This small step in mixing will save you from a major mistake. How to turn mono sound into stereo
This article will talk about? We all know that a stereo signal can be conventionally represented as two audio tracks that sound in the left and right speakers. However, I would like to note that these tracks are not identical. Without delving into the synthesis of electronic timbres, I will say that if there were no difference in the sound of the left and right channels, then such a signal could not be considered a stereo signal. Stereo occurs due to small delays, as well as due to slight differences in the pitch of the timbres various instruments in a single track.
What is this for? Why turn a stereo file into mono? Indeed, in this case, the track may lose its spatial component and not only...
Currently, producers and sound engineers use this opportunity only to control the quality of the material. It's like working on mistakes. Previously, such conversions were necessary to check monocompatibility. After all, without this, the track would hardly have been included on the radio, since radio broadcasts were conducted in mono. Now such a procedure makes no sense.
Now, closer to the topic.
How to turn stereo into mono?
Let's consider two options:
- Using the program
- Using the program
Both of these audio editors have very enviable capabilities. However, there are many other programs that can turn stereo into mono.
Using Wavelab 6
1. Launch the program and click Ctrl+O or File – Open – Wave… In the window that opens, select the audio track to convert.
I opened a 320 kbps stereo MP3 file. It has two tracks (left and right channel).
2. Press the key combination Shift+S or File - Save as... A window opens to save the file. Select a location to save and press the option button.
The window opens Audio File Format. Here we select the mono format, sample rate and bitrate.
If you open a mono track in the editor, it will consist of only one track, as in the picture below.
Using Adobe Audition
The procedure for converting stereo to mono is identical to that described above.
1. Open File - Open or drag the stereo file into the program
2. Click F11 or Edit – Convert Sample Type. In the window that opens, select all the necessary parameters as indicated in the picture and click OK.
3. The file has been converted.
As you can see it's not that difficult turn stereo into mono. All you need to do is install a good audio editor and do a few simple steps.
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Hello dear readers. Today we will look at a question that is not the most common, but still important, especially for music lovers. So, how can you turn stereo sound into mono and vice versa from mono into stereo?
I recently encountered the same problem when I downloaded an album of 30 tracks. Then I uploaded them to my MP3 player and when I pressed the “Play” button, I was unpleasantly surprised. The audio was constantly “swinging” from the left earphone to the right. It was too annoying. I don’t know if it was during recording sound files an error occurred, or some other reason. In general, it doesn't matter anymore.
The first thing I decided was that I needed to find a program that could convert stereo to mono. But besides this, she still has to do this with all 30 tracks at once in order to save my precious time. And most importantly, it should be free.
While searching for this universal program I came across the editor very often audio tracks- Audacity. Of course, using Audacity you can turn stereo sound into mono, but to do this you will have to convert each track separately. That's why I immediately said no to Audacity.
And so, after 30 minutes of fruitless searching, I finally managed to find the desired program - MP3 Quality Modifier. It is freely available (can be downloaded for free) and works with audio files in batch mode. By the way, so that you don’t spend a long time looking for where you can download this program, I decided to post it to you. Download and use for your health.
Download the program for freeMP3 Quality Modifier
(downloads: 2867)
The first thing I liked about this program was the Russian interface. This is very convenient and significantly reduced the time for learning the functionality. It also does not require installation, that is, it is portable (launched via exe file and runs without problems on any computer). Because of this, I transferred it to and installed it on my work laptop in case I needed it.
Now let's move on directly to the principle of converting stereo sound to mono and vice versa (from mono to stereo).
To begin, unzip the downloaded archive to a suitable location on your hard drive and run the file MP3QualityModifier.exe
The program itself will open directly. Then you need to transfer the folder with MP3 files or individual tracks into it. This can be done using normal mouse dragging or using the " Adding files" And " Adding a folder».
Further in the section “ Mode"(located at the very bottom of the program) from the drop-down menu select " MonO" If you want to convert mono sound to stereo, then you need to select from the list accordingly “ Stereo».
Now, if necessary, change the speed (bitrate), sampling frequency and the path to the folder in which the converted audio files will be saved. I advise you to set the sound quality parameters to the same ones that were specified by default for the tracks.
It is also worth paying attention to the fact that, for example, the bitrate value on different tracks may be different, but you need to set one for all. IN in this case I advise you to put maximum value of all.
Upon completion of all settings, to begin the process of converting stereo sound to mono (or vice versa), press the " Educate».
A window with a timeline will appear. Wait for the conversion process to complete.
Then a new window will appear with the result. Click the button OK».
That's all. Enjoy the resulting tracks.
In this article I will talk about.
I want to warn you right away. It is impossible to adequately turn a full-fledged mono track (song) into a stereo track. This is fraught with the appearance of various phase distortions and undesirable effects, especially on low frequencies. Therefore, I will not consider this issue.
It’s another matter if any recording sounds only in one channel (right or left). I often came across such recordings on the Internet (audio podcasts, recordings of webinars, interviews). Listening to them with headphones, you see, is not very comfortable (the sound is only in one ear). Or if you are recording vocals or playing live instruments, then in this case it makes sense to convert the audio track from mono to stereo.
How to turn a single-channel recording into a two-channel one
If you have downloaded some single-channel audio recording (podcast, webinar recording, interview) and want it to sound in two channels, then by following a few simple steps you can achieve desired result. Any audio editor, for example, is perfect for these purposes.
1. Launch the program and open required file File/Open (Ctrl+O)
As you can see from the screenshot, audio is recorded only in the left channel.
2. Separate the right and left channels. To do this, go to the track menu and select the item Split stereo track
3. Copy audio from the left channel to the right. To do this, select the left channel with the mouse and press the key combination Ctrl+O. Next, select the right channel and paste the copied audio Ctrl+V.
4. Combine the two tracks into a two-channel recording. To do this, in the menu of the first channel, select the item Make stereo track.
This is what happened.
Now we see that audio is present in both the left and right channels.
5. Save the result in MP3 format. For this we choose File/Export, indicate the path where we want to save the file and its format.
How to make a stereo recording from mono
If you recorded a vocal part or part of an instrument (guitar, saxophone, etc.) in mono, but want to make it sound in stereo, then I recommend using the double track effect. Read about how to create this effect in the article. .
However this is not the only way achieve stereo sound. A similar effect can be achieved using plugins based on signal delay. This, and
We all understand that in order for our music to sound acceptable on different equipment, we need equipment that will be more or less honest with us. BUT! Even if you have the best studio monitors in your room and the room acoustics are great, you may still be forgetting about one important point… Does your music sound acceptable in mono? Are you sure that if you mix on stereo monitors or headphones that your mix will automatically sound great in mono? Why should I even worry about this, the whole world has been living in stereo mode for a long time... Ku-ku!?
Firstly, of course, millions of people still listen to music in mono, anywhere... They are simply forced by the will of fate). Many people have a portable radio or receiver, a miniature boombox or, in the end, one speaker at work. In cars, radio tape recorders often play exclusively mono, some establishments and even clubs present us with music in mono, and even the Internet, it would seem, the last place where I expect a setup in this regard, also often plays mono for us (audio or video players).
So, people will hear your music in mono sooner or later. And here you don’t know how your brainchild will sound, and I think you probably don’t care). If you don't mix or even check your mixes and mixing in mono, now is the time to START! And I’ll say with confidence, if you haven’t checked how your mix sounds in mono, then the worst option is really the worst, it can really sound, let’s say, "not good" This can easily be affected by your stereo base in the mix, (the overall picture of the panorama (pan) of all components (tracks) of your mix in) which may not even be spread out too widely, as well as phase damping, this is when, for example, two inverted phases (reverse each other) merge and the result is either a weaker signal or no signal at all. And if you’re really interested, then conduct an experiment with two sinusoids of the same frequency, set the phase start parameter for the first to 0 and for the second to 180 - and play them back together - dead silence. And the chances of such substitutions in your track may be thousands, or even more... Therefore, let's now move on to solving all these risks and problems, it's scary)
How can I check in this mode?FLStudio? It’s just something that hasn’t happened before... Well, in FL Studio, although there is no such direct line yet function button activating mono mode for a mixer track, but there are a lot of ways and a bunch of plugins to convert a stereo track to mono. So, here they are in front of you...
Turn the Stereo Separation knob all the way to the right (in my case on track 1, but if you want to hear the entire track in mono, then do it on the master track). This will combine the two separate channels Left and Right into one single mono channel and give you the whole truth about your track.
If it’s difficult for you to do the first point, and you still process the master track with the Maximus plugin, then it, as ordered, has the same Stereo Separation knob and it should also be turned all the way to the right.
And finally, there are hundreds of plugins, processing effects for working with your stereo base and more, which can dry the stereo base up to full mode mono, as presented on this wonderful and simple plugin BT Stereo Imager. This fader needs to be moved all the way to the left for mono mode, the reverse direction is an extension of your stereo base.
So there you have it, plenty of ways to test your mixes in FL Studio, in mono mode. And if it sounds really unacceptable, and I mean, some instruments, maybe even at least at some certain moments, are not audible or sound too muffled, or another option is that the whole mix sounds very blurred and unclear - this you need to fix it. There are several solutions here... First, you need to listen to the widest panorama of tracks and instruments in mono mode (I’ll trust your hearing here, if you don’t understand what I mean, then check each one) And find out which ones sound muffled, unclear and unacceptable - move those tracks by the Stereo Separation parameter at least 30-40% towards mono (i.e. you listened to this track at the 100% merged parameter - now do 30 or 40% merged this will give more cohesion to the stereo image of your track, and the same with the rest of the tracks that don't sound right.
And if the problem is not solved after all the operations performed, then now is the time for heavy artillery. Working with the phase of the tracks in your mix. In order to correct phase overlaps and substitutions, you need to try this operation with each track (but always one track at a time!)
Listen to all the tracks simultaneously in mono on the master while you try to activate this Reverse Polarity option with each track. This inverts the phase polarity of the selected track by 180 degrees. And there will be a moment when that destructively dull instrument or track will sound much better and more suitable.
Here is an armor-piercing set of solutions for your mixes and your mixing, so that your music really sounds great EVERYWHERE on any equipment and you are always calm about the result and can sleep soundly at night with a clear conscience!
And now the most important thing for the future... From now on, make it a habit to either mix in mono or check your mix in FL Studio in mono at the end of the mix session. This will insure you against very unpleasant consequences in advance. That's all, good luck and great success in your work!
Resolution is the number of bits used to represent sound. The file resolution can be increased or decreased. Increasing the resolution does not change the sound quality, but allows for post-processing with more high accuracy. However, reducing the resolution of the file results in an audible distortion in the sound called quantization error.
1. If you want to increase the resolution, open the file with a small(8-bit) resolution. If you want to reduce the resolution, open a file with a higher (16-bit) resolution.
2. From the Processing menu, select Resolution Converter. The Resolution Converter dialog box appears.
3. In the dropdown listResolution select the desired value.
4. If desired, select necessary settings in the dropdown list Dithering.
The Dither value determines the random nature of the dither (generated noise) used to mask the quantization distortion that appears when the file resolution is reduced.
5. Select a type if desired Noise processing.
The Noise Process value determines the acoustic positioning of the quantization noise. With its help, you can shift noise to those ranges that are less perceived by the human ear. It lowers the audible noise floor and makes the audio file appear as if it has been denoised.
Note: When increasing the resolution of the file, the Dither and Noise Processing values should be set to None and Off, respectively.
6. Click OK.
Mono/stereo channel conversion
You can convert files from mono to stereo and from stereo to mono.
Mono to Stereo Conversion
1. Open the Voiceover.pca file. This file is located in the same folder as the program itself.
2. Channels and in context menu select Stereo. The Mono to Stereo dialog box appears.
3. Select radio button Two channels and click OK. Mono data is split into two channels.
Convert stereo to mono
1. Open the Saxriff.pca file. This file is located in the same folder as the program itself.
2. Click right click mice in the field Channels and select Mono from the context menu. The Stereo to Mono dialog box appears.
3. Select radio button Mixed and click OK. The left and right channels will be combined into one mono channel.
