Take this with a grain of salt if you like, but I was inspired by sound engineer Dave Rat a few years ago to start running just about every instrument in our band in stereo (all hard-panned at the mixer). I use hard-panned cabs on pretty much every preset on the Axe, but I make sure that both the left and right sides sounds great on their own. This way, you have the advantage of mono (not worrying about whether the audience can hear everything in the mix if they’re standing closer to one speaker), but you get the benefit of stereo for the majority of the audience, not to mention less phase cancellation between the two PA speakers, at least for each signal that is run in stereo.
This is the video that inspired me to go this route. Before you knock it, listen to his logic and examples.
Yes - a very intelligent overview by Dave Rat; explaining a practical approach to comb filtering and other probs. Thank you getlostinsound for posting the link.
I'm awaiting my FM9, graduating from an FM2 mk2. This confirms my current practice of asking for the FOH channels to be hard-panned left and right on the desk.
I had also concluded that as most venues run 'nearfield' FOH speakers along the front of stages, most folks close-in don't suffer a stereo blind spot. At really small gigs, satellite FOH speakers work best pointing slightly inwards to 'cover' a space - usually the dance floor. This ensures a stereo overlap.
Also, stereo effects do work best when there's movement or active modulation. That movement is can be heard at all positions.
But Dave Rat's thesis makes it clear that even though there may be differences in how people to the sides may hear the sound, that's nothing like as problematic as the phase and filter problems of mono FOH. In fact, as he says, these differences are natural, are not actually problematic. I also like his ideas about double-mic'ing kick drums, guitars et al, to ensure stereo diversification.
Maybe the problem some people have with FOH stereo comes from thinking about it from a headphone perspective where the brain imagines the centrally positioned instruments by combining the two completely separate audio signals? Live sound is never going to be separate like that, and an engineer mixing FOH will have some instruments in the centre of the mix, and some spread to either side - usually related to where they're actually standing on the stage. This is a valuable way of preventing instruments of similar frequencies being lost in the mix.
A similar approach works with Fractal stereo; for example dry guitar in the centre with modulated effects panned left and right. You can do a version of this inside the box. Fractal outputs also allow you to run an actual WDW - three channels to the mixing desk for the engineer to mix into the overall FOH.
With a three-piece band like mine, even using just a small pa this gives the guitar a huge lift when using modulated effects in stereo. I have a couple of great "real" amps - a 1966 AC30 and a new Lucky J 5E3-type amp. Less so these days with the ancient AC30, but with the 5E3, the real amp can take a split direct from the guitar and do what it does (a Lehle Dual ABY works great), while the Axe handles the effects - and anything else weird and wonderful that we want to do. But equally, you can achieve pretty much this out of the box...
Sorry to go off on one.... anybody thinking along the same lines as me might find this interesting ;-)
