Does mono compatibility still matter?

I always check my mixes for mono compatibility, simply because we're told it's good practice to do so. But I was struggling to think of real life situations in 2011 where listeners would be listening in mono. Is this just a remnant of past times, or is mono compatibility still a real issue?

I still think that it is worth a check and I have a small single Auratone type speaker to do it on. There are some situations which for whatever reason the Left and Right outputs of a CD player etc might be summed to go into a single channel somewhere. If its your mix and you have done a very wide stereo image affect inside that mix,  it might nearly disappear in mono.

I was once working with a Korg Wavestation patch that was very wide but I did not know it until I checked it in mono. I was able to bring it in a lot and still have a great stereo image but now when put into mono it stayed well behind and was still audible.

I have done doco soundtracks and AM radio jingles and I used to check mono for those music cues mixes to make sure any wide sounds were still in the mix on a mono setup. A cafe might have one speaker missing or sum the outputs to squeeze the signal into a single mono channel of its terrible PA system.

For mixing I like it in general because its like all your instruments are lined up one behind the other in a row with no panning, so it forces you to listen to individual parts within an overall mix. And down low in volume too, there is nothing like it. You might have 3 similar sounding electric guitar parts and you want to hear them all doing their thing individually, you might find they are OK in stereo due to placements, but confusing and blurred in mono.

What do you do now? You edit the parts and start clearing the way for the 3 guitars to coexist better so when one is sounding the others are either not playing or low. You might use automation to weave the three guitar parts now. So after doing some creative editing and automation, in mono the 3 guitar parts are now very clear and easy to hear them all doing their own thing. Put this back into stereo and you will be very impressed with what you hear as well. The panning will accentuate the inter winding parts now.

It can alert if you if you have got a giant expansive pad sound and in mono you can't hear it hardly at all. It means that 180 degree phase shifting techniques are being used to create wideness. (Korg Wavestation patch) If the attacks are slow you might reset the phase angles in the synth patch and use long delays insted. They will be huge in stereo and still there in mono as well.

Mono will keep an eye on your reverb returns too. Mono is also good for checking parts that are panned very wide, are they still sitting nicely in the mix eg can you still hear them. If you want a mix to kick it needs to kick in mono as well as stereo. Any whimpy mono means important energy is being cancelled out somewhere. Track it down and bring it into line eg keep it powerful in mono. Many effects that do manipulate phase can be told to leave the lower part of the spectrum alone.

I prefer mono to come from a single point source speaker rather than the summed signal being fed to both monitors. (You are still getting a form of stereo even with two speakers in mono, just due to their lack of perfect symmetry on both sides of the room etc and the path to your ears)

I agree with the tribe. There are so many positive reasons to check in mono just because when you make it big, your music will be on the overhead mono system at Barnes & Noble. You want to make sure it sounds good there and other places they play on those cheap ceiling speakers.

Checking on mono and adjusting has a net positive effect to the stereo mix from an EQ perspective and helps you set panning as well so that the image is balanced.

Thank you all, very helpful as always! Bit, I had never thought of it that way, that unless we're in the sweet spot, we're more often than not hearing essentially mono anyway.

And yes, Jeff, I too love spending some quality time mixing in mono for precisely the reasons you pointed out.

I'm off now to check mono compatibility on a mix I'm doing...

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mike_mccue



We recorded with 3 mics and monitored in both stereo and mono but made sure the mics were placed for minimal phase issues by observing a phase meter during the process.
 

Slightly off topic, but can I ask what you are using for a phase meter? I've always been a "use my ears" type of guy for things like this, but I know (by some of your threads) you tend to approach things more technically. I'm not 100% convinced in that approach, but I am interested in trying a few things. Sometimes old dogs can learn new tricks - LOL!

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Mono compatibility was 'checked' because stereo was electrically (or digitally) summed to create the mono signal, and that is far, far different that the acoustical 'summing' of the stereo playback when listening outside the sweetspot.

Interesting. I haven't tried your test yet, but I certainly will!

I just cannot wrap my head around how acoustical summing is fundamentally different from electrical summing, though.

Obviously, they aren't exactly the same, since there will be natural phase shifts due to the different distances from the speakers such that even if L and R start out 180 degress out, the phase differences off-center will not be. There will also be delayed versions from reflections blending in. Still, I would expect such a condition to produce a nasty-sounding sum. If it doesn't, I'll have you to blame for sending me off into yet another rabbit-hole of investigation!

I think the best argument ( PRO MONO CHECKS )is that you will get a better sense of amplitude and frequency balance. I agree 100 % about doing all basic mix layout in  mono then applying panning and ambiance/reverb  as one of the last steps in the routine.

It is somewhat correct that if you want to create a very wide effect and use phase differences as part of the process then one may have to make a decision as to whether to not worry about mono compatibilty.

When I say "large interaural phase differences" are why we like stereo, I include in that statement a mono, single mic vocal panned to the left (and not necessarily hard left) and a mono, single mic guitar panned to the right (not necessarily hard right), for example. At any given frequency, there will probably be a large phase difference at that frequency between the left and right channels. But no phase 'shifting was involved in this theoretical mix.  Just to be clear.

But I believe that great stereo mixes can still have great mono compability when summed.

Of course they can. I never said otherwise.

 And even if phase shifting of L and R channels is involved (on just one or a few tracks) then it can be limited to say 90 degrees instead of 180 degrees perhaps. Many sources in a stereo mix are point source mono sounds anyway.

And I say don't worry about it.  Make it sound as good as you can in stereo, and don't worry about mono compatibility.

I don't give the issue a minute's worry.

i know this:
i've been mixing songs on various media since 1983....
and never ONCE has ANYONE mentioned anything about a mix sounding off in mono.

heheh

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I think you will find that the broadcast engineers in the quality control department are still very much aware of mono compatibility.

I believe you.  Doesn't mean that it matters.

yea, i don't know if it says a lot to experiment with mp3s, so much data is lost already.

as soon as folks start listening to my tunes in MONO, i'll get right on it.

when i sum to mono and playback thru my little ghetto/box speaker, it sounds fine to me.
that's good enough.

yea, i think the point there is, there are so few folks listening on anything other than ipods, much less old car radios and whatnot, it's become the lowest common denominator.

when i crank sh!t thru my yamaha natural sound and my Infinty Research Standards, i could honestly care less about mono mixes.

that said, i love my old beatles mono mixes thru the same stereo!!