Topic: Feature Request – stereo to mono question…

Feature Request – stereo to mono question…

This topic contains 10 replies, has 10 voices, and was last updated by mdsaudio 13 years ago.

Viewing 11 posts - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)

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2011/04/06 at 6:01 pm #22716

Clintage
Participant

So I have an interesting question posed by one of my clients. Perhaps there is already a way to do this. If so, it’s not apparent to me. I would love to see this implemented.

Let’s say I have a stereo signal coming into inputs that are switched to Stereo. For example, 63/64. And let’s say I have a guitar preamp’s stereo left and right coming into those channels. The channel strip I have assigned is obviously a stereo channel. Now during the first song, the cable coming from the right output on the guitar pedals starts cracklin’ and popping. I’ve got to KILL that input! No problem – I just pan that stereo channel to the left, correct? NOPE! I have a stereo PA, so if I pan to the left, I only hear it in the left speaker. What I essentially need to do (quickly) is switch that left input so that it is being fed to both sides of the stereo channel, essentially switching it to mono without having to change the inputs to mono.

I can’t change the input stereo/mono configuration because it takes time for the iLive system to change and audio drops out. This situation would apply also to CDs that are split track (instrumentation on the left channel, vocals on the right). I want to kill the vocals, but I have no way of moving the instruments to center so that it’s coming out of both left and right speakers.

Is there a way I can kill one side of the stereo channel and change it so that the desired side routes to both LEFT and RIGHT of the channel? The only way I can think to do this currently is to keep those inputs mono and assign it 2 channel strips. I don’t want to do that and lose 2 channel strips for every source that I need to run stereo.

This would be a VERY helpful feature to add to a firmware update. All we would need would be a button or two in the channel select view on the screen to “switch to mono” and another button to select which side you want to be the signal “Left” or “Right”. You would receive mass thanks at least from the house of worship users.

Unless there’s another way to do this, please add this feature!! Thanks!!

2011/04/06 at 6:16 pm #27892

Joe90
Participant

Could you pan the stereo channel to the ‘good’ side as you said then route this to a mono group (panned centered) –> LR and once done de-assign the stereo channel from the main LR. No reconfiguring of MixRack hence no loss of audio.

But the extra buttons you suggested would be nice…

Gary.

iDR-32
Motion Computing LE1700
iPad – sometime soon

2011/04/06 at 9:33 pm #27893

sraymond
Participant

Clint,

You could Gang mono channels (fader attribute) and bury one of the channels (L or R) on a different layer. Leave the routing and pans attribute out of the gang. You’ll know which side is bad right away being your in stereo. Hit mix on the mains and toggle the bad channel off in the routing (jump to the layer of the buried channel first if that’s the culprit) and then pan the other channel to center.

This all depends on if you have enough channel strips to bury some channels in a layer and whether you are using the ganging function already and how many you have available as well as how many stereo channels your using.

Just an idea… and BTW if you have this trouble a lot tell those cheap guitar players to buy some new cables. [] [}]

Scott

iDR 32
iDR D-Out
MMO
Lenova T61, M90, iPad soon I hope.

2011/04/06 at 9:36 pm #27894

kentlowt
Participant

For this reason I would gang rather than create a stereo channel for guitar. You dont have to put both channels on the top you could bury the second one in a layer somewhere or not even put it on the suface until you have an issue. At that point you just mute it, click on the preamp section of the channel and change to the second input or switch to the layer with the other fader.

112T/IDR48/IDR16

2011/04/06 at 11:57 pm #27895

rreuscher
Participant

Hi, the way Scott mentioned, is the way I use it right now, and it works perfectly for me. I gang the mono channels and put only one fader in my top layer. In another layer i put both channels. In case of truoble i switch to that layer and do whatever i want to do with it.
I think i even read in some A&H papers, that you should only create stereo inputs, for those were you are absolutly sure you will actually have a stereo signal. eg. An ipod for background music. In othrr cases you are the most flexible with to ganged mono inputs.

Rene

Nothing is completly true, and even that’s not true.

2011/04/07 at 2:14 am #27896

Stix
Participant

On a stereo channel you also have no way to control the width – so if you want maximum flexibility then just get used to using 2 mono channels as described above or at least have mono subgroup/s on standby. The only thing I use stereo channels for are digital sources such as SPDIF (Music playback or FX returns)and even then only if I know what the source material is! I dont trust stereo backing tracks in a stereo channel that I haven’t been able to check in advance. They can often have hard panned instruments plus channel distortion,frequency or level discrepencies that an ilive stereo channel can’t deal with easily.

Cheers

Richard Howey
Audio Dynamite Ltd
IDR48/IDR16/T112/R72

2011/04/08 at 10:58 am #27906

abstractnoise
Participant

I use stereo inputs mostly for the things that I know aren’t going to bite me. Things like fixed (built-in) piano mics, cross-paired mics, ambience mics, playback, synths, and SPDIF feeds.

If I feel there needs to be more caution because of feeds being knocked or going crackly then I’ll happily just leave channels in mono and either gang faders, use a DCA, or just eat up another channel strip than I’d otherwise like.

That said: I agree the extra stereo processing would be nice, especially for width control and channel routing/switching like L>L&R, R>L&R and LR>RL, as found on some Soundcraft K-series desks I encountered early in my gigging time. Gets more complicated still when I think about how an incoming stereo track might want to be presented to LCR busses – but then I guess that’s partly what the new speaker processing plugin was designed for.

Work web: https://www.allsouls.org
Home web: https://abstractnoise.co.uk

2011/04/09 at 5:27 pm #27922

Clintage
Participant

Those are good suggestions. Thanks. I’m still trying to get away from using up the extra channel strips, so the added feature would be nice. Plus, it would get to complicated to teach every volunteer that if something happens to one of the channels, go to find the other channel or even assign it to a strip, and then mute it.

Thanks everybody! A&H… possible to get this feature on a future firmware upgrade?

2011/04/10 at 1:21 am #27932

millst
Participant

I use ganging to achieve exactly what you want.
Gang the channels together but only put one of them on your layer.
If something goes wrong glitzy ungang, mute the faulty channel and pan the good channel to center. I never use the stereo input settings for stereo sources as it reconfigures your mixer and limits your flexibility once your in show mode.

Try ganging, I personally don’t think the requested feature is needed.

2011/04/10 at 4:02 am #27936

Biggsounds
Participant

I use ganging also for the same reasons stated above, but I do wish there were more ‘slots’ available – after ganging FOH (for EQs etc in simple setups) & the CD player I only have half a dozen slots left – doesn’t take much to fill that!

iDR32 mixrack
MixRack for iPad & Tweak for iPhone apps
Asus N61 Laptop (x2 wireless)
Sennheiser IEM (for PFL)
Dante card (soon!)

2011/04/10 at 1:32 pm #27941

mdsaudio
Participant

Ganging and burying in a layer will work, but it is not an elegant solution.
In a corporate event I can have many, many stereo sources and it is not practical to tie up two strips for each one. The cues for these shows can come thick and fast, video rolls, walk up stings, sound effects etc. Some presenters will hand you their media as they are walking on to the stage so there is no time to check it first.
A simple “sum to mono” button in the preamp screen of the stereo channels would be fantastic, as it would be the fastest way to fix a problem!
Darren
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