From ches@qualcomm.com Thu Apr 04 12:03:09 2002
Subject:Re: Stereo vs. Mono

I'm actually the opposite. I monitor in mono, but send either mono or
stereo to the house depending on whether the house mains are mono or
stereo. I send both channels to the multitrack when we're taping gigs.

The stereo-to-mono problem is a real issue for most "stereo" keyboards
today, which generally play games with timing and phase to create the
stereo effect. Summed to mono, it sounds like hell. As you said, all
flangey and comb-filtery.

In my setup, there are two mics on the upper rotor (panned hard left and
right) and one on the lower rotor (panned center). The other modules are
run into the mixer in stereo except for my RealPiano which is run mono.
(The Realpiano gently pans the lower notes to the left and higher notes to
the right, which I find annoying.)

My stage monitor just uses one channel (the left, I think) and the house
takes one or both channels depending on whether the mains are run stereo or
not. (In addition to the miked Leslie signal running through the monitor,
I'm also hearing some of the sound right off the Leslie, so it's not really
mono I'm hearing.)

As an aside, I'm not a big believer in stereo house mixes. In most venues
they don't make a lot of sense, because only a very small percentage of the
audience is in the "sweet spot" where you can get a genuine stereo image.

Dave