No stereo using one input, plz help

[briolate]

I'm using my mbox 2 with ableton and I have one xlr mic going into input one. I've screwed around with all of the input output settings and cannot achieve stereo. I can mix it in my headphones to sound that way, but when i record it only goes to the left side. Is it a problem with my sound card, mbox, ableton? I'm really in the dark here and would really appreciate any help.

[SubFunk]

one single XLR connection is NEVER stereo, and most microphones are only mono, too.

you try to make wine out of water... either you need to get a stereo microphone or use two mics on two separate channels and place them accordingly, to achieve a stereo filed, depending what and where you record.

here you can read a bit about microphones http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microphone

[briolate]

Gotcha. Well I think I'm just gonna sell this thing and get a stereo mic then. Thanks.

[SubFunk]

well, you can achieve a "stereo effect", by doubling your tracking after recording it and using pan and a tiny bit of delay.

[UKRuss]

In Live's track, select 'external input' and then under that just channel '1' not '1/2'

In Live's prefs make sure channel 1 is selected for mono input.

no need to buy a stereo mic.

[SubFunk]

In Live's track, select 'external input' and then under that just channel '1' not '1/2'

In Live's prefs make sure channel 1 is selected for mono input.

no need to buy a stereo mic.

well, i understand he wants to record real stereo, or am i wrong?

in that case UKRuss is right, but that recording is still mono, unless you make a 'fake' stereo and duplicate the track afterwards and use pan and delay to widen it.

[briolate]

In Live's track, select 'external input' and then under that just channel '1' not '1/2'

In Live's prefs make sure channel 1 is selected for mono input.

no need to buy a stereo mic.

Totally works. Thanks man.

[SubFunk]

In Live's track, select 'external input' and then under that just channel '1' not '1/2'

In Live's prefs make sure channel 1 is selected for mono input.

no need to buy a stereo mic.

Totally works. Thanks man.

ok, i understood you want a true stereo mic recording.

sorry.

[leedsquietman]

What SF and Russ said.

Most vocals, especially lead vocals, are typically mono panned centre anyway. So do what Russ said, if you're using input 1, change Live to say 1 instead of 1/2. When you add reverbs and FX, that can be made to stereo-ize things a bit, should you need that. Otherwise, doubletrack the vocals and pan one more to the left and the other more to the right to achieve a 'stereo' type effect, or use some kind of plugin such as Voxengo's Stereo Touch, which typically adds a short delay and spreads that signal out. If you're still hearing things in one ear after changing the input selector to just '1' (mono) instead of 1/2 (stereo) you need to open the controller program for the M-Box and pan input 1 to centre there (assuming it has some type of control program like most audio interfaces do).

You can buy stereo mics, but they tend to be aimed more for stereo-izing acoustic guitars and such. I never record lead vocals in stereo, that, as well as bass sounds and kick drum are always mono panned dead centre when I record. I experiment with other instruments and backing vocals, but those 3 elements, lead vocal, bass and kick are always mono and centre in my mixes.

[SubFunk]

but those 3 elements, lead vocal, bass and kick are always mono and centre in my mixes.

that is what keeps mixes tight. i know a lot of people experimenting around, but in my eyes you always come back to this, there are enough other elements in music to achieve room and space, but you need a tight skeleton to built around it, otherwise it all falls apart and is just a plain flakey mix
without any impact.

in very, very rare cases i tend to 'shift the bass / kick combo... but absolute maximal 2L / 2R to give them more room instead of sidechaining...

[leedsquietman]

Occasionally, I might do something like add a secondary bass sound which could be panned outside of the middle, if it's using some modulation FX or delays. I would probably scoop out some of the real lows on that though and compensate for that on the bass panned centre by scooping out some mid lows so the 2 bass elements can sit together. Nudging something within +/-3 on the panning between vocals/bass/kick I have done this occasionally but can probably less than half a dozen times in many years, to help with seperation a touch. One thing I do more frequently is double track vocals and pan them L5/R5 so they still have an impact but don't swallow too much of the centre ground of the kick and bass.

I'm not suggesting anyone else has to follow this rule rigidly, it's just common mixing practise, but feel free to experiment - just remember that if you are planning on cutting anything to vinyl that bass imbalances can cause a) the cutting needle in the pressing plant to break, which can cost thousands to repair, (good studios should address this with you before cutting, or have a device called an elliptical EQ which removes low frequency information panned off to one side and puts it back to centre to prevent this), or can cause skipping.

[briolate]

Thanks a lot for the info guys.