Stupid Question...

Ok, so I'm getting some pretty awesome sounding stuff as far as music and mixes are concerned when I'm sitting at my DAW computer.... I'm sure you've all heard this before... I'll usually burn a disc of a mix that I like, then take it to the car and home theater setup to have a listen, take notes, and adjust. I've even taken projects to a friends place (who has Sonar) and imported the project to mix in his space. But a mix almost never sounds as good on any other setup as it does on mine. BTW, my studio is not acoustically treated... So far, the best sounding stuff I've done has been professionally mastered. However, I feel like there must be a way to get the same result myself. One thing that I keep hearing about but never done until recently is play the mix back in mono. I use the mono button on my Mackie Big Knob. This almost totally eliminates the rhythm guitars. (that are usually double tracked and panned hard left and right) So what is the point of listening in mono? Should I try to achieve a mix that sounds equally good in mono and stereo? Is that even possible? Any info is much appreciated. Ryan Hardware: M-Audio Profire 610, Mackie Big Knob, M-Audio BX8a monitors. AMD II X4 940 quad core, 4Gb RAM. Sonar 8, 8.5, and X1 Producer (expanded)

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I always listen my premix in a mono radio box (tivoli audio pal).  This is good to avoid bass overload and phase cancellations. I'm use also to listen premixes through my car stereo system. My studio is not acoustically treated and this is for me necessary to reach a good point for my mixes. 

ryannadon


Ok, so I'm getting some pretty awesome sounding stuff as far as music and mixes are concerned when I'm sitting at my DAW computer.... I'm sure you've all heard this before... I'll usually burn a disc of a mix that I like, then take it to the car and home theater setup to have a listen, take notes, and adjust. I've even taken projects to a friends place (who has Sonar) and imported the project to mix in his space. But a mix almost never sounds as good on any other setup as it does on mine. BTW, my studio is not acoustically treated... So far, the best sounding stuff I've done has been professionally mastered. However, I feel like there must be a way to get the same result myself. One thing that I keep hearing about but never done until recently is play the mix back in mono. I use the mono button on my Mackie Big Knob. This almost totally eliminates the rhythm guitars. (that are usually double tracked and panned hard left and right) So what is the point of listening in mono? Should I try to achieve a mix that sounds equally good in mono and stereo? Is that even possible? Any info is much appreciated. Ryan Hardware: M-Audio Profire 610, Mackie Big Knob, M-Audio BX8a monitors. AMD II X4 940 quad core, 4Gb RAM. Sonar 8, 8.5, and X1 Producer (expanded)

Perhaps you have identified the primary issue yourself right there?...
 
Without taking away from any of the fun upcoming discussion on mono mixing.. of which i shall confess to not having trying, perhaps take a long hard look at your setup..
1. speaker size, location, distance from walls/corners.. rear firing ports less than 3ft from walls, or 5ft from room corners will hump and phase your bass>lower mid...sometimes nothing more than a room reorganisation that is audio friendly vs wife friendly will dramatically improve your mixing environment.. ?
2. why not final mix with headphones as your check?..
3. For EQ there are room correction plugins, dsp hardware systems (KRK Ergo), and there are old blankets thrown over the windows and stapled to wall... acoustic foam..etc etc.. mostly cheap and worth a try
  
 

Many of the experts only think they are experts.

I don't want to hi-jack the OP's thread which asks good questions, but I am very interested in the question about mono.  Although that is a great way to find phase issues, I wonder how valuable mono monitoring is anymore for any reason except that.  It used to be important because of all the AM radios, single speaker TVs, etc  But how often does anyone hear music in mono now?
 
I wonder if listening in mono actually gives us a false concept of how most people will heart he music.
 
I do check mixes in big speakers, small speakers, earbuds, etc.  Big speakers make sure you don't miss something.  Earbuds are how most people listen to music.  Small speakers help you find a compromise balance since vocals and other midrange sounds are more prominent in small speakers.  (I am primarily a songwriter and not necessarily the greatest mixer in the world, but I can usually get something that is in the ballpark.)

Mono is like having a magnifying glass on the middle of your mix in stereo. It won't help you with placement on the sides of your mix or the EQ. It does however help you focus on the key components down the middle and if you get things sounding good in mono, it generally will sound good in stereo but not if your pan law is -4.5 or -6.0, you will have to go back and adjust.

I still reference mono near the end of a mix, just habit. However, the OP can't solve things with mono if he is not hearing things at the mix position.

Hello all, thanks for all the help & replies. I'd like to clarify the rhythm guitar comment I made when I first posted. When I record guitars I usually find a sound that I like either with a mic'd up amp or using Amplitube, then play through the song twice. I then pan one take hard left and one right. I then repeat the process using a different configuration of either guitar, amp, or setup in Amplitube. I find that this approach makes for pretty awesome sounding guitars. At least in stereo. I'm usually going for that "wall of sound" effect. I just don't get how this process can lead to phase issues. I should also add that when I said that the sides disappear in mono, that's not entirely true. But I do get a significant drop in volume and more importantly, a reduction in the clarity of the guitars. It's like the bass guitar (which I record down the middle) overtakes the guitars. So I spent the day remixing a project in mono to see what it would sound like when I flipped that mix to stereo. While most everything seemed to have a nice balance to it, the rhythm guitars were WAY too loud. The answer seemed to be pan the guitars to around 65% left & right. Even then, I still think the original stereo mix sounds better on the DAW. The mono mix was an improvement in my car though. So I'm stumped. It seems insane to sacrifice the best sounding mix just to get a moderate improvement in sound on crappier sound setups. What would Bob rock do? Ryan

The only stupid question is the one that's not asked.

Jimbo 88
  
http://www.retrothing.com/2011/06/minimus-speaker.html

I have the Tascam version of those.