Stereo/Half Stereo help.

[NARPLDR]

I’ve only ever used Mono Amps and Cabs and relied on Effects for Stereo imaging when given a chance to run stereo at a gig, but lately, I’ve wanted to build a preset with Stereo Amps, Stere Cabs and Stereo effects.

I usually rely on one “kitchen sink” preset for all my gigs. I’m lucky enough to get to run stereo most of the time but on occasion have to run mono. In this case, I plug a single cable out to achieve a “mono” signal (technically half stereo according to the manual.)

My question is, if I need to run Half Stereo, will I run into any issues with my newfound Stereo Amps and Cabs? Or should I stick to my old method of Mono Amp and Mono Cab and Stereo Effects and plug into one out to achieve a half-stereo signal?

 

[JoKeR III]

The issue I see is if you're running full stereo - 2 different amps L/R - and panning cabs - different IRs L/R -, your tone could be very different using half mono.

Not knowing how many presets you use per gig and how much time you want to invest working on presets, you could have duplicates of your stereo presets with the cabs and effects centered. If you have consistent gigs that require mono, duplicate presets may be the answer.

I use one amp with 2-4 IRs, at least 2 IRs will be hard panned L/R, and don't duplicate presets since stereo is available to me 99% of the time. In the rare cases I know I'm going to be running mono though, I will tweak the stereo presets to work and sound great in mono and save in another bank for that gig. It takes time, but to me it's better than compromising the tone and effects just because I can't run stereo.

 

[NARPLDR]

The issue I see is if you're running full stereo - 2 different amps L/R - and panning cabs - different IRs L/R -, your tone could be very different using half mono.

Not knowing how many presets you use per gig and how much time you want to invest working on presets, you could have duplicates of your stereo presets with the cabs and effects centered. If you have consistent gigs that require mono, duplicate presets may be the answer.

I use one amp with 2-4 IRs, at least 2 IRs will be hard panned L/R, and don't duplicate presets since stereo is available to me 99% of the time. In the rare cases I know I'm going to be running mono though, I will tweak the stereo presets to work and sound great in mono and save in another bank for that gig. It takes time, but to me it's better than compromising the tone and effects just because I can't run stereo.

Understood. Let’s assume for the sake of the original question the stereo amp and cabs are the same. Would half stereo work like I’ve been doing before?

 

[chris]

I’ve only ever used Mono Amps and Cabs and relied on Effects for Stereo imaging when given a chance to run stereo at a gig, but lately, I’ve wanted to build a preset with Stereo Amps, Stere Cabs and Stereo effects.

I usually rely on one “kitchen sink” preset for all my gigs. I’m lucky enough to get to run stereo most of the time but on occasion have to run mono. In this case, I plug a single cable out to achieve a “mono” signal (technically half stereo according to the manual.)

My question is, if I need to run Half Stereo, will I run into any issues with my newfound Stereo Amps and Cabs? Or should I stick to my old method of Mono Amp and Mono Cab and Stereo Effects and plug into one out to achieve a half-stereo signal?

View attachment 109611

Try it at home. Plug one cable out and see what it sounds like. Problems will usually be anything hard panned - you’ll only hear the Left side, for example. Other than that there shouldn’t be any problems.

 

[JoKeR III]

Understood. Let’s assume for the sake of the original question the stereo amp and cabs are the same. Would half stereo work like I’ve been doing before?

In this scenario, there wouldn't be a noticeable difference in tone, you'll just lose the right half of the stereo effects. If the amp is configured the same in both blocks, you really wouldn't need the 2nd amp block.

You could use the 2 cab blocks with separate mono effect chains and add a Filter block (Bypass state set to 'Mute') after one of the cab blocks. With the cabs panned L/R and the Filter block on (using the 'Null' type), the preset would be stereo.

Use a Control Switch and attach the Filter 'Bypass' modifier, the Cab and other effect blocks 'Balance' modifier to the CS to change the cab from panned to center. This configuration would allow you to change a stereo preset into a mono preset with one switch.

 

[WKSmith]

I use full stereo on out 1
And summed mono on out 2

So all my stereo presets with panned cabs and amps with stereo ambient effects all still work when I play somewhere that has a single XLR for FOH

 

[chris]

careful with summing, especially with panned effects, as phase cancellation can occur.

with my stereo delay in stereo, it sounds full in left and right. if i sum it, i barely hear any delay because it's phase cancelling. that's why i run half-stereo so i still get a full delay sound, even if it's just one repeat.

it all depends on exactly what the preset is doing, but can happen often when summing.

 

[Rex]

My question is, if I need to run Half Stereo, will I run into any issues with my newfound Stereo Amps and Cabs? Or should I stick to my old method of Mono Amp and Mono Cab and Stereo Effects and plug into one out to achieve a half-stereo signal?

That depends on how your preset is set up. Spend a few minutes with the wiki’s Mono and Stereo page to learn what to watch out for.