Is stereo important to you?

[fuyume]

FTR, I've been in pro audio doing live sound reinforcement since the late 1980s. I have never once in my career encountered a mono PA. They existed, of course, back in the 1970s and 1980s, but they are a thing of the distant past. All the warnings you've heard about using stereo live are mostly nonsense. Been there, done that, both behind the console, and on stage in a band with two stereo guitar rigs since when.

That being said, don't feel like you need to run stereo to sound better. Mono guitar rigs sound just fine through a stereo PA, too, and are certainly easier and cheaper to build and manage.

 

[DrewJD82]

In 25 years of gigging I’ve never once encountered a stereo PA system at a show I’ve played. Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, Boston, great New England, NY, etc. The only time I’ve encountered what I believed to be a stereo PA was in a very expensive theatre that put millions into their PA when they remodeled and the place is seated.

 

[Blix]

In 25 years of gigging I’ve never once encountered a stereo PA system at a show I’ve played. Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, Boston, great New England, NY, etc. The only time I’ve encountered what I believed to be a stereo PA was in a very expensive theatre that put millions into their PA when they remodeled and the place is seated.

I've yet to meet a mono PA in all my years of gigging. This mono thing is very much a USA thing it seems.

 

[DrewJD82]

Digging around Reddit in the Livesound sub for some more experiences, seems the biggest thing I’m seeing is most PA’s being setup in stereo but everything gets mixed mono.

https://www.reddit.com/r/livesound/s/jHs0OVvCSb

Post from a guitarist asking about running a stereo rig-

https://www.reddit.com/r/livesound/s/7FHetD2jkM

 

[Achilles]

The gear may be labeled with L to R pan options but most club or bar sound guys don't use it in my past experience.

And like mentioned, I'm not talking theaters, Vegas residencies, rooms dedicated to sound reproduction, etc.

Bars and small to mid-size clubs. They mostly all sucked from that standpoint.

 

[la szum]

Waiting on the "What Is True Stereo" discussion/debate to start in 3... 2.... and....

 

[HomespunEffects]

Stereo works just fine with more than one guitarist.

I didn’t say it doesn’t.

 

[DrewJD82]

Waiting on the "What Is True Stereo" discussion/debate to start in 3... 2.... and....

I didn’t want to say anything to spur it off, but there’s a bunch of Reddit posts discussing it in my links.

 

[PLX]

Waiting on the "What Is True Stereo" discussion/debate to start in 3... 2.... and....

It comes from the same place that makes that extra virgin olive oil.

 

[ian_dissonance]

Digging around Reddit in the Livesound sub for some more experiences, seems the biggest thing I’m seeing is most PA’s being setup in stereo but everything gets mixed mono.

https://www.reddit.com/r/livesound/s/jHs0OVvCSb

Post from a guitarist asking about running a stereo rig-

https://www.reddit.com/r/livesound/s/7FHetD2jkM

That’s my experience. Everything is connected with L/R outputs, but pretty much nothing is panned unless L/R inputs are linked for keys or playback. Mixing in stereo serves a very small portion of the audience.

 

[spawnofthesith]

Mixing in stereo serves a very small portion of the audience.

Yeah, seems like it would in fact, be an actice disservice to most people in the venue

 

[ian_dissonance]

Yeah, seems like it would in fact, be an actice disservice to most people in the venue

Especially in a large space with a front-located system. It could probably work okay in a small space where the mains are only 15’ apart, but at that point it’s not worth the extra brain power or effort.

 

[dk_ace]

I used to think it was an unnecessary distraction that was pretty much meritless.

Then, I started playing more and more gigs with in ears monitoring. It really makes things sound better in IEMs. Even if no one could tell the difference in FOH, it makes a pretty big difference in my ears.

I have some rules though. I only do stereo wet effects, no panned different cabs or that kind of stuff where the sound is considerably different on the L/R sides. I also generally check things to make sure that if/when they get summed to mono nothing too bad happens.

Most of the PAs I’ve played in the last couple years were stereo. I get that is an anomaly but that has been my experience. Keys, guitars, and tracks are stereo channels. When I play a mono PA, I put a dummy plug in the channel I’m not sending to FOH so that if doesn’t sum the outputs down. I just deal with the IEMs not sounding as good then, I don’t try to run separate things to monitors and FOH.

D

 

[ian_dissonance]

A “stereo PA” with nothing panned is a mono PA.

 

[Blix]

Here's a good discussion among sound engineers about panning, with some good arguments for why and when it can be helpful, or not:

 

[Ed DeGenaro]

For plugins and mixing stereo is mandatory (one instance of a plugins processing stereo channels)

For jamming through a cab I’ve just never been bothered with stereo. I also play heavier punk/metal stuff so the need isn’t really there for me.
There are definitely some genres/tones like long ambient cleans which would sound huge through stereo.

If you can play through a stereo rig and see if the sound is worth the hassle that’s probably the best way to make a decision

I’ll bite…why would stereo be a necessity for mixing guitars?

 

[[Nathan]]

I’ll bite…why would stereo be a necessity for mixing guitars?

Stereo input to have one instance of a plugin doing left and right processing.

 

[Ed DeGenaro]

Stereo input to have one instance of a plugin doing left and right processing.

Are we talking plugs in general or amp sims?

 

[[Nathan]]

Are we talking plugs in general or amp sims?

"For plugins mixing stereo is mandatory (one instance of a plugin processing stereo channels)"

 

[Jarick]

For recording I rarely do stereo. I will often have stereo effects on sends to blend to taste (reverb and delay). But source tracks tend to be mono and panned off center, unless it’s a solo or intro or important track.