Stereo vs. Mono

I know theres many threads on this, but theres something with mono and stereo i dont quite understand when it comes to production.


1. i was working with a orchestra sample and the left and right had different frequencies. if i pan this sample hard left, does that mean both left and right frequencies are being played only on the left speaker which means it's mono now? or does it mean since i panned hard left, the left speaker is only playing the left frequencies?


2. ive been sampling my breaks in stereo. if i take a snare, split left and right, then stack it again, i often get phase cancellation, why is this? i thought if you take a stereo drumbreak then mono left, mono right a stereo sample, then stack it on each other, doesn't it become the original stereo source again? same with my hi hats too.

3. i understand that some people sample in mono, which means you have to choose the right or left speaker. why not take the stereo sample, and combine to left and right to make a mono sample? the mpc2500 has this option.


good looks fam, finally got my drums sequenced, now onto this mixing panning stereo mono biz to get things sitting where they should!

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=139749

In your case, you'd probably benefit from using a stereo to mono plugin.

Already recorded stereo material will induce phasing issues like you mentioned if you try to convert this without using the formentioned plugin.

leonard-lee wrote:I know theres many threads on this, but theres something with mono and stereo i dont quite understand when it comes to production.


1. i was working with a orchestra sample and the left and right had different frequencies. if i pan this sample hard left, does that mean both left and right frequencies are being played only on the left speaker which means it's mono now? or does it mean since i panned hard left, the left speaker is only playing the left frequencies?

When you pan a stereo source, it actually operates as a balance control. So if you pan left, the volume of the right channel is decreased, and vise versa. Pan all the way to the left and all you hear is the left channel coming out of the left speaker. The right channel is then muted, it is not shifted to the left.

This is different from panning with mono samples, where there is no left and right, there is only 'center', and that is what is moved to the left or right.

leonard-lee wrote:2. ive been sampling my breaks in stereo. if i take a snare, split left and right, then stack it again, i often get phase cancellation, why is this?

Because you are creating two mono samples (with similar but different content) and stacking them on top of eachother to create a mono sample that combines similar but different content.

Whenever you do a L+R to Mono (or L-R to mono) conversion you run the risk of phase cancellation. There are plenty of tricks to combat that, but that technique can also be used to create stereo width.

leonard-lee wrote:i thought if you take a stereo drumbreak then mono left, mono right a stereo sample, then stack it on each other, doesn't it become the original stereo source again?

No. You created two mono samples and stacked them on top of eachother, creating a new sample that is still mono. However, if you pan one sample to the left and the other to the right, you basically recreate the stereo sample (this can be beneficial because it allows you to play with the stereo width by playing with the pan of each sample).

leonard-lee wrote:3. i understand that some people sample in mono, which means you have to choose the right or left speaker. why not take the stereo sample, and combine to left and right to make a mono sample? the mpc2500 has this option.

What happened to you when you tried to combine left and right?

leonard-lee wrote:phase cancellation

Bingo. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't. Depends on the sample. The only surefire way to avoid it is to not sample L+R.

At the end of the day, you need to learn the concepts, but after that, follow your ears and do what sounds best to you.