Stereo or mono

[Silver]

Following on from a discussion in another thread, what is your choice of the above?

With using just one Bose L1 I am somewhat limited! However prior to the Bose I owned Cerwin Vegas and Mackie 450s. With both those I always played out in mono. My reasoning was there is only a small sweet spot where full stereo would be appreciated. Also for guests sitting way to the left or right they would not benefit from stereo and in fact it could be detrimental.

Let's chat

[Shaun]

Mono for me, for the reasons mentioned in the above post.

[Excalibur]

Mono for me, for the reasons mentioned in the above post.

Stereo all the way. For many many years I had a mono set of decks and amp, and then I got:




Stereo decks, and a 200w Stereo amp!!!!!!!!! Wow, had I moved up a league, or what?

I understand fully the argument for using mono, but still see it as a step back. Illogical and prejudiced perhaps, but hey I'm old and crotchetty. You have to make allowances for me. :D :D :D :D :D

[leelive]

Stereo. In situations where there is a large gap between the speakers I put a little of L into the R and visa-versa. That what a sound engineer told me best to do at a large corporate. Never Mono. Lee

[Corabar Steve]

Mono for me, for the reasons mentioned in the above post.
:agree:plus it gives me more outputs to play with for really big rigs.

[yourdj]

Does it not make bass more powerful when used on bins?

[Corabar Steve]

Not as I've noticed.

[Charlie Brown]

Would the mackies work better in mono?

[Excalibur]

Does it not make bass more powerful when used on bins?


Not as I've noticed.

The theory is that since your ears can't pick up the source of the bass bins, you're better running them in mono, and next to each other. Stacking them side by side allows the waveforms to reinforce each other, and thus sound louder. Unless you've got one cab wired opposite to the other, in which case they will sound worse. This is in phase/out of phase.


Would the mackies work better in mono?

There's an answer I'm so dying to give there Charlie, but I won't. :zip: :D :D :D :D :D :D

The theory of running in mono is that each side gets exactly the same as the other side, so no matter where you're sat in the room, you don't only hear the piano on one track,the vocals on another, etc etc.

It's a fairly subjective answer Charlie, I think logic tends to lean towards Mono being "better", but as long as you haven't got all your punters fifty feet to one side of the room, I don't think you'll have big problems.

[deltic]

Does it not make bass more powerful when used on bins?

you are maybe thinking of bridged

[Corabar Steve]

There are many tracks that sound wrong in stereo if you aren't close enough to both speakers, ones I've had first hand experience of include David Bowie = Space Oddity (the second more well known version with the stylophone, not the one with the recorder) & Lenny Kravitz = Are You Gonna Go My Way.

You need to be able to hear the source of Bowie's vocals & Len's guitars equally otherwise it sounds horrible.

Try playing either in stereo & just listening to the one channel & you'll see what I mean.


Stereo. In situations where there is a large gap between the speakers I put a little of L into the R and visa-versa.
Without wishing to sound thick, how do you do that?

[DJ Tony McQue]

Stereo all the way - I didn't spend as much as I did on my system to be going back to the 1950s..

Tracks like Lenny Kravitz - Are you gonna go my way start phasing in mono.

[yourdj]

Hendrix is the worst and as you say lenny Kravitz (basically a jimi rip off) sound really bad

[Corabar Steve]

Stereo all the way - I didn't spend as much as I did on my system to be going back to the 1950s..

Tracks like Lenny Kravitz - Are you gonna go my way start phasing in mono.
Can't say as I'd noticed. I have noticed missing guitar parts when I'm nearer to one speaker running it in stereo than the other though

[diydisco]

the bad songs for me are:

Aretha Franklyn - Respect (the backing is on one side)
Killers - Mr Brightside - (That distinctive guitar at the start is only on one side)
Jacksons - I want you back (the start bit is one sided)


infact alot of 60's tracks are, but many have been remastered, i was told it was something to do with the AM Radio back then

[Paul James Promotions]

In an ideal world, if you have a two way system, use stereo for mid/hi and joint mono on bass.

[Daryll]

In an ideal world, if you have a two way system, use stereo for mid/hi and joint mono on bass.

And that is exactly what I use.
another bad song start is pinball wizard-the who , acoustic guitar is paned hard left at the start , in mono it sounds better.

Daryll

[Kernow]

Stereo all the way. For many many years I had a mono set of decks and amp, and then I got:




Stereo decks, and a 200w Stereo amp!!!!!!!!! Wow, had I moved up a league, or what?

I understand fully the argument for using mono, but still see it as a step back. Illogical and prejudiced perhaps, but hey I'm old and crotchetty. You have to make allowances for me. :D :D :D :D :D

:agree: +1 :)

[Tom Lovick]

if you don't use stereo, you loose the panning in the track.

IMO its alot better to use stereo!

[Cowlinn]

if you don't use stereo, you loose the panning in the track.

IMO its alot better to use stereo!

Name 5 important songs that use panning, I could only think of one, dude looks like a lady!

[Glenski]

Dolby Digital 5.1 or 7.1 for me ;) surround sound !!

Just kidding, Stereo for me :)

Panning of R. Kelly "She's Got That Vibe" left to right on speach vocals.

[TONYTIGER]

Running your subs in stereo is a waste of time as the human ear can not detect stereo below certain frequencies.

[Glenski]

Running your subs in stereo is a waste of time as the human ear can not detect stereo below certain frequencies.

Interesting read >> Click Here (http://alienryderflex.com/stereo_separation/)

[simonp]

Mono for me, for the reason Peter stated.

[Tom Lovick]

Name 5 important songs that use panning, I could only think of one, dude looks like a lady!

EVERY song uses panning....

Livin' on a Prayer
The kinks - YouTube - The Kinks - Waterloo Sunset - this one uses extreme panning.

you get no sense of the depth/perception of the song if you don't uses stereo...

Oh the joys of AS music tech! :p :D

[djdave01]

id never really given it any thought, always just run the mixer in stereo apart from a few really old tracks where the singer and music sometimes only come out one channel unless i switch to mono.

[simonp]

id never really given it any thought, always just run the mixer in stereo apart from a few really old tracks where the singer and music sometimes only come out one channel unless i switch to mono.

That's the way I used to do it and then I think I forgot to flick it back to stereo one time, and it's stayed there ever since :o :D

[BeerFunk]

Definitely mono.

The intro to 'Mr Brightside' would sound a bit rubbish from one side of the hall :D

[simonp]

Definitely mono.

The intro to 'Mr Brightside' would sound a bit rubbish from one side of the hall :D

Brightside sounds rubbish from any side of the hall such is the recording quality of the song :sofa:

[TONYTIGER]

Interesting read >> Click Here (http://alienryderflex.com/stereo_separation/)

If you think i am wading through that lot no thanks,all i know is that any pro sound systems for festivals and dance events the sound guys run subs in mono
if they do it at Glastonbury its good enough for little old me.:)

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

If you think i am wading through that lot no thanks,

It's a 2 minute read Tony. You might learn something new! ;)

[Excalibur]

It's a 2 minute read Tony. You might learn something new! ;)

And actually interesting and informative. ;)

[Glenski]

If you think i am wading through that lot no thanks,all i know is that any pro sound systems for festivals and dance events the sound guys run subs in mono
if they do it at Glastonbury its good enough for little old me.:)

I was not disputing your post lol, i was just reading that page and found it interesting.

If and when i use a sub, it is sourced direct from my mixer in mono, but the main cabs/speakers where applicable are in stereo.

Otherwise as Lee Live has said, if the venue has a weird layout, then i tend to use the balance pots to leak either left or right into the soundstage.

[Danno13]

Definitely mono.

The intro to 'Mr Brightside' would sound a bit rubbish from one side of the hall :D

After playing that god knows how many times, I still worry when I go to cue it on the headphones and can't hear anything as I've picked up the wrong cup - same with Brown Eyed Girl!

Oh, and I run stereo - always sounds a bit muddy in mono whenever I've tried it. I've never had anyone on the extreme left or right of the dance floor come up and complain that they've missed an essential guitar riff as they were dancing in the wrong position :D

I do use the mono out on my mixer when I run a single sub though.

[Tom]

Quite a few clubs I go to have a mono sound system. I would only guess with the large amount of speakers placed in an area would cause phase and time alignment issues.

[CRAZY K]

Stereo. In situations where there is a large gap between the speakers I put a little of L into the R and visa-versa. That what a sound engineer told me best to do at a large corporate. Never Mono. Lee

You have to remember we are Entertainers not sound engineers.;)


Brightside sounds rubbish from any side of the hall such is the recording quality of the song :sofa:

Thank goodness--its not just my copy:eek: :eek: :eek:

[ultrasound disco]

Quite a few clubs I go to have a mono sound system. I would only guess with the large amount of speakers placed in an area would cause phase and time alignment issues.
Almost a standard that.:)

For mobile work it's STEREO all the way for me, gives the music depth and clarity :beer1:

[Vectis]

Very very occasionally mono can sound better. Usually in those older community centre type buildings with the oval roofs for some odd reason. Must be due to the shape.

But 99.99% agree with stereo for mobile

And 100% agree with the mastering of Brightside but I remember reading something a year or two ago about the over compression being deliberate to fit with the emotion of the song. Kinda made sense.

[Dynamic Entertainment]

I have Serato set to Mono...which sounds better than when i have the mixer on Mono for some reason :confused:

[Ajaysdisco]

Stereo for me, to be honest until this thread I have never thought about using mono.