stereo or mono

what do you guys sample, stereo or mono? are there any advantages of using just mono? or any basic rules, for example drums always mono etc.

thanx for your input!

kick- mono
snare- mono
bass - mono
hats- stereo

....i have stereo hats... because... i like to add flanger, chorus or reverb on them... and i like it when the hats aren't perfectly even in the left and rght stereo filed.

As long as you are talking about individual hits, you only need mono. You can then use the internal mixer to pan the hi hats, percussion and cymbals and this creates instant stereo. (best to keep kicks and snares center). The advantage is you have half as much memory usage.

The only sounds that need to be sampled in stereo are sounds that already contain panning information - like drum loops, or sounds with panned chorus/delay effects. All other sounds can be made stereo later using stereo effects or panning.

I sample Dolby Digital THX 7.1

Sometimes, instrumental samples can be strongly balanced; you will have a basseline on the left and a violin on the right, for example. Then, sampling in mono can help isolating an instrument...