Mixing in Mono - Save Your Stereo Mix!
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- čas přidán 15. 01. 2017
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Hear Matt's song, The Hardest Part, and the album mix by Shane D Wilson:
• The Hardest Part // Ma...
If you've ever had the unfortunate experience of taking a mix you've done outside your studio only to find out it doesn't sound nearly the same or nearly as good on other playback systems and devices, it's time to take your stereo mixes into the mono realm.
If mixing in mono for better stereo results sounds counter-intuitive right now, watch as Ryan takes you through some of the benefits on a huge multi-track production by songwriter Matt Tinsley. - Hudba
This is the best mono mixing tutorial I've ever seen.
Yes it is .... this made it so simple
Indeed. This was revelatory.
I love Propellerheads videos. No overly complex jargon, well produced, funny, and not too long. As soon as tutorial videos get too long (20 + minutes, I start losing focus. Thanks for another great tutorial Ryan!
Loved the video and do not even own Reason! very interesting :)
Agree!
Phase Invert Button. This is unreal - been using Reason for many years and have never come this far. Thanks a million, and i LOVE your quotes throughout, my favorite is Luke's!
Okay, I have watched nearly all the Propellerhead tutorial videos here on CZcams. Hands down this video tops them all!!! I spent last night experimenting with mixing in mono on my tracks, and already there is a night and day difference. Trying to make proper tonal changes using EQ has been difficult for me in stereo, but doing it while in mono makes it much easier to hear what channels are fighting each other and what changes I need to make for them to sit together in the mix better. Damn awesome video Ryan! And loving Reason 9. :)
Agreed :D Should always stay on top on this channel. Ryan did some great videos that really helped me in a lot of ways, but this one is the cherry on the top :D
Totally agree! I used mono at the end stage as a last check but it is actually pivotal to use it contantly.
I never considered that mixing in mono would help my stereo output. I thought if you mixed in one, the other would sound worse. Propellerhead isn't just teaching us about reason, it's teaching us about audio engineering in general, and that's what I love about these vids. Hell, you don't even need to own Reason to take advantage of these gems!
Any burgeoning producer can learn from vids like these
That's a good question. If I understand the difference between stereo and mono correctly, panning will help stereo systems as it will send the audio to the right or left speaker, but won't effect anything if the speaker is mono. It'll be as if you didn't pan it.
At least I think so - I'm only a hobbyist.
I used to be a reason user but migrated over to Logic a few years back. Was tired of buying yearly upgrades / having to shop at a store (Felt like PT LE all over again.) Nevertheless, you guys still make the best videos and I watch em all. This video has done more for me in the last week than any other mixing video I've seen on the net. I'm thinking of remixing every song I ever recorded because now I know what to do to balance them out. Excellent job.
Here my latest mix. My first shot at thrash metal. I have a quiet vocal (mainly because I cannot sing), guitars were competing and the drums were muffled. Bass was way to loud. I wish I had a before / after to share but here is the current mix. I'm very happy with it. The snare might be the ONLY thing too loud. Thanks much. soundcloud.com/theclashdetective/due-time-1
Propellerhead we applaud you for working with Ryan. Every single time I get a swoosh of joy watching these perfectly crafted films. An honour to watch. Awesome job Ryan. 🔥🔥🔥
Gosh! Where have I been? All these comments are from years ago and I just discovered this by accident. Wonderful tutorials, hope they will stay where they are for future composers. 🙋♀️❣🎹
I don't care if I'm watching this 2 years late Ryan, this is a game changer and you explain it perfectly. Thank you!!
Here in 2024 👍😎
I love your tutorials because your tutorials show us something many others don't and that is the concepts
Without the concepts you'd just be following steps like Ikea furniture assembly instructions and that's no good because you wouldn't be learning to think for yourself. Thanks for watching and thanks for enjoying the concepts, since I think they're the more important part in the long run for your own music. /ryan
You're a brilliant teacher and film editor Ryan, I love seeing your videos pop up.
THIS THIS THIS is so important. I feel like a lot of people don't remember this. One tip that one of my teacher taught me is to do ALL your mixing in mono. That's EQ, compression, sound design, and balancing. Then leave panning to the END. That way your mix will still have great mono compatibility.
3 years and still changing perspective and opening eyes
always blown away by the quality of these. way to go Ryan!
This is amazing. I've heard you should mix in mono, but never understood all the reasons why. Ryan, you did a brilliant job of illustrating just how many kinds of problems I can solve with this technique. Thanks for the enlightenment!
Thanks Ryan, for making society capable of revisiting sound engineering foundations. In an analogy, I would say that is like having the capability of switching between black and white and technicolor in movies !
There is an "invert phase" button at the top of every mixer channel.
I have become bedridden.
I can’t stress enough how useful these videos are ❤❤❤❤
Perfect videos ....fun and instructional
Ryan, your tutorial video was the main reason why I chose Reason as my main DAW few years ago. just wanted to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for your hard work.
This is an astoundingly well written, well produced video. Please oh please keep it up!
I love these quick mix fix trick videos, but this one is amazing. Never even thought to mix in mono first and then add the stereo shaping. This works wonders. Makes mixing and mastering a breeze.
My gosh, these tutorials are really awesome. I've watched nearly all of them and every single time, I hear improvements over improvements in my songs. Thank you so much!
Glad you like them!
This is why I use reason, videos like this are educational and entertaining.
I don't even use reason anymore but I love watching your tutorials
I barely leave comments but I had to with the presentation quality of this whole video. This was super in depth and easy to digest. The examples you choose were great and really helped me comprehend what you were saying. Thank you!
From what I've read most dance genres are put in mono for venues. Another great Reason tutorial. I didn't realize how great the mixing environment is.
The pick a voice to listen to part literally blew my mind. I think I just got a little high. Like my pineal just kicked into overdrive for a moment. Thanks.
That was brilliant! I was always aware of the mono/stereo conflict, but this explains the issue so clearly and in a fun way. Watching this, you understand why early '60s music intended purely for mono so often struggled when mixed to stereo.
This is why I love reason, not only software sound good, but also tell you how to use them solve your problem. great job!
That was a fantastic demonstration. Well done!
Always delivers the best and highest quality Tuts.
Ryan, not only you have perfectly understanding of such things but you can also explain that in a way that most people understands, and thats a hard thing to achieve. Congratulations! We want more of this tutorials. I have Reason for almost a year and I'm always learning new things from your videos, I must have seen it all by this now. Even the ones with the other voice that I suspect you've created the script for those too. THANKS!
Wow! I studied sound design 13 years ago -since then switched (added) many careers.
I've watched the clipping video and this one, and I gotta say, you brought some beautiful memories back. 🤘👏
what the hell i'm 5 minutes in and this is one of the best videos on audio i've ever seen. So well produced and explained. instant like.
They choose there team well.
This solves a lot of mixing problems before they become problems thanks much great stuff
Thank you so much for listing the song in the description... Matt is probably the most talented musician I've discovered in ages. What a voice.
Thank you, Ryan, soooo much. You can not nearly imagine how thankful I am about that great tutorial. I never! thought of Phase Inversion.
AWESOME VIDEO! Never thought I'd be mixing my own stuff some day but this video was just perfect!
This guy is brilliant - love his clarity and energy!
THANK YOU. Everyone tells you to mix in mono, but this covers why, what it means, where it came from, and how to do it.
I like the narrative elements of your new video...well a mono key shortcut makes sense! but on my older setup I can use the mono switch on my monitoring section instead.
This video is a life saver. It's 4:58AM here in India and I just ended my whole day and night long production. I was too stressed that my mix was sounding great in stereo but sounding so bad in mono. Then I got this video. I am feeling great after watching this video, my confidence has come back. Thanks a lot!!
If anyone ever sees Ryan out and about, please buy him a beer! Exceptional work sir. I will be checking all my mixes in mono moving forward.
Thx for covering this factor so WELL. It's rarely understood, & I'd admit, although interned well for a couple years in a pro studio w/cats that had done mixes w/PEOPLE manipulated faders in a sundown, they sure knew how to do something for the benefit of the novice (me), when they'd check all along in mono, they were kind to ask me, 'hear that'?
Even now in YOUR vid, my answer would've been,
'hear what'? It sure helps to have these things pointed out, at least to me. It's definitely one of my weaknesses & thx for sharing this.
I'm a songwriter, not a pro Mixing Engineer!
Why did I find this just now? What an incredibly well made video, thank you so much!
I just started referencing in mono mixes. But I see now I have a lot more to learn about mixing in Reason. I paid no attention to what the inv button was. Please do more mixing in Reason tips.
Tyree B Don't limit it to mixing in Reason. Learning mixing period, it'll transfer across multiple platforms
Greg Savage oh I don't. And I agree. They all do transfer. My choice of mixing is in Reason.
Tyree B It's a nice application. Wish they'd allow us to import video.
Import videos would be awesome BUT maybe makes reason unstable because of the codecs. Hope Propellerheads recognize this suggestion in a further version, it would be great!
If you had Ableton, which supports video, could you rewire Reason to that as a workaround?
game changer!!! now i understand so many problems i encounter when posting beats to social media and why they sound so different!!
These are the best mixing videos I’ve ever seen. Please do more topics!
Thanks! :) What topics would you like us to cover? /Stefan
Wow! Ryan, you're good!! Super nice way of showing something that most people think is boring and non relevant. You make this really interesting! Thanks!
u are definitely a song saver!!!! i couldnt figure it out for years and years. 90% of my songs are crystal clear somehow. But for the 10% that arent, PROBLEM SOLVED!!!!! THANKS FOR SHARING!!!!
And where exactly does the Haas effect (duplicating a mono track, panning them hard left and right, slightly delaying one) fall into this? It sounds awful in mono but is referenced constantly in electronic music. Do you essentially have to give it up if you want to take this approach?
MockRock - thank you for this question and for watching. This is the reason i personally hate the current trend of people advocating Haas Effect. Does it work? Absolutely! Does it introduce horrible phase issues in mono? Absolutely! Haas effect isn't a magical trick that once you know it all your mixes are wide with no consequence. To do it well you need to be mindful of mono compatibility from the start. It will change the amount of delay you add to one channel, for one thing. But also if you're thinking about mono, you can make some smart choices in how you set it up - like a frequency band split that doesn't Haas effect the low end since that won't benefit from directional perception anyway. I also sometimes set up an oscillating delay that isn't a fixed value but drifting between two Hass-appropriate ranges. You can also do the delay but have different sounds in each channel - even just modified versions of the same preset to alter the waveforms slightly. People give Haas tutorials like there's 3 steps and it's magic. It's not. It's tricky to do right. Someone should make a tutorial about that! Oh wait... maybe that's me... maybe I should make one. :) /ryan
I think its a pretty common myth that we don't perceive lowend in a directional way.... maybe sub60-50hz but anything above that absolutely. EDM is a prime example of a genre that is utilizing the full stereo spectrum. Also the argument is subs being in mono ofc. Most high end sub will be low passed before the 3rd octave so this is a pretty bad point. we can easily do awesome stuff with "bass" in stereo as long as it isn't in the sub range.
Hey, appreciate the response, thanks!
It's not a myth. It's physics, and physics isn't a crossover point but a sliding scale so you're half-right. It's not that at 200Hz we can't perceive directionality and then at 201Hz we can. It's that as the frequency goes up our ability to perceive directionality goes up also. We can do awesome stuff in the lower octaves, sure... but as it relates to Haas effect phase problems, it's the #1 first thing we can jettison and still get the effect. /ryan
Literally one of the best tutorials/videos ever. Thank you!
This is prob one of the best videos on CZcams... Hands down..
Wow, best mixing in mono tutorial on CZcams. Thank you CZcams for suggesting this video.
Subscribe! We post more tutorials all the time. In fact I'm finalizing a new one right now that will be out tomorrow. Thanks for watching! /ryan
Been doing this since I read the book "Mixing with your mind" many years ago, but I still love these videos even when I already use the techniques.
It's like a quick refresher course, as often we forget small details after a while.
Can't wait to see what will be next!
Honestly though, I have learned so much from watching your tutorials that it's going to make a HUGE difference in the quality of my recordings. So well done.
This is the best video I ever saw on mono mixing!
Without a doubt Ryan has made sense out of the senseless for wanna be sound engineers. When I grow up I want to be just like Ryan. Many thanks!
Fantastic video! Such a detailed tutorial and I'm really glad you went into the whole phase issue as well. Was just wondering the other day about how to switch to mono in Reason and now I have my answer - will definitely be using this on future mixies! Thanks :)
Excellent video!
Nearly every track I've ever been paid to mix has had some kind of phase issue in mono - stereo pianos, strings from Kontakt, dual-tracked guitars, dual tracked horns, e.t.c. Inverting the phase of the left or right channel usually sorts it out.
Lovely video series, for the eyes, for the heart and for the ears! (great song!)
Best phase description I've seen! Thanks for the great videos.
If anybody is still having problems getting piano presence in their mono mix, especially with radical piano, remember that you can (re)set the mic position in the device. This makes a huge difference!
I set the mic to vintage mono (with parallell channel panned left/right for the stereo mix) and my problem was finally solved!!
Wow the guys n girls at Props really are creative geniuses. I've used all the major daws out there and let me just say that reason, really is something special. And It absolutely makes all the production difference when you musically approach REASON as what it truly is, a MODULAR daw.
Alright, I wish I knew this channel existed a long time ago but I just found you now and now I’m never letting go!
i would pay for this lecture. it's just perfect.
This is the simply greatest video on mono-stereo compatibility I have ever seen.
The mono-v-stereo demo at 4:30 was quite enlightening for me! Especially as I found I had to look at the side that I wanted to "isolate".
Thanks for the usually awesome tip clip Ryan! I watched you live on Twitch mixing this song. Also big thanks for providing a link to Matt's full song ;)
I really appreciate this demo, Idk how many times I've heard "check your mix in mono," and with no real demonstrations of some of the problems you can be fixing - seems you really gave us a lot to look out for, and simple ways to look at the problem to understand how it works.. another great production video, Ryan!
CHEERS and Happy New Years!
The funny part of this is we have gotten so far from basics this video is simply genuis! Mixing in mono is a basic! We all have just gotten better by taking this info!
Oh. My. Gosh.
I've had a lot of other producers to tell me to mix my songs in mono, especially because I like to put Haas Effect on EVERYTHING. Now that I've seen this video, I realize why mixing in mono is so important.
Thanks, Propellerhead!
This was one of the best music production tutorials I've ever seen. So clear, and presented in a basic way for idiots like me.
Thank you sensei
I don't have any words to describe how amazing these videos are.
This is fantastic - thank you so much - the effort you make to prove your points is stellar - wow, hearing things from both ears demo is amazing.
This was an amazing video, thank you so much! These videos add so much value to Reason (and even for non Reason users).. every time I watch one of these I feel like like I've learned something new. Even before I bought Reason I was watching these videos and found them super informative. Now that I have Reason, I appreciate these videos even more. Ryan, your presentation style is awesome and the "picks for quick mix fix tricks" title still cracks me up every time. Keep up the good work :)
Great display of a one of the best mixing tip.
Really felt like a moment of epiphany.
Thanks man
I can't wait to catch mono! Wait...
I just wanted to drop a thank you. I believe this is one of the best advices I've been given so far in my "trying to mix" adventure !
The example with the 2 voices was really good ! Plus, with some "more complex" mixes, I always had one of the guitarists saying "nanana I can't hear what I play"... I switched to mono, and yup, couldn't hear him...
Thanks again ! :3
Fantastic tutorial. Although I did find it hard to pay attention at times because the song is so beautiful haha. For anyone wondering how to do this in a DAW like FL studio, simply turn the 'stereo separation' knob on the master mixer insert all the way right. I believe you can also attach this to a keyboard shortcut somehow but I'm not sure how.
Roots. This was such a helpful reminder of the importance of MONO and such a well put together educational piece.
i waiting for this for a while now ... heard of this from ableton n pro tools teachers but couldnt figure the mono mix quite right ... this was perfect !!!
Ryan, this is another excellent lesson! Thank you so much for these useful tips, tricks and knowledge dumps -- they really help!
And this is the problem i always had when i listen to the song on my phone. Answers to all my questions. Thank u so much ryan.
Thanks Ryan for yet another excellent presentation. You certainly know and understand audio and how to teach it's concepts. The section on "phase" was gold. A++
This tutorial is amazing. Really helped me understand things I've been struggling with.
You. Have. Saved. My. Music. Best tutorial I've ever seen. I mixed a couple quick raps (in mono) I did to put on Instagram and they sounded good. I thought I had it down so I started mixing in stereo and shit just sounds bad every time. This has convinced me that mono is truly the way to go.
Best quotes, ever! but seriously, this was an amazing and insightful video to watch. I love learning new things about production, mixing and mastering and you are by far the best source of well versed videos.
completely awesome video. I think I'll watch it again
Ryan, an awesome job! The time that Propellerhead takes to produce this content is exactly the reason (ha!) that I continue to love using your software. Try to find the same information about nearly any other DAW, and it's just not there. These videos are a great resource to students, teachers, hobbyists, and professionals. Please keep making these videos!
Can't believe this is free content. Incredible!
I like how your jokes are real tips that i actually need to pay attention to. Comedic relief wasn't good enough it needed to be PERTINENT comedic relief.
concise, but incredible and informative video on mono. thank you
Another really good video from you, mate. Your graphics are excellent and really serve to supplement the quality info you provide here. Thanks for the great work and please, keep it up.
Wow, thanks for all these great and helpful videos. This is one of my favourites, to be honest. It's nice to see, how simple methods like levelling, inverting phase, choosing the right instruments and letting the musical arrangement "breathe" a bit, can have such big effects on perceived audio quality. Please keep on the good work! Best regards from Germany.
Wow these videos are exceptionally amazing
beautiful tutorial and terrific song!
I got to the end of the video wanting to listen to that music. Doing it right now
Thanks Ryan for another super tutorial, especially bringing mono more into focus - and I like the wideness of the track
this is a great video! please for the lawd all mighty please keep making videos like this!