Is there a way to freeze a mono audio track and keep it mono, as opposed to splitting out to stereo? It’s troublesome visually (“Wait … that track’s actually MONO, right?!”), and it also impinges on polyphony, not to mention cpu when processing, using plug-ins etc. This seems so simple, I feel like I must have missed something obvious.
Thanks guys
Since you are freezing a track I might presume you are a using IAA effects? I’ve read that all IAA fx are stereo, so bouncing a results in the stereo output of the fx app. So I think the result you are getting is based more on IAA more so than Cubasis, and you would get the same result in any iOS DAW.
Thanks for the suggestion wigglelights, but no – no IAA. No processing of any kind in fact (I just went and double-checked!).
Just for clarity, what I’m talking about here is the mono file being converted to a stereo file with two identical waveforms split left and right, albeit with lower amplitude; so it sounds exactly like the mono track. Problem is, I’m chewing up twice the polyphony every time I do this. There are other issues as well (mentioned in my original post).
Am I the only one having this problem?
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Correct me if I’m wrong, but freezing is dependent on the track’s output routing setting (see Routing in Inspector) which is dependent on connected hardware. If one has no audio hardware (interface for example) connected, then only 1/2 stereo pair output or “Off” is available. Therefore, with default 1/2 stereo output (default with no hardware connected) mono tracks are froze as splits and “Off” would freeze to a null (empty) track. See “audio routing” in the online user guide for more clarity as needed. Regards.
Thanks Savage
I hadn’t made the connection regarding routing settings, but you’re absolutely correct. I suppose this clarifies for me the fact that freezing to a true mono file is impossible in Cubasis (is there an end-around I’m missing here?). It’s frustrating that I can’t do this before handing the files off to a mix engineer, as he’ll have to do this himself and will charge me for the time.
I guess I could add this the the feature request list, but I suspect it would remain at or near the bottom.
Honestly, dual mono is quite common and bouncing to summed mono in a desktop DAW takes mere seconds, nothing that should incur extra expense. That said, I’m not with my iPad at the moment but try mixdown the tracks with the separate files option (Media, Create Mixdown, create separate files option) and check the mono stem on your desktop. I’m guessing it’ll still be dual mono due to pairs routing output of Cubasis but it’s worth a look. If you’re in a near term pickle then simply import and bounce the dual mono track(s) to summed mono in desktop DAW of choice, if only for aesthetics. I understand your frustration but dealing with dual mono really should be absolutely no time issue for your engineer. Please reply with your findings when you can. Regards.
I have tried mixing down w/the separate files option and it creates dual mono as well, but unlike freezing it starts all files at time zero, which is something I was happy to discover. As far as the laptop option, I’m not using one, so I can’t speak to that; I’m just loading my files onto a flash drive and handing them off. I suppose you’re right about the time/expense thing, given the prevalence of analyzers like Soundizers and others (tools I learned about just recently). I was expecting to have to rename hundreds of files–spread over many projects–to let the engineer know which tracks to bounce, but now I’m thinking that assumption was unfounded (thankfully!). Thanks again for your helpful input.