Mono or stereo???

Hey there Jpok1000 I am not sure why you want to produce a final mono master. Stereo just sounds great and so much better than mono.

But saying that there are mono things you can do along the way toward a final stereo presentation. If you just create a final stereo mix and export that to mono right at the end then you may or may not get a great mono master.

A better way is to check parts of your mix in mono along the way to ensure good mono compatibity if you do have to fold a stereo mix down to mono for any reason. I use a single mono speaker (al la Auratone) being fed from a mono poweramp with L+R channels being summed going into it. I find the mono speaker very helpful and revealing in terms of mixing. It is good for getting a lot of things in balance. Also it will show up that problem of having some great wide stereo effect being applied to something and then it all disappears when put into mono. If that does happen then alter the effect so that it still sounds good in mono and you will find it still sounds good in stereo too.

Mono is also good for separating two or more sounds or parts that are similar in tone quality. In mono they are all lined up behind each other if you like and you have to go to a bit more trouble to separate them a bit more with fx etc. Then when you pan them they will sound even better as a result.

Mono is a good starting point for a great mix. If you can hear everything well and separated then you are on the right track. Then do the panning and wide effects later.

It is also a bit of an old fashioned thing too. Being older I have worked in TV (yes when it was mono, remember that) and AM radio stations where mono compatibility was important so it has stuck with me a bit. These days I know a lot might say just go for stereo and be done with it because that is how it is going to be heard and there is probably some truth in that. But I still feel starting with a good mono mix and then creating stereo mixes from that seems to create a final master that is robust, stable and great in stereo and in mono.

You definitely want to end in stereo, but for dance music, it needs to sound good in mono.

Funny thing is almost every situation is less than ideal, especially for dance music... let's see, mono PA at the club, car system where stereo image is off on driver or passenger side, etc.