Mono recordings

[phishmarisol]

Can you tell the difference between a mono and stereo recording simply by listening to it?  Assume it was from a SBD and not mic'd.  And if you can tell, what things allow you to tell?

[phishmarisol]

Thanks for the reply but there is no drummer. Only two guys on acoustic gutiars.  The reason for my question is that I might have recorded mono because of the line in problem on the JB3.  Now I am trying to see if that is the case.  However, the show sounds great to me and I am wondering if it even matters if the final sound is good...

[jpschust]

here's an even easier way- if its mixed in mono you will get the same thing in each speaker...if each one sounds exactly the same its mono- if you get an instrument out of one and not the other or more of an instrument from one than the other its stereo

modified to add- after rereading i think we said the exact same thing 2 different ways

[phishmarisol]

Ok, so is this considered a bad thing?  Like I said the final outcome is good.

[jpschust]

stereo recordings tend to be a bit more realistic.  stereo recordings are prefferable, but if what you've got is mono then what you've got is mono.

[Billy Mumphrey]

if you like it, that's all that matters.  stereo is preferred over mono because as you know you have two sets of ears.  that's two different sound sources that your brain is interpreting.  stereo is meant to simulate/re-create these "pleasant" dual-sourced effects.

[phishmarisol]

Ok, thanks for the help.  My problem is JB3 related.  I taped my first show the other night and when I plugged the cable all the way into the JB3 I was getting a signal but only one channel was showing up.  If I took it out a bit two channels would show.  But someone said that I could have really been picking up the same channel twice.  Doesn't sound bad on this recording if this is indeed the case, but in the future with full bands it might.  So I need to figure out how to solve this problem now.  

[leegeddy]

Can you tell the difference between a mono and stereo recording simply by listening to it?  Assume it was from a SBD and not mic'd.  And if you can tell, what things allow you to tell?

i've heard plenty-o-mono-sbds and the easiest way to describe the sound is like so....

a pure mono recording sounds like it's coming from a single speaker exactly in the middle of your stereo speakers or from DEAD center between your headphones.  the phantom image is extremely centered and has no separation.

to view a mono recording, open the .wav in any waveform editor like SF, CEP, ProTools, etc. and look at the wave. L and R are identical.

marc

[phishmarisol]

Well, I think I have fixed the problem about the cable not fitting all the way.  I just cut off part of the rubber housing that was keeping it from going in fully.  Now there is a nice secure click that I wasn't getting before.  Only problem is that I went a little overboard and cut into the actual metal a bit...only costs $4 for a new one though but I think this just might work.

[Sean Gallemore]

Ok, thanks for the help.  My problem is JB3 related.  I taped my first show the other night and when I plugged the cable all the way into the JB3 I was getting a signal but only one channel was showing up.  If I took it out a bit two channels would show.  But someone said that I could have really been picking up the same channel twice.  Doesn't sound bad on this recording if this is indeed the case, but in the future with full bands it might.  So I need to figure out how to solve this problem now.  

go jb3!

[Billy Mumphrey]

Two sets of ears?

alien?

+T for putting up with my crap.....

I am always correcting people myself, +t for the correction  

[cleantone]

Ok, so is this considered a bad thing?  Like I said the final outcome is good.

Your answering your own question here man!

If it sounds good, what are you worried about? I dont think you'll have many people complaining it's mono. 9 out of 10 wouldn't know anyway.

Technically this is of course "dual mono" since actual and literal mono cannot be done with more than one speaker  

[Tim]

and for a pleasing "psuedo stereo" pick one of those tracks and throw a 15ms delay on it

way to contribute something useful 

just kidding.... that's a great tip, thanks Alex!

edit by Moke:
correcting quote author, by request