As always, stupid Stereo questions....

Claude M

Claude M

Inspired
Hey Fractilites. A couple of stupid Stereo questions if I may....(these questions are to do with FOH, not my IEM). These questions are targeted to PA's that are in stereo, such as our own PA (which we use most of the time) or when my band plays at a particular local gig where I know the PA is in stereo.

1. I'm running one amp and one cab (that is not stereo) in my presets. I run a stereo chorus and stereo delay after the cab for solos. I'm running Output 2 L/R to FOH. With this current setup, is it of any benefit to running stereo L/R out to FOH if the only things that are stereo are the chorus and delay? My guitar sound will only change if I engage the chorus or when I'm soloing with the stereo delay, correct? Therefore, is there any reason for me to run stereo in this case?

2. Will I benefit more at FOH from the above preset if I ran one cab in stereo (using two different cabs) panned in the middle? Is there any difference asking the FOH guy to pan my guitar say 50% L/R?

3. Will I benefit more at FOH from the above preset if I ran one cab in stereo (using two different cabs) panned hard L/R either at 30, 50 or 100%? Is there any difference asking the FOH guy to pan my guitar say 50% L/R?

Overall, I guess I'm asking what makes my guitar sound true stereo at FOH when running L/R to FOH? Which of the following is a good practice for stereo presets to FOH?

1. One cab (split in stereo) both panned in the middle? Where should my pans be at the FOH desk?
2. One cab (split in stereo) both panned L/R, be it 30, 50 or 100%? Where should my pans be at the FOH desk?
3. Two cabs both panned in the middle? Where should my pans be at the FOH desk?
2. Two cabs both panned L/R, be it 30, 50 or 100%? Where should my pans be at the FOH desk?

Sorry for the convoluted post. Hopefully this all makes sense. It just confuses me a little....Thx in advance.
 
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Leaving your cabs panned to center is mono. Unless you have something after your cabs that are creating a stereo image no need to pan FOH.

If you are using two of the same IR’s in your cab panning them L & R will just be dual mono, no pan required at FOH unless doing something post cab as explained above.

As far a how far to pan a stereo image that is up to you and what you are trying to recreate.

With my AxeFXIII I run two rows of effects after my cab block, one is stereo (panned hard L & R) for my IEM/FRFR and the other is mono for FOH. If FOH is running stereo I use the IEM feed for FOH and get a stereo return from their board for monitoring. If for some reason I can’t get a stereo return I have XLR iso/splitters in my gig bag and I’ll split the stereo feed for FOH & monitors.
 
Stereo delays and chorus can make a difference in the FOH. Maybe the audience doesn't hear it exactly the way you do, but it can make your guitar be perceived as being larger, thicker. I know it's supposedly a huge controversy but saying you MUST ALWAYS run mono is probably not taking that into account.

Do what sounds good for your situation. If you try it and it sounds bad, don't do it.
 
I don't manually pan in my signal chain, but some of my patches include modulation effects (e.g., rotary) that sound great if FOH is stereo. Even when the PA system is capable of stereo, I've found that most venues don't provide good stereo imaging to most of the audience. So if you have a strongly panned stereo signal, people might hear just one side of it. My recommendation is that if you have presets where you want a wide stereo image, make sure that the house engineer is aware, and test it during soundcheck. I keep two versions of my set lists: one is mono and one stereo (for presets that present a stereo image). I choose the one that will be used for a given show. Yep, it means maintaining a duplicate list of the songs, but ensures that you have some predictability.
My IEMs are stereo but my onstage backline is mono (I just run one channel to it). As much as I love hearing my guitar in stereo in my IEMs, nobody in the house is going to have that experience unless we're playing in venues with extraordinarily well-tuned systems.
 
Also, you're asking a really smart question about panning here. My feeling is that we always want to give FOH the option to fit our guitar sounds into the overall mix. I tell all FOH operators that I'm providing them with a full-range signal via dual XLR with effects and room ambience already applied, but they should apply any EQ or panning to the signal as they deem appropriate to make it fit their mix. And I ask them after the show what adjustments they made. Frequently they have only tuned the EQ to make it fit the room, but occasionally I get very useful feedback like "I added more reverb to your solo", which is really valuable to know.
So if a club takes your stereo signal and makes adjustments to the panning based on the room, find out what they did. :)
 
Thx for all the responses guys. What I'm hearing from the answers is what I thought all along - FOH = Mono and IEM = Stereo. I do run my IEM in stereo via Output 1. In my preset on Output 1, I run an Enhancer block, so my IEM sound great! I've been a part of many online discussions about Stereo at FOH and I agree that Stereo at FOH for guitars doesn't quite have the same impact as it does with IEM. (but that's another discussion).

For many years I've run one cab in my presets with a Stereo Chorus and Delay. I guess I've recently been curious about Stereo set ups. I'm going back to a Mono FOH and leaving my IEM in Stereo. I'll use one cab in my presets and making sure that the Stereo Chorus and Delay are Mono friendly, meaning changing the LFO Phase from 180 to 90 deg etc.

Thx for all your help. Truly appreciated.
 
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