Sonar Pro Channel has the Panipalator (I think I spelled that right) stick it in your Master Bus and test your mix mono and then to stereo.  I mix in mono to ensure I can hear everything even with pans.  I eq and some compression to make sure I can hear everything and then switch over to stereo.  It's like if you can get it sounding good in mono - it should be great in stereo.  IMHO

I always start my mixes in mono. Once I get a space for every instrument and it sounds good in mono, then I go to stereo and wow...then it really rocks.

Kudos Anderton it honestly took my mixing to another level once I learned the importance of getting it sounding right in mono

Network speakers such as Sonos introduce a whole new generation of mono problems. Sometimes people either only buy one, or only have one in their bathroom. Stereo mixes get summed, so stereo phase-inverted signals go missing. There have been a number of threads recently on the Sonos forum complaining about missing bits of songs.
 
As an example, Sympathy for the Devil by the Rolling Stones has those classic piano chords at the start, and they are phase-swapped between channels for the first 8-12 bars. In a mono mix, they disappear entirely, then gradually come back in. These chords define the whole sound of the song. I wonder how the original version was ever played on radio. I'm guessing they had to make a special mono mix.
 
Cheers, Peter.
 

Anderton
I always start my mixes in mono. Once I get a space for every instrument and it sounds good in mono, then I go to stereo and wow...then it really rocks.

Would you mind providing more details on how your mixing process works? I've been struggling in making my orchestral pieces sound rich in mono. Especially, when I have instruments panned a bit to widen the stereo image, it can sound dull and flat in mono.
 
I've been experimenting with something akin to your "faux stereo" technique where I use EQ to make sure delay and phase don't cancel out in stereo. Difficult challenge, imo.
 
Thanks for your thoughts so far.

I find starting a mix in mono forces me to find the frequency/tonal space for each sound to sit. This becomes much more obvious without the space created by a stereo soundstage. 

Myself, its not even as much frequency checks that force me to use mono but also the use of panned tracks.
Sometimes the distance and/or perceived loudness of panned instruments can sound quite different in stereo.
I always start my mixes in stereo but often reference to mono through out the project.
 

bokchoyboy
What is your preferred method for checking a mix in mono?  I know there are plenty of ways, but I was just interested in workflow...

Just click the Interleave button on the master bus.
 

I think its really helpful working with mono. And it is not about what the final listeners are listening on so much either although that can still be a factor.
 
When you mix in mono think of all the parts lining up behind each other in a single speaker. Say if you had three rhythm guitars playing and they were all very similar in sound then in mono this would every obvious. Panning will help separate things but mono won't. So you get in there and either edit some of the parts or drop things out or make better choices in the three sounds in order to separate them more. 
 
A mix that starts out sounding good in mono always sounds better after panning in stereo. Compared to a mix that starts out in stereo and collapses rather poorly in mono which many will if you are not careful.
 
Things that don't collapse well such as some effects and even some synth patches for example can usually be fixed. Often by inverting the phase on one channel before mono is applied. What happens then is in stereo the effects are still there and the synth patches are still wide but they will sound better and usually more robust and often louder too meaning you can turn them down. Then after collapsing to mono you will find those effects and synth patches won't disappear at all but remind behind and still sound good. I think anything that is effected severely by mono test should be looked into.
 
Panning is another thing as well. Sounds that are panned wide often will drop in level slightly in mono. But what you can do here is just tweak them to be audible nicely again in mono and you will find out wide in stereo they have not changed much. You are now getting things to satisfy two speaker setups rather than just one alone.
 
Personally I don't like hearing mono from two speakers. There will always be some stereo effect present simply by the fact of your acoustics etc..I prefer a single type Auratone type speaker and I feed a L+R mix into it all the time and at lower volume too. That way it is just a simple matter to hear it when you need to. The small speaker concept also solves a host of other issues such as critical balance.
 

bitflipper

bokchoyboy
What is your preferred method for checking a mix in mono?  I know there are plenty of ways, but I was just interested in workflow...

Just click the Interleave button on the master bus.
 

thumbs up... thanks!!