My project is mixed for stereo, but it plays in mono. My other projects are all playing fine in stereo, so it must be something I did in the project itself.
is there any chance you are using the Control Room functionality? If yes, one of the settings in there switches between mono and stereo playback of the master mix.
I’m working in Cubase Artist 11, so I don’t think so. (Control Room is Cubase Pro, isn’t it?).
yes, I think you’re right - control room is only in Pro.
So that’s clearly not the problem in your scenario.
Can you describe a little more about your project - for example are you using group tracks at all?
Is your mix output a stereo or a mono channel?
If it is a stereo channel, do you have any insert plugins in the main mix channel?
I’m using 3 group tracks: drums, backing vocals, and “all the rest”. The reason for the third one is so I can program volume adjustments for variations in the song. The output main channel is stereo. I can see the two meter bars behaving independently. The drum buss is also showing stereo meters. But I’m not hearing the stereo. When I manually shift the pan, say on the snare, I can hear a tonal variance, but no shift left or right. When I shift one of the instruments, say the solo guitar, I can hear a clear shift, so the problem seems to be rooted in the drums. Comparing this project to my other projects, and listening to just the drum buss in each case, there is a clear difference, with the others much more “stereo” in character. I have two inserts on the main output channel: stereo enhancer (not set to mono), and a compressor. When I set the enhancer to mono, the project as a whole shifts audibly, but I think it is just spreading the mono, rather than enhancing stereo variations. Hoping not to have to start over!
does it make any difference if you bypass the plugins on the master bus?
Otherwise - is there anything in your Cubase audio connections or hardware chain that is combining the signals (or just using one channel for both speakers) after the master Channel?
Is indeed a strange one…
Disable all inserts on the master bus…
Check your studio connections (are they correct) could you post a screenshot?
Also it’s not something within your audio cards software?
For example I use rme and have a shortcut for mono/stereo in totalmix
Thanks for the responses. I’ve tried all of those, but nothing changes. I don’t think it’s audio cards, because other projects sound fine, and studio connections are the same as in other projects as well. I’m going to try to rebuild the drum tracks in a new project and see if they encounter the same problem.