Best way to get stereo from mono out?

I am capturing samples from a mono headphone out, so what would be the best way to get them into the MPC One in stereo?

Is there a cable or adapter that will do this?

Can't make stereo from a mono signal. You need a stereo cable coming from your stereo source.

gumbo23 wrote:I am capturing samples from a mono headphone out, so what would be the best way to get them into the MPC One in stereo?

Is there a cable or adapter that will do this?

That's not how things work. As 64hz said, you must use an actual stereo cable if you want to record stereo audio. That said, is your source audio stereo? What device are you using that only has a "mono headphone out"?

If your source audio is truly mono, there are ways to give the illusion of a wider stereo field, but it ain't pretty IMHO. Otherwise you can split a single channel mono signal into a dual channel mono signal using a y-adapter. It'll still playback as mono, though.

Just record it in mono, plug it all in with your cabling but make sure your sound is routed to the left side (left is primary). Then go to the sampler switch the source so it only uses one channel, aka channel 1. then record it. if you want a stereo effect you can add a "stereo width" effect to the track.

If your goal is to get it to come out of both speakers then you have to tell the mpc that its a mono source rather than a stereo source.

It doesnt require any extra cables or bits and bobs to do so. Using a Y splitter doesnt make it stereo, its still mono but captured on a stereo track.

What makes stereo stereo is the minor differences in signal on each side. If you have two identical sounds on both sides in stereo, it will sound mono and its a waste of ram.

Ultros wrote:Just record it in mono, plug it all in with your cabling but make sure your sound is routed to the left side (left is primary). Then go to the sampler switch the source so it only uses one channel, aka channel 1. then record it. if you want a stereo effect you can add a "stereo width" effect to the track.

If your goal is to get it to come out of both speakers then you have to tell the mpc that its a mono source rather than a stereo source.

It doesnt require any extra cables or bits and bobs to do so. Using a Y splitter doesnt make it stereo, its still mono but captured on a stereo track.

What makes stereo stereo is the minor differences in signal on each side. If you have two identical sounds on both sides in stereo, it will sound mono and its a waste of ram.

Thanks - I have set the input to mono, but of course am missing a lot of information.

I'm wondering how other people deal with the issue of having only a headphone jack and mono output.

Please explain from what device you are trying to sample.

I run my mono gear into a mixer that has a button for mono input that doubles the channels, its completely not needed I'm just too lazy to set sources on the mpc.

Like 64hz said what device is this? Missing information? what kind of information? the second stereo channel? are you trying to play a stereo media out of a mono device?

I think you‘re using a mono cable; use a cable with two rings and you should be good. I have never heard of a mono HP out except for telephone headsets…

If you are just talking about an single output that is sending stereo, then there's adapters to help you split things up so that you can record it as two separate channels.. Where to buy one I'm not sure as I have not done this sort of thing for at least a decade, but I'd look in the usual places where you'd get cables for studio.

If indeed actually just mono, you can see if you can record one channel at a time, by only sending left or right and isolating that at the sound source by hard panning left and right, and then merge them in the mpc afterwards..

And if there's no fast, easy way to do it, it is still pretty simple to set up a pad with both sounds assigned as layers to play simultaneously, and cut so that they both trigger at the right time and then panned individually left and right....

And then you can use the flatten pad feature to render it as a single stereo file.

83dude wrote:I think you‘re using a mono cable; use a cable with two rings and you should be good. I have never heard of a mono HP out except for telephone headsets…

The old tube TVs had it. Really, its just a L/Mono Out.

A Y cable should solve it, since you are splitting the signal into two, but it'll still be in mono. At least you'll hear it on both channels.

Ultros wrote:I run my mono gear into a mixer that has a button for mono input that doubles the channels, its completely not needed I'm just too lazy to set sources on the mpc.

Like 64hz said what device is this? Missing information? what kind of information? the second stereo channel? are you trying to play a stereo media out of a mono device?

To clarify - I am running a patch cable out of my iMac and into the MPC One. By missing info I mean that one channel is absent. I can hear the other channel very quietly. What I'm looking to do is get true stereo into the MPC - but I'm not sure I have any equipment that will do this. It seems such a fundamental aspect of sampling that I assume there are at least a couple of good solutions. I'm open to all suggestions on what kit might get me there. My preference is to use some digital means as my record deck is unavailable to me atm. Thanks

Some detailed threads on approaches:

https://www.creativefieldrecording.com/ ... und-clips/

https://web.archive.org/web/20130603040 ... -mono-file

gumbo23 wrote: By missing info I mean that one channel is absent

The cable seems to be defective. Try a new 1/8" TRS stereo to dual 1/4" cable.
If the headphone out on your iMac is broken, you can use a USB audio interface.

A tip from Malo on cable options: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJv1-2mo6uw

Patch cables are by default mono. Just get a stereo mini jack to jack.