Stereo to Mono?

Cubase
1

Hi everyone
I have been reading the manual,but i can,t seem to find a simple way to take a bounced Stereo Audio track and simply test if it sounds better as a mono file or a stereo,say a Hi-Hat stem.
I,m only recording vst to audio .I have been watching some dvd tutorialsd on Logic where the guy just presses a button to go from Stereo to Mono.It doesn,t seem nearly so easy in Cubase.Am i missing something ?

Thanks
violetice.

2

Aloha v,

One way would be to:

1-Put the ‘StereoEnhancer’ plug-in on a VST stereo track (or the stereo output).
2-Open the plug and there you will find a lil ‘Mono’ button on the lower left.


HTH
(hope this helps)
{‘-’}

1 Like
3

Yeah,i could try that.Isn,t there an official switch from Stereo to Mono thing somewhere tho?

4

Yes, there is a quite nice one: The control room. Look under (coming from german version and just guessing names!)
Devices-> VST Connections-> Studio

the first entry should be “Monitor”- Just enter your normal studio outs there. Under Devices the first entry is “control room mixer”. Click on it. It´s defined as default to shortcut “F4”. From now on you can control listening volume from there without effecting real output/mixdown volume and there is also a Stereo/mono switch. There are probably a lot of further possibilities which I just did not yet explore…:wink:

5

I don,t need to use the Control Room as i use only Midi stuff ,mostly just vst.I see that i can choose a Mono track when i add a track to my project.I guess i,ll do that.

Thanks.

6

So does your sequence sound like " beep beep beeeeeeeep" Hmmmm, no, you are actually playing samples or using a synth which is audio.

The control room feature set will actually give you the ability to collapse the mix to mono. Or as stated, insert the stereo plug and press the mono button.

Wha Lah! Mono aye Mono!

7

Aloha v,
In your first post you said:

But your last post said:

I see that i can choose a Mono track when i add a track to my project.
I guess i,ll do that

AFAIK you will not be able to import your bounced stereo track
onto a mono track.

To ‘hear’ a stereo track in mono using Cubase, you will have to use one of the two methods
mentioned above.

HTH
{‘-’}

8

Another method -
Right click on the little blue dot on the panner
Choose “stereo dual panner” (this is Pro Tools style)
Move both sliders to “C” in the middle

This is different from the default Cubase panner in that it independently moves either channel through the stereo field. The default Cubase panner lowers and raises the volume of each discreet channel. In other words, if you pan far left, it completely attenuates the right channel, and vice versa.

By switching to “stereo dual panner” you can move (sum) both channels dead center. Mono.

This is an important mixing technique that is hidden to many in Cubase. More than just making stereo tracks mono, you can completely control or reduce the width of the stereo field and not lose anything from either side.

fizbin

2 Likes
9

Nice tip, thanks fizbin

10

Note how all three panning options work at the same time. Switching to another one doesn’t undo or replace the settings of one of the other 2.

For example, you can pan hard left on the default panner, attenuating the right channel, then go into the stereo dual panner and move the left one over to the right. The original right signal will still be attenuated.

The three of them give you complete control over the mixing and panning of the two channels.

11

wow interesting, thanx for the tip…

12

+1
{‘-’}

13

the volume increases using the dual panner which is a bit of a pain .i find the spatial stereo to mono plug the easiest method , here is a tool which lets you switch to mono but is realy suited for the master output ,it also comes in handy for mixing and mastering .K-Meter by mzuther - Analyser / Monitor Plugin VST VST3 LV2

14

Thanks for the Pan tip,i,ll try that.I have used other plugs that switch from stereo to Mono too.Will compare the Stereo Space plug to panning,see how that goes.

15

Here is another way, the Cubase Mix6to2 plug in, I have this as the 2nd to last insert on my Master Track, bypassed for stereo, “on” for mono:

16

There is also a free plug in over at Brainworx.

17

and you can use the onboard plugin called “Stereo Spreader”, there´s a mono button,
with bypass you can easily control mono<>stereo:

(Delay, Color= off!)

18

Sorry to bring up an old post, not sure if it has been resolved.

But I was reminded how to process Stereo to Mono by the youtube vid below.

Hope it helps…

19

There should be a stereo to mono knob on the stereo out buss of the mixer.
It would be a basic thing to have when testing your mixes for monocompatibility and fase issues

1 Like