Mixing in Mono - Get better mixes.

If you don’t know, I will tell you that there are many benefits to mixing in mono. If you can get a mix to sound great in mono, it is definitely going to sound great in stereo. I find that sometimes I actually like to listen to my mix in mono when it’s done than in stereo, because I just like it. Nothing more, and it's not that the stereo version is bad.

It’s a thing of preference, but it is definitely a style that will help your mix stand out from the crowd in a good way. So here are the benefits..

1. Balance

When mixing in mono you are forced to make sure that the elements that needs to be dominant are popping out and are well defined. If you can get your vocals, kick, bass, guitars in their right place, making sure you can hear them and they aren’t fighting for space you are on onto a good start. If it sits well in mono it will translate well in the stereo field.

Balancing in mono gives you a true sense of how everything sits in the mix. You cannot go wrong if you do this. And also try to occasionally listen in low volume when balancing your mix and also during mixing.

2.Clarity ( Eliminate Masking)

These is when it becomes fun. With every instruments now centered, without space or depth (at least that you can hear) you want to make sure that they are not clashing with each other, and you can achieve this clarity with proper eqing.

With proper eq’ing, which is adding or subtracting, you are able to shape the sound of each elements in the mix without compromising their fundamental purpose in the track.

What I mean by that is that you can still have a heavy guitar sound even with the bass and kick drum dominating the low end area.

Remember that most people won’t be listening to your song in a studio environment with left and right speakers, most of the time, it will be a mono system so you want to make sure that they can hear or at least perceive all the elements in the mix.

3. Eliminate Phase

When you mix in mono, you are able to easily hear phasing issues going on. Things might start sounding thin, you can’t get that punch from the kick drum or it could be that the top end frequencies are cancelling with each other.

Better still, if you can’t hear it, just like some of us can’t. I sometimes use the waves PAZ analyzer plugin to get a visual look of how much phase is introduced in the mix and to fix it I will solo or mute some instruments to see where the phase is coming from and then I can choose to invert the polarity or use a eq to fix the problem.

These are just some ways to fix. So back to mixing in mono.

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How to create depth or space in a mono with effects

It is easy, occasionally you will have to check your mix in stereo, especially when you are adding reverbs or delays or a stereo widener. You want to make sure its translating well in the stereo field. I normally add these effects first in mono, adjust it to taste and try not to make them so loud, because if its loud in mono it’s going to be super loud in stereo. And you must also watch out for phasing issues when you begin to add these effects.

So make your adjustments in mono and switch to stereo to listen and make further adjustments and then back to mono to continue mixing.

How to convert your mix to mono

I simply use a plugin called panipulator, by the way its a free plugin by Box Digital Labs and you can

check it out and it download it here. Placed the plugin on your master bus ( if you are using

waves PAZ analyzer, make sure you place this before panipulator) and flip the

mono button and Whala your mix is now in mono. Another way to do this that I

know will be to pan your left and right slider on your master buss to the center.

Panning in Mono

It’s simple, pan your instruments like you would normally do and mix them while you are in mono, even if they are panned Hard left or right or 75 percent L or R. These will help you get a balanced and defined mix as I stated above.

How Long Should You Mix in Mono

I would say I normally mix in mono for about 80% of the time and I finish the rest of the mix in stereo doing automation or just adding what I feel is needed to the mix. I should say that I always embrace myself each time I am about to check my mix in stereo because I know it will sound phenomenal and it always sounds like so.

Let me know your thoughts Are you currently mixing in mono and how as it help you improve your mix?

#mixinginmono #benefitsofmixinginmono