pmarangoni
Max Output Level: -89 dBFS
- Total Posts : 72
- Joined: 2015/03/20 00:51:37
- Location: Los Angeles, California
- Status: offline
Recorded stereo, but playing back mono
What the hell happened? I had two mics positioned above my drums and set them as a stereo pair in my Roland Studio Capture. I assigned them to a stereo track in Sonar X3. I tapped on the mics and could see (and hear) the level on one or the other side, as expected. While recording, it sounded fine. Now I'm home, listening back, and the overheads are playing back mono, as if both sides were panned in the center. I must be doing something wrong. What could it be?
|
Zargg
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 10666
- Joined: 2014/09/28 04:20:14
- Location: Norway
- Status: offline
Re: Recorded stereo, but playing back mono
2016/04/15 19:55:28
(permalink)
Hi. I do not have a Studio Capture, but can you separate the ins (in your Studio Capture) and choose mono 1&2 if that is the inputs you wish to record to mono? The bleed between the mic's (in my humble / shallow mind) could cause you to phase out the stereo of your recording, when using one stereo track. Others may probably correct me I hope it helps on some level  All the best.
Ken Nilsen ZarggBBZWin 10 Pro X64, Cakewalk by Bandlab, SPlat X64, AMD AM3+ fx-8320, 16Gb RAM, RME Ucx (+ ARC), Tascam FW 1884, M-Audio Keystation 61es, *AKAI MPK Pro 25, *Softube Console1, Alesis DM6 USB, Maschine MkII Laptop setup: Win 10 X64, i5 2.4ghz, 8gb RAM, 320gb 7200 RPM HD, Focusrite Solo, + *
|
pmarangoni
Max Output Level: -89 dBFS
- Total Posts : 72
- Joined: 2015/03/20 00:51:37
- Location: Los Angeles, California
- Status: offline
Re: Recorded stereo, but playing back mono
2016/04/15 19:58:08
(permalink)
Yes, I could have just recorded each mic to its own mono track and then pan them left and right, but I didn't. And I'm sure it was recording fine, with a nice stereo image. Something is happening in Sonar (I think) that is causing the stereo track to lose its stereo image. The mics were positioned well (XY), so there wouldn't be any phase issues between them.
|
Zargg
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 10666
- Joined: 2014/09/28 04:20:14
- Location: Norway
- Status: offline
Re: Recorded stereo, but playing back mono
2016/04/15 20:07:15
(permalink)
Maybe try to bounce the stereo track to dual mono? It might help.
Ken Nilsen ZarggBBZWin 10 Pro X64, Cakewalk by Bandlab, SPlat X64, AMD AM3+ fx-8320, 16Gb RAM, RME Ucx (+ ARC), Tascam FW 1884, M-Audio Keystation 61es, *AKAI MPK Pro 25, *Softube Console1, Alesis DM6 USB, Maschine MkII Laptop setup: Win 10 X64, i5 2.4ghz, 8gb RAM, 320gb 7200 RPM HD, Focusrite Solo, + *
|
dwardzala
Max Output Level: -61 dBFS
- Total Posts : 1470
- Joined: 2008/05/26 19:18:33
- Status: offline
Re: Recorded stereo, but playing back mono
2016/04/15 20:36:54
(permalink)
☄ Helpfulby Zargg71 2016/04/15 20:59:50
Stereo interleave button accidentally set to mono?
DaveMain Studio- Core i5 @2.67GHz, 16Gb Ram, (2) 500Gb HDs, (1) 360 Gb HD MotU Ultralite AVB, Axiom 49 Midi Controller, Akai MPD18 Midi Controller Win10 x64 Home Sonar 2017.06 Platinum (and X3e, X2c, X1d) Mobile Studio - Sager NP8677 (i7-6700HQ @2.67MHz, 16G Ram, 250G SSD, 1T HD) M-Box Mini v. 2 Win 10 x64 Home Sonar 2016.10 Platinum Check out my original music: https://soundcloud.com/d-wardzala/sets/d-wardzala-original-music
|
pmarangoni
Max Output Level: -89 dBFS
- Total Posts : 72
- Joined: 2015/03/20 00:51:37
- Location: Los Angeles, California
- Status: offline
Re: Recorded stereo, but playing back mono
2016/04/16 00:10:15
(permalink)
No that was the first thing I checked.
|
mettelus
Max Output Level: -22 dBFS
- Total Posts : 5321
- Joined: 2005/08/05 03:19:25
- Location: Maryland, USA
- Status: offline
Re: Recorded stereo, but playing back mono
2016/04/16 00:18:47
(permalink)
Did the track you recorded have left and right channels, or was it a mono file? I am confused on this. It seems you have a stereo file that "sounds mono"? *If* both channels exist and there was not a great variation between the two, it may sound mono (just louder). Ken's suggestion of bouncing the track and splitting into mono tracks would be a simple check... after doing that, you could phase reverse one mono track and see if they null each other out. If they do not, you have both overheads captured; and it is easier to pan them as separate mono tracks.
ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero (Wi-Fi AC), i7-8700k, 16GB RAM, GTX-1070Ti, Win 10 Pro, Saffire PRO 24 DSP, A-300 PRO, plus numerous gadgets and gizmos that make or manipulate sound in some way.
|
pmarangoni
Max Output Level: -89 dBFS
- Total Posts : 72
- Joined: 2015/03/20 00:51:37
- Location: Los Angeles, California
- Status: offline
Re: Recorded stereo, but playing back mono
2016/04/16 00:43:14
(permalink)
How do I split it into two mono tracks?
|
mettelus
Max Output Level: -22 dBFS
- Total Posts : 5321
- Joined: 2005/08/05 03:19:25
- Location: Maryland, USA
- Status: offline
Re: Recorded stereo, but playing back mono
2016/04/16 00:50:31
(permalink)
- Make sure the audio track is selected (if only one wave file, can just click on the wave form). The track number highlights blue if selected.
- Tracks menu (at the top of the Track View) - > Bounce to Track(s)...
- In the pop up that comes up, it should default to "Destination" of New Track at the next available number. And in the right side of that window choose "Split Mono" under the "Channel Format" option.
- Select "Okay" and it will bounce the original stereo track to two mono tracks.
Quick Edit - You may want to disable most of the "Mix Enables" at the bottom of that pop up, as it will bake in mutes, FX, etc., which you would not want. I would only leave "Fast Bounce" checked.
ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero (Wi-Fi AC), i7-8700k, 16GB RAM, GTX-1070Ti, Win 10 Pro, Saffire PRO 24 DSP, A-300 PRO, plus numerous gadgets and gizmos that make or manipulate sound in some way.
|
pmarangoni
Max Output Level: -89 dBFS
- Total Posts : 72
- Joined: 2015/03/20 00:51:37
- Location: Los Angeles, California
- Status: offline
Re: Recorded stereo, but playing back mono
2016/04/16 15:09:16
(permalink)
Didn't make any difference. It's as if both mics were assigned to both sides.
|
bitflipper
01100010 01101001 01110100 01100110 01101100 01101
- Total Posts : 26036
- Joined: 2006/09/17 11:23:23
- Location: Everett, WA USA
- Status: offline
Re: Recorded stereo, but playing back mono
2016/04/16 18:41:52
(permalink)
Step One: determine whether the recorded track is truly stereo. An examination of the waveform is usually all that is necessary, but not always. Should there be no obvious visible differences between the top and bottom waveforms, it can also be determined by summing left and right and looking at the difference. This isn't as hard as it sounds. Any M/S plugin that lets you adjust Mid and Side levels independently will do. I recommend the free Voxengo MSED plugin over Channel Tools for this. Listen to the track while turning the Side knob up and down. If it's a dual-mono track, meaning the left and right sides were somehow combined during recording, then there will be no change in tone or volume as you move the Side knob. A true stereo track, OTOH, will noticeably change.
 All else is in doubt, so this is the truth I cling to. My Stuff
|
pmarangoni
Max Output Level: -89 dBFS
- Total Posts : 72
- Joined: 2015/03/20 00:51:37
- Location: Los Angeles, California
- Status: offline
Re: Recorded stereo, but playing back mono
2016/04/17 01:58:56
(permalink)
I was wrong. The track is stereo, just not as "stereo" as I would have liked. I should have positioned the mics better. Thank you guys for all your help!
|