I have two Instrument tracks, 1 has an instant of Rolands SH-101 VSTi (a mono synth)
and the other has an instant of Cherry Audios DCO-101.
Both are playing bass parts but EQ’d so they become one.
The issue is Cubase will not allow me to have a MONO Instrument, only stereo and I do not want stereo bass. A DAW that wont allow you to have a MONO Instrment track, I can’t believe it, even Pro Tools allows you to do that.
I do have them going to a MONO Aux but thats not what I need.
I also want to use Waves InPhase on the aux track to phase align the bases but it wont allow two stereo tracks on an Aux buss (that I can find).
Google’s frequently useless AI search came up with…
Method 1: Split Multi-Channel to Mono
Select the Track: In the Project window, select the stereo instrument track you want to convert.
Choose the Option: Go to Project > Convert Tracks > Multi-Channel to Mono.
Make Changes and Confirm: In the “Split Multi-Channel to Mono” dialog, make any necessary adjustments and click OK.
Tried that and does not work plus I do not want to convert a stereo instruyment track to mono, I want to insert a mono instrument track.
Can someone kindly tell me that I am not going mad and there is a way to have a mono instrument track?
Nope, you cant make a vst instrument track into a single channel. If you don’t want to render to audio you can however directly route the VST instrument to a mono group channel. Ideally you should make sure your vst is outputting a good mono signal or use an insert plugin to discard one channel/pan to centre before routing to the mono group.
Just to add:
It is the instrument that tells Cubase whether it has mono or stereo outputs. Apparently the VSTis you use provide only stereo outputs.
You can switch the panner of the channel to “stereo combined” (Cubase Pro only) and set both left and right to the center, thus making the signal mono.
I knew you could not do it in earlier versions of Cubase but I had hoped that you could in Cubase 14 but thats a bit of a huge mistake by Steinberg.
Sending a stereo track to a Mono buss means the signal is summed and therefore not true Mono.
Other DAW’s can do it so yet again Cubase is lagging behind.
It is beyond belief that a modern DAW requires that a mono signal is outputted as stereo, then sent to a mono buss (where it is summed) only for it to be turned back to stereo when the track is mixed and/or mastered.
Alternatively, you can disable any stereo effects that may be active inside the plugin, or use a free plugin such as bx_solo.
I believe that Steinberg did not find it necessary to port the mono ↔ stereo toggle button feature to instrument tracks, since most VSTi will output stereo audio. If your instrument is truly mono with no effects that would make it stereo then it will output mono audio, although the track will remain stereo.
Interesting, I will check the VSTi’s user manuals but I will say, in Pro Tools as an example, you can chose to have a mono or stereo instrument track before you the synth.
Then you might be better off using Pro Tools.
The instrument is free to chose whether it wants to transmit its signal on a stereo channel or a mono channel. In Cubase you can either use the panner or a plugin like StereoEnhancer to make the signal lose any width it might posses.
Having checked the SH-101 user manual, there is no mention of stereo or mono outputs in regard to using it in a DAW but a google search provides " The Roland Cloud SH-101 software synthesizer offers mono outputs.
Ah yes, I know an instrument can choose to transmit its output to a mono or stereo channel depending on what type of channel a user selects but that does not negate the fact that its a glaring ommission from Cubase.
Take a VSTi bass guitar emulation, that should be on a mono channel, so should indivigual drum parts regardless of whether they are recorded in via mics played by a real drummer or a VST instrument.
You do not record a real bass player or drummer using stereo mics and then sum them down to mono - thats franky ridiculous.
Even if you have two bass souces from a performance, for example a DI and a direct, you record and mix those in mono.
My understanding (ha ha!) is that the audio on a stereo track is actually mono, unless the input is stereo, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to pan it.
I think that we are talking about 2 channels versus 1 channel, not stereo and mono. Like a stereo radiogram (google it!) playing a mono records.
Cubase offers both, both utilising the stereo panners, as @Johnny_Moneto has already mentioned.
No such thing as true mono, its either mono or more channels i.e…stereo etc. Your concern about mixing a stereo output signal from VST down to one mono channel is why i suggested discarding a channel of the stereo before routing. But it should not be a concern if there is no stereo FX and the VST out is dead centre.
