Ableton Forum

i know this is probably a stupid question but one i never really look into, whats the difference? and why?

i know fixing you're inputs and outputs saves on CPU power, but whats the actual difference to what im hearing/whats going on/why would i do this, i mean it sounds the same to me? so i left it on default.

(also when recording in mono, one side gets input (i think), why would anyone want this? would they just duplicate the audio file and pan one to the other side?, it makes no sense to me)

Hope I'm getting your question right.

Most music is done in stereo. Mono could be a default for someone working with the spoken word. Especially if the target audience could have someone with deafness in one ear. Mono makes sure they hear every word.

I would guess that Mono is not chosen very often.

Mono could also be used as on output if you were working on basic drums and bass or sounds that you would want center channel.

I had one mic that how I was routing it in was only mono. Another gives me the option to record stereo.

Don't know if this is a troll post, but i'll bite:

Mono is a singular audio signal being split exactly the same to both the left and right sides of the headphone/speaker system, no room for spacial effects like panning, phasing, etc. Mono music would be extremely boring to listen to and sound generally crowded to your ears.

if you have ever give a real good listen to music you'll find all kinds of sounds coming from the left and right and different times, vocals being doubled up panned slightly left or right, guitars recorded multiple times (up to 24x on rammstein records, lol).

I'm not an expert in explaining this sort of thing, but yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Stereo sounds like mono when the L and R channels carry the same signal. Load default Operator and play a note, then crank spread to 100% and listen to the difference. That's mono vs. stereo.

Most tracks in my mix are truly mono, at least in terms of input. How many instruments have 2 cables coming out of them?

It takes twice as much of your computer's resources to read/write stereo audio from disk as mono. For bass, guitar, vocals, or any drums (except overheads of course), it's wasteful to record in stereo when you don't need to and it also makes inefficient use of mixing power.

CoreyJayzMusic wrote: (also when recording in mono, one side gets input (i think), why would anyone want this? would they just duplicate the audio file and pan one to the other side?, it makes no sense to me)

That's not how it works. Mono tracks go into the center unless you pan them yourself, which you might want to do per individual drum in a drum set for example. Mono tracks are of course placed in the stereo image with different processing techniques of which panning is one.
Why would you record a mono source in stereo? If there is one channel in the source that's what you record, there is no second magic channel just because you would record to a stereo track. Ableton Live adapts to the source you connect to the tracks.
Kicks and bass are seldom recorded in stereo nor are they typically kept in stereo in the final mix, except for special reasons.
I make the bottom end mono even if there is stereo information there. I wager no-one will here in stereo down there anyway and I certainly don't need phase cancelation in the bass.
I EQ going from stereo to mono and back, simply because it has to sound good in mono as well. If your track is played in mono, which is bound to happen, you don't want your stereo audio to sound weak due to phase cancelation.

JoshG567 wrote:Stereo sounds like mono when the L and R channels carry the same signal.

And when they do carry the exact same sound the volume is louder than with just one of them.

As you say you can of course place the mono signal in the stereo image with panning and psychoacoustic processing like delays, EQs and reverb plus when you use those tools you do add stereo information, a little or a lot, that wasn't in the original sound source.

Stromkraft wrote:If your track is played in mono, which is bound to happen, you don't want your stereo audio to sound weak due to phase cancelation.

Very true.

To this end I've MIDI mapped a few Utility devices in a rack on my Master: One to toggle width between 100% and 0% (mono only) and another between 0% and 200% (stereo only).

It's nice to hit one button to hear just M or S.