brasses I use in deep house kind of stuff sound horrible in mono, just way too stereo lmao
I don't care if your phone has 2 speakers 2 inches apart, it's still gonna sound like a mono signal by the time it reaches a listeners ears, And then there are bluetooth speakers And the majority of night club and bar patrons are also listening in mono.
Always balance in mono, then make slight adjustments in stereo. Best way to do it. And when I say mono, I mean completely mono with only one speaker. I'd rather be tracking though. #freepalestine
@@mixdownonline yup, im not the best mixer out there by far, but to get true mono, one speaker is the way to go. No two speakers are exactly alike, so with two speakers there will always be a slight difference. Try it out, let me know your opinion.
This is a great video but this also demonstrates my argument on tutorials, what works for one genre may not work for another, for example dance music or EDM needs be mono focused due to club / festival systems. This is why so many new producers are confused today, one video says this, another says that, new producers pull their hair out in confusion. I think it is time now tutorials focus on their own genres and make sure that is made clear in tutorial videos. Great video as usual, but not for EDM... :)
Thanks for your comment :-) Not sure if you watched the full video, but I do briefly talk about EDM and the importance of Referencing with Pro Mixes in Mono (if that is a concern) to know what to focus on when mixing EDM. Even then, stereo is important in EDM. If you listen to any of old Lady Gaga or any Deadmau5 mixes and you will hear that the experience is better in stereo and that you lose some elements in MONO but the main elements are still there, and that is what's important. Reference is key in that case.
@@mixdownonline Tech House / House / Techno need to be as good in mono as they are in Stereo, sure there are some elements that will not translate to mono, but the foundation needs to be there and the foundation is mono from 200hz down, some 150hz, needs to be solid, needs to be down the centre unless its an effect or artistic choice. Some high end producers will narrow the field at the very high end also which helps hats translate better with less phasing on a club system etc. :)
Ok this is wrong. Mono will help you really detect phase, frequency placement and focus. I have tried mixing in stereo only and the result was not amazing. switching to mono will help then back to stereo to get a better idea of your track. I think thats why we all record vocals in mono.
So mixing in mono is apart of your workflow? Which means you do mix in mono. Just not solely in mono. Without mono, your mixes wouldn’t be the same. Just say that.
Setting your levels and/or checking your mix in mono should be done on ONE speaker (otherwise the phantom center will fool you).... Mixing in (or to) mono and monitoring in mono is two very different things. You are NOT mixing in mono as soon as you touch the pan knob or introduce any kind of stereo signal, even though you monitor in mono
Should be done on ONE Speaker? Sure, using one speaker is great, but as far as I'm concerned, summing up with a controller or a plugin will do the job just fine.
@@mixdownonline It's a difference between mixing in mono and checking mono compatibility... If you never pan anything other than up the middle (mono mixing) you can do a mono mix on two speakers... But setting levels in mono for a stereo mix (with things panned around) will not translate well on two speakers when flipping to stereo again...
Glad you like my content. As far the thumbnail goes, this is not clickbait. Clickbait would be to have a thumbnail or title that has nothing to do with the content of a video just to have a click. Not the case for any of my thumbnails.
Its like eargasm , when mixing in mono and then switching to stereo hehe🥂😎✌
Pretty much! LOL!
Haha lol! That's so true!
Yeah true👍😂
This is true 😩😂
So do I render out in stereo if I mixed in mono or render out in mono im on fl studio??
Mixing in mono gives you a good feeling of where your sounds are in level if one sound is clashing with another sound or maybe too loud that you can’t hear the other sound and it also help you to pick up harsh frequencies in a sound
Excellent video Chris. I’m exactly like you. I mix in stereo, but check in mono. I like to make sure frequencies are not masking each other in mono and then mix in stereo. It’s always easier, to me at least, to hear things that need to be corrected in mono.
Good stuff!
Up until the late 1960s or so, it was common for recod labels to release separate mono and stereo versions of the same album, because getting a stereo mix to translate well to mono is not the same as getting it to actually sound good in mono. Translating well just means there's no frequency cancellation or masking, not that the balance stays the same. If you want a mix to sound good in stereo, your best bet is to mix it in stereo, and occasionally check it in mono for translation issues.
You got it, Scott!
All I know is, if you can get instruments, vocals and effects to sit on top of each other well in mono, and switch back to stereo, the mix will blow you away. By all means, mix in mono!
All facts☝🏽
Totally true. The easiest way to set vocal, snare and kick in balance
Top notch advice, not to make your video viral but to give a genuine knowledge and advice, a big fan sir of yours!
I appreciate that, thanks!
Mixing in mono/stereo is like mixing tracks in solo vs mixing a track in the context of the entire mix. You should do some of both
That'll teach me to think I know all about something... Chris never fails to give you tips that show, you didn't know what you didn't know. Thanks!
Thanks, John and you're welcome!
The fabfilter series about stereo mixing has a TON of great stereo techniques that are going to be more/less mono compatible, and also helps explain why there are some things you don’t care about keeping too much in mono - biiiig reverbs, ambience, etc you might be fine without having them muddying up the mono mix
Glad to hear your opinion on mono, I agree, worth checking to make sure the mix still works but not worth it otherwise.
Hello Chris!
Need a talk about Pan law in cubase! Please possibly explain all the modes that are available in Pan law! And also explain what is the main difference between 0 db and equally powered!! Thanks in advance
Hi Chris ! I use a Mackie 1402 VLZ-2 to monitor my system, the electronic circuit is designed so that the volume of a signal is equivalent, whether it is panned on the side or in the center, because the console compensates for the perception of the volume of it, according to its position in stereo space. This "Constant Loudness" function is I think a bit unknown of this very good console to check mixes in mono! (I don't know if the following generations VLZ3 VLZ4 etc ... have this function)
I Was mixing in stereo for 3 years, when I started making music but the last year that I mix in mono I get better headroom and clear sound compared to my previous work. I think its an important step as Dr. Dre said
Great thoughts here. if I may ask, how do you conclude that most people listen in stereo? And can you share the source you used to get to that conclusion? Thanks and God bless!
What you think about Fostex 6301B small monitors? I found to buy them cheap. Do they can do auratones job? And do i need a pair or single mono speaker is enough.
So do I render out in stereo if I mixed in mono or render out in mono im on fl studio??
I'm confused, on one side we can say everybody listen now in Stereo and there is no point to mix in mono. But tons of people listen on these single Bluetooth speakers. What are they? Mono? Mono summing? What do we hear with these plugins who transform the signal to mono, mono or mono summing? is the mono equivalent to the mids when we listen only the mids? Would be nice a more explanatory video. Thanks!
Thanks Chris. That really clarifies a lot for me. I’ve seen numerous videos relating to mixing in mono and consequently I was using mono when I shouldn’t have been eg. re setting levels of heavily panned instruments
Glad it clarifies things up! :-)
Thanks a lot for this video Chris. As always very helpful. I mix time to time in mono, or should I say, I often check it in mono, but your insight made me understand some mistakes I made. Thank you
Hi Chris. I'm not so sure all phones are stereo, these days. Mine's not, (Samsung), which is why, it's the only time I get to check a mix in mono. I mix in stereo, always, because it's fun and exciting. And, as we're in the Atmos mixng era, there's nothing wrong with mixing in 50 year old technology 🤣 All the best
Yes, the Atmos mixing era...Soon, I'll have to make a video on checking your mixes in Stereo LOL
As always, a TON of worthy, reliable info from you. If possible kindly explain about the Pan Law wwthin Cubase & how we go about it... THanks a lot.. Cheers !
That will next week's video ;-)
Thanks Chris. Useful video.
Do you have another one explaining pan in detail?
Glad you liked it! I don't have one on panning yet
Hey Chris, great channel. Please do an in-depth mix to mastering session. I think a lot of us use Cubase Pro who are not only the songwriter, performer, producer and engineer, and there's nothing worse been getting that great performance in mix but falling short in the mastering. I'm constantly trying to get that in your face radio sound but never seem to be able to keep any special integrity that I work so hard for in the performance and mixing.
Hey Josh, I have a playlist on Mastering that you can check out. ruclips.net/p/PLHfS_0liDLINy-gMAAlx4u4-o-E5tb-NO Maybe that will help. Hope that helps!
Gold advice.
Thanks chris for this video. It cleared my doubts. Thumb up!
You're welcome!
Welcome back Chris I miss Montreal
Thanks Chris!
Great video as always Chris. I'm relatively new to mixing and have seen other video's where they will take a stereo track, reduce it to mono (using stereomonoizer), duplicate it on a new track then pan them hard left and hard right then sum them to a stereo Group or Aux bus creating a phase corrected dual mono sudo stereo bus. I know that a true stereo track has slight differences between the left and right tracks which can have slight phase issues (sometimes pleasing, sometime not) but is there any real advantage to this process other than ending up with a phase correct stereo channel? It seems like allot of extra work to really get back to where you started with a stereo track.
Never did that in my life, but I guess it can be useful if you're stuck with such a sound. I would bother with this unless you're dealing with stereo bass sound that disappears in mono.
Thanks Chris for sharing. Awesome!
Thanks for watching!
Great video Chris, thanks for sharing and caring, Im seeing a huge market now for surround mixing, maybe not naming it correctly but Apple seems they got an approach with their earphones in which they can translate into surround or similar so you can start to find some artists albums mixed for it. what is your take on this , are you mixing in surround ? Maybe you can do a video if it helps you better, cheers !!
Apple's approach is more aiming Atmos than surround which is the new thing. On my side, I don't have an Atmos setup and not planning on getting one for now. We'll see where the market for music will go.
Great one Chris
Yes, right, mono is wrong .. I tried and everything went wrong and when I went back to the stereo everything was fixed.. Thank you for explanation
Awesome 💯 thank you
Shouldn't the sound be good on a sound system like a bluetooth speaker that can only play mono?
How do you make a stereo mix mono?
When exporting in mono it sounds horrible
Thank you so much sir I really appreciate it!!
You are very welcome
How do we set things up to go from stereo to mono? It seems as though there would likely be a quick function button or something to go from one to the other, or route to a single channel or something. BUT, i'm still fairly new to all of this and neither want to assume, or waiste time with inneficiencies if unnecessary.
Your DAW should have a mono/stereo button on your master track
I use the gain plugin in Logic Pro. Just tick the mono button in the gain plugin and then I can quickly enable or disable the plugin to go back and forth from stereo to mono
Good work mate.
Thanks 👍
Headphones and phone speakers are never truly stereo in terms of psychoacoustics. In fact you have to into account that people nowadays use bluetooth mono speakers, phones and even in bars you only dominantly hear one channel. Mono is making a comeback. A really good mix has to sound great both in stereo and in mono.
Oo Selim Bey
Do you offer a mixing service; if so what is your fee?
Yes, I do. Send me an email info@mixdownonline.com
I agree with Chris lord-Algie. It's not the 1950's anymore.
Frequency , panning.. it's all about volume. That is where all the other bucks stop. Also why mono is one of the most useful tools, no matter the end format
Also, mix at very low volumes in mono.
Sir can u suggest a good soundcard for home studio under 20k
Under 20k? All of them. I don't know if I ever heard of a sound interface at 20k. I'm working on a 2022 Gear Guide for the Home Studio that I will release in the near future.
@@mixdownonline ok sir
@@abhishekchand9800 I think you are asking in indian money.if it's so my choice will be audient series
What currency?
Great video chris Selim
Thanks 👍
Great video, but the thumbnail...ouch. Yours was right next to another video in my feed titled "Producers, do this to make..." - both with the youtuber reaction face and large red "STOP - doing this" vs. red "X - not this". We will look back at this trend and go, "what were we thinking?"....hahaha. I know, I know... the algorithm. : )
LOL, that's funny!
💘
Lost your hat on Vaca, eh? Nice. :)
LOL, j'adore le titre et le semi facepalm. Courage mon cher.
Lol! Merci! Je suis aussi sur la rive sud, mais wow, tu habite Taipei. Tu es là depuis longtemps?
@@mixdownonline depuis 1998
Thanks for this great video!
Best regards Jardim Asli
My pleasure!
But I've heard a million times that clubs will mono the signal. To the extent that this is true how the mix sounds in mono can be of considerable importance.
A lot of clubs work with mono sound systems and some not. Like I said in the video, the key is to reference your Club Mix with Pro Mixed EDM Music in MONO to can determine what elements to focus on, that doesn't mean that stereo elements are not important in EDM. Listen and compare Stereo vs Mono with Pro Mixed EDM Music like old Lady Gaga and Deadmau5 you will hear that we get a very nice Stereo Experience compared to MONO that only keeps the main elements.
There could also be the case of tracks being given to clubs that are built for mono speakers and not stereo, or the DJ EQ's them to sound good in mono. Same way the backing track an artist plays at their concert will have a different EQ(louder bass, louder drums, louder guitars, louder synths, louder backing vocals, etc) to fit what they want to have the most presence
What about TikTok that plays Your wonderful Stereo Mix in "Mono" at 32kbps at a frequency of 22Khz?
mixing in mono is silly BUT checking your stereo mix in mono is smart and wise..
What about Dolby Atmos music
That's the new beast. I'm not setup to mix in Atmos so I don't care much for now. We'll see where the market is gonna go with this.
@@mixdownonline u know u can use headphones
@@Sheriffvlogs Yes and again, this is still a new thing used by a small amount of people (for now) so I'm gonna wait before investing thousands of dollars for a Atmos Mixing Setup and see if there's gonna be a good market for the regular music consumer.
You shouldn't mix in mono, but you should DEFINITELY CHECK how the mix sounds in mono. I found that my mixes are way too stereo, everything falls apart in mono, well not everything, but my leads, mainly brasses I use in deep house kind of stuff sound horrible in mono, just way too stereo lmao
Many Clubs and Big Events play mono.
I don't care if your phone has 2 speakers 2 inches apart, it's still gonna sound like a mono signal by the time it reaches a listeners ears,
And then there are bluetooth speakers
And the majority of night club and bar patrons are also listening in mono.
Always balance in mono, then make slight adjustments in stereo. Best way to do it. And when I say mono, I mean completely mono with only one speaker.
I'd rather be tracking though.
#freepalestine
If that works for you, and your mixes sound amazing, keep doing it this way
@@mixdownonline yup, im not the best mixer out there by far, but to get true mono, one speaker is the way to go. No two speakers are exactly alike, so with two speakers there will always be a slight difference.
Try it out, let me know your opinion.
I mix inmono, but only drums and bass
This is a great video but this also demonstrates my argument on tutorials, what works for one genre may not work for another, for example dance music or EDM needs be mono focused due to club / festival systems. This is why so many new producers are confused today, one video says this, another says that, new producers pull their hair out in confusion. I think it is time now tutorials focus on their own genres and make sure that is made clear in tutorial videos. Great video as usual, but not for EDM... :)
Thanks for your comment :-) Not sure if you watched the full video, but I do briefly talk about EDM and the importance of Referencing with Pro Mixes in Mono (if that is a concern) to know what to focus on when mixing EDM. Even then, stereo is important in EDM. If you listen to any of old Lady Gaga or any Deadmau5 mixes and you will hear that the experience is better in stereo and that you lose some elements in MONO but the main elements are still there, and that is what's important. Reference is key in that case.
@@mixdownonline Tech House / House / Techno need to be as good in mono as they are in Stereo, sure there are some elements that will not translate to mono, but the foundation needs to be there and the foundation is mono from 200hz down, some 150hz, needs to be solid, needs to be down the centre unless its an effect or artistic choice. Some high end producers will narrow the field at the very high end also which helps hats translate better with less phasing on a club system etc. :)
Hey Chris, great content as ALWAYS! Would love to see your Top 10 things You Hate About Cubase 😏
Thanks! I'm a positive guy so I'm not into share what I hate about a product ;-)
@@mixdownonline I totally understand. Keep up the great content as always!
Ok this is wrong. Mono will help you really detect phase, frequency placement and focus. I have tried mixing in stereo only and the result was not amazing. switching to mono will help then back to stereo to get a better idea of your track. I think thats why we all record vocals in mono.
This is not wrong, we all have our ways to mix, on my side, I don't care about mixing in mono :-)
the only puropse for mixing in mono is to avoid masking , thats all !
👍
So mixing in mono is apart of your workflow? Which means you do mix in mono. Just not solely in mono. Without mono, your mixes wouldn’t be the same. Just say that.
If your songwriting sucks in mono it's going to suck in stereo and in Dolby atmos. 🤣
Don’t mix in mono, fix in mono…
Setting your levels and/or checking your mix in mono should be done on ONE speaker (otherwise the phantom center will fool you)....
Mixing in (or to) mono and monitoring in mono is two very different things.
You are NOT mixing in mono as soon as you touch the pan knob or introduce any kind of stereo signal, even though you monitor in mono
Wrong
Should be done on ONE Speaker? Sure, using one speaker is great, but as far as I'm concerned, summing up with a controller or a plugin will do the job just fine.
@@mixdownonline It's a difference between mixing in mono and checking mono compatibility... If you never pan anything other than up the middle (mono mixing) you can do a mono mix on two speakers... But setting levels in mono for a stereo mix (with things panned around) will not translate well on two speakers when flipping to stereo again...
You have good content but please stop using clickbait thumbnails!!
Glad you like my content. As far the thumbnail goes, this is not clickbait. Clickbait would be to have a thumbnail or title that has nothing to do with the content of a video just to have a click. Not the case for any of my thumbnails.
Only a fool would check it in mono; mixdown online would be full of mis infomation judging by this confusion "all talk" video..
Better advice: don't mix in mono.