Leaving Stereo for Mono

[indeloon85]

So I've been using the stereo outs for a long time now (DAW and Live), great for stereo delays/reverbs/chorus/etc. you get the picture. But now I want to stop using stereo in my DAW. Don't get me wrong, I love the effects and how great they sound, but I dont want to print my effects to the track, and would rather do that in post. I figure it would be best to treat it as recording a real amp. and there wouldn't be any stereo delays, just mono, (if I'm catching it straight from a cab). Plus it would take less DSP to process ITB and just less of a hassle I feel.

FYI: I also don't use my AXE as my interface, so I'm not looking to reamp either, just commit, as long as it's amp with mono effects.

So, my question is, when recording, I am thinking to just do the "Copy L->R" option for my outputs, do I need to start panning everything Left (cabinet, delays, reverbs, etc.)? Would I be losing out on anything if I don't pan everything left for recording just the left channel? Curious what everyone's experience is with going this route. Thanks!

 

[iaresee]

That's a bummer you don't want to talk about reamping. I've got what I consider to be a really workable workflow down now for this sort of thing:

I play through and just capture the reamp track. Then I'll reamp once to get a dry amp+cab track and then reamp multiple times to get effects-only tracks and then mix in Logic.

Works super awesome.

So, my question is, when recording, I am thinking to just do the "Copy L->R" option for my outputs, do I need to start panning everything Left (cabinet, delays, reverbs, etc.)? Would I be losing out on anything if I don't pan everything left for recording just the left channel? Curious what everyone's experience is with going this route. Thanks!

You don't need to pan anything if you use copy L->R but, if you're recording mono you don't need to do this either. Just only record the left channel on to a mono track. You'll find stereo effects (chorus, enhancer, etc.) won't sound the same. If you're doing any panning with the trem/pan block, it won't pan now (of course), it'll just fade in and out like a trem with depth set high.

 

[Poparad]

Although my patches are setup in stereo, they're not stereo dependent sounds (no ping-pong delays). When I play live, the extra width is nice, but when I record, since most of the time the guitar is sitting in a mix with other instruments, panned to one side or the other, or double tracked, I don't need a stereo image on each guitar. It's just needless bloat. Sometimes when doing a cool shimmering chorused delay effect that sits center in the mix, I'll still record to stereo, but mostly I record in mono, and any reverb I add is global to the session, so all my instruments sit in the same "room" as each other.

To record my stereo patches in mono, all I do is just set up a mono audio track and select either L or R only from the Axe. Since both sides are essentially equivalent, it doesn't matter which one I grab. No need to change any settings in the Axe outputs or patch design. Plus then, if I do want something in stereo, I just set up a stereo track and assign to both both L/R outputs.

 

[barhrecords]

Although my patches are setup in stereo, they're not stereo dependent sounds (no ping-pong delays). When I play live, the extra width is nice, but when I record, since most of the time the guitar is sitting in a mix with other instruments, panned to one side or the other, or double tracked, I don't need a stereo image on each guitar. It's just needless bloat. Sometimes when doing a cool shimmering chorused delay effect that sits center in the mix, I'll still record to stereo, but mostly I record in mono, and any reverb I add is global to the session, so all my instruments sit in the same "room" as each other.

To record my stereo patches in mono, all I do is just set up a mono audio track and select either L or R only from the Axe. Since both sides are essentially equivalent, it doesn't matter which one I grab. No need to change any settings in the Axe outputs or patch design. Plus then, if I do want something in stereo, I just set up a stereo track and assign to both both L/R outputs.

Same for me. On live recordings I capture both L / R but only use one track or the other in the mix down. I've considered capturing a dry track during live performance for reamping later but I'm not selling these shows so the extra work isn't worth it to me.

For the PA, I run hard panned L / R (aka dual mono) to FOH and use L only for wedges (L/R if in ears).