Performing live mono vs stereo

[kanuck]

I did a search but didn't get an answer I was happy with.

I'm more of an ambient artist so I love ping pong delays and huge reverb pads and such. This stuff sounds incredible as a stereo mix but what I'm hearing is that in a live situation having a stereo mix is terrible (due to acoustics/most live pa systems are mono anyways). so i tried using a utility plugin and made my master track into a mono track. It sounded like crap since all the sides were gone now. What and how do you guys go about this? Should I just make my mixes listenable as a mono mix while building my live set? Is the "mono only pa systems" a thing of the past? Is the summing from stereo to mono better/different on a real mixing board (doubt it but just throwing it out there). I'm just looking for suggestions and tips. thanks.

[mihai]

get a good mix, make sure it translates well into mono. done.

[oblique strategies]

Is the "mono only pa systems" a thing of the past?.

Very curious about this as well.

[oddstep]

I've played on mono PAs, it should be a thing of the past, it isn't. Really it is no different to playing on badly set up PAs with rubbish desks or cheapo cabs/amps. that's live music innit. either you get diva about it and refuse to play on PAs that don't meet your standards or you make the most of the materials at hand and try to get the best sound you can. A couple of times I have to strip a set right down to kicks, craks and one synth line just to get enough force out of a small pa with massive mid range blare.

a bit of a wind up if you've got frozen mixes though.

[savyurrecords]

Couldn't have said it better myself oddstep.

If you play live and have to rely on other sound systems you need to be prepared to play in mono. A good song is a good song mono, stereo, or surround. It will sometimes take more than simply strapping a utility plug on the master. Mono reverbs can work sometimes better in a mix than stereo ones.

[kristoffer1989]

wtf? where are all these mono pas?

[simonlb]

I often wonder that too. This whole thing about "most PA systems/most club system are mono" that I've been hearing ever since I got into DJing and production seems to be either very out of date or completely apocryphal. I'm not saying that all venues and clubs' systems have amazing stereo characteristics but I wonder where all these mono-wired systems are.

[savyurrecords]

Sure a club is a different story. But plenty of bars have a mono setup. Even if it is stereo what good does it really do the entire audience? Really it is only good for the people in the middle.

None of us said that most systems were mono, we are just saying that it happens sometimes. It is an issue of cost. Some small bars would rather have a monitor system than a stereo Front of House, it will half the cost of your amps pretty fast. All we are saying is be prepared.

[Tarekith]

I think I've only ever played at one club or bar that was truly mono throughout. Some will crossover the lows and mono that going to the subs, but that's about it.

Still, I do try and make sure the main elements in my songs or live sets are going to work well in mono. Kicks, snares, basslines, etc. Other than that I don't worry about it much personally,

[DJ_Zombot]

A stereo PA also doesn't help much when the sound guy takes your stereo channels and runs them both panned center. They do that a lot. Nowadays, I never send stereo signals to a house PA.

[trevox]

I don't know where all these mono systems are either. Only came across one in a complete dive and it didn't matter what I played as everything coming out of the speakers sounded like Bernard Manning having a shit...

[kristoffer1989]

A stereo PA also doesn't help much when the sound guy takes your stereo channels and runs them both panned center. They do that a lot. Nowadays, I never send stereo signals to a house PA.

at least here in norway that is just a matter of telling the soundguy in a nice way that you are sending out a stereo signal and want them panned left and right =)




just take a little time to talk to the soundman.

and yes. mono subs. that happens. but who cares. my ping pong delays and stereoreverb doesnt really hit the subs anyways.