Mono vs Stereo "lead" sounds?

[Marius]

Hi everyone, I am very confused about whether to put my sounds in stereo or mono.
I get that if you want a sound to be easily localised in the stereo-field, that you would want the source in mono. Therefore I put most of my drums in mono, with a few exceptions here and there.
What about instruments?
I have heard that you would want most leads to be in mono, but that's not what I've seen when I've analyzed the stereo-image of some beats on youtube.

Example: I analyzed "Dark Guitar Hard Trap Rap Beat" B.Z Beats, and both the lead-guitar and the "backup" piano is crazy stereo.

What are you guys' thought about this?

 

[Fade]

Good question!

For me, I usually keep everything in mono but it depends. I'll use stereo if it's a sample that doesn't have a great sound to start with. This way at least it's a bit more lively and not so muffled.

For true stereo, I think the concept is that one side has to be slightly different than the other, but I'm assuming that means when you're recording a live instrument, like for example when you're miking an instrument.

One of the things I hear a lot is a lead will be stereo but the drums in mono. That's okay but again, it depends. Sometimes something in stereo is really overdone with effects so it only heightens the stereo sound. When that happens, then the beat sounds like a stereo instrument on top of dry mono drums, which doesn't sound great together.

I'm no expert in the stereo/mono debate, so I'd like to hear what others think of this question...

 

[Stef]

Drums, percussions and bass always go Mono for me, that's my general rule. When I'm making beats with a MIDI keyboard I usually keep leads, synths or textures in Stereo just to add that extra bit of space to the mix. If you are miking up a live instrument well then you have multiple choices on mic selection,placement and techniques and all of them will give you different results on the stereo image and on the sound of your instrument.

@Marius "I have heard that you would want most leads to be in mono, but that's not what I've seen when I've analyzed the stereo-image of some beats on youtube."

And I think this is exactly the answer to your question. There's no absolute truth, it's just about messing around with different techniques and choose the one that suits you better with that instrument in that particular situation.

@Fade "For true stereo, I think the concept is that one side has to be slightly different than the other, but I'm assuming that means when you're recording a live instrument, like for example when you're miking an instrument."

Interesting point, can you explain that because I've always used 2 mono tracks with same instrument and melody, hard panning channel 1 left and channel 2 right, so what you mean by slightly different? As in pan, volume, melodies?

 

[Fade]

Interesting point, can you explain that because I've always used 2 mono tracks with same instrument and melody, hard panning channel 1 left and channel 2 right, so what you mean by slightly different? As in pan, volume, melodies?

Yes, mono hard left/right is considered stereo (from my understanding) but I think the concept I mentioned (again, from what I've read) is that let's say you're miking an instrument - you have a mic on the left and right. This way you're capturing a "true" stereo field since you're recording both sides of the instrument. Something like that.

We need some super audio nerd in here to explain!

 

[Drago Zetić]

Panning hard left and right is often annoying, especially with loud sections. It used to be commonplace when stereo records first came out. In the end it's just a matter of preference - it can be good to slightly pan some instruments on one side and compensate on the other.

 

[2GooD Productions]

It really depends on the sound whether its better as mono or stereo, for example, some synths can be very rich and in stereo, in which case they should be stereo, and other sounds like vocals, drum hits, and basslines, should be in mono. The panning is also important, you want to play sounds using the left and right channels so they play off of each other. Kicks and snares and basslines are pretty much always centered. Hi hats slightly panned left, I pan my open hats to the right usually, or a shaker or something in that frequency range. If you dont pan effectively, it ends up sounding mono, even though its stereo, and it lacks depth.

 

[ApeMade]

Maybe this will help for a better understanding for this topic. A video from Propellerhead Reason, for those who seeks this answer, in a detailed explanation. This apply's to all music production no matter what daw you use. I sometimes apply stereo to my drums, bass, and all other instruments depending on the genre, feel you are composing.

 

[Marius]

Maybe this will help for a better understanding for this topic. A video from Propellerhead Reason, for those who seeks this answer, in a detailed explanation. This apply's to all music production no matter what daw you use. I sometimes apply stereo to my drums, bass, and all other instruments depending on the genre, feel you are composing.

Very helping. Thank you!