# Mono/stereo orchestral samples: when to use what?



## LinearZero (Jun 22, 2021)

Hi all

Noob question here, I generally compose and arrange orchestral and cinematic music using libraries such Berlin Inspire and Metropolis Ark. I know that when composing many contemporary styles of music certain instruments/percussion are recorded in mono and others in stereo e.g a kick or bass guitar should generally be mono due to it being more difficult to discern the direction of deep sounds and also to create space. I've also read that not everything should be in stereo because then nothing stands out in a composition, so I guess one of the questions is what do you then decide SHOULD be in stereo?

Also how does all this apply to orchestral music specifically? Should double basses/cellos/tubas be in mono for example as they are all deeper sounding instruments? Should the instruments providing the main melody (e.g violins) be in stereo? Should a choir library be in stereo? 

I get that there may not be any hard and fast rules but are there general guidelines on what professionals generally do or what you have found works? 

Any articles or advice on this would be greatly appreciated. Cheers.


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## Divico (Jun 28, 2021)

Keep them in stereo. Natural reverberation is a big part of the orchestral sound that benefits from stereo. Also having an orchestra miced with the players in their Original seating positions you benefit from this in stereo. If I would use anything in mono than maybe close mics. It is common though to adjust the stereo width and make it e.g. Narrower.


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## Tralen (Jun 29, 2021)

I think you are confusing recording the instruments in mono/stereo and the stereo placement of the instruments.

In Pop/Rock, etc, bass and kick drum are recorded mono, but so are guitars, vocals, etc. The special care that is given to the bass frequencies is to have them centered in the stereo field, so that they have good mono compatibility.

In orchestral music, even if a Tuba VI is recorded mono, that doesn't mean it needs to be kept centered, and, if it is no longer centered, it is no longer summed as mono. This is a very different subject to the VI being recorded stereo in the first place.


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## LinearZero (Jun 29, 2021)

Tralen said:


> I think you are confusing recording the instruments in mono/stereo and the stereo placement of the instruments.
> 
> In Pop/Rock, etc, bass and kick drum are recorded mono, but so are guitars, vocals, etc. The special care that is given to the bass frequencies is to have them centered in the stereo field, so that they have good mono compatibility.
> 
> ...


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## LinearZero (Jun 29, 2021)

Tralen said:


> I think you are confusing recording the instruments in mono/stereo and the stereo placement of the instruments.
> 
> In Pop/Rock, etc, bass and kick drum are recorded mono, but so are guitars, vocals, etc. The special care that is given to the bass frequencies is to have them centered in the stereo field, so that they have good mono compatibility.
> 
> In orchestral music, even if a Tuba VI is recorded mono, that doesn't mean it needs to be kept centered, and, if it is no longer centered, it is no longer summed as mono. This is a very different subject to the VI being recorded stereo in the first place.


Wait so if I have a stereo tuba VI and on the DAW I change the track to mono and then pan it based on it's position in the orchestra pit, it's no longer mono?

The main question was, in orchestral music (if that genre makes a difference) if using virtual instruments should any consideration be given to making certain instrument tracks mono e.g lower pitched instruments?


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## Tralen (Jun 29, 2021)

LinearZero said:


> Wait so if I have a stereo tuba VI and on the DAW I change the track to mono and then pan it based on it's position in the orchestra pit, it's no longer mono?


It will no longer be summed as mono. If you pan the track, it will have different information in the right and left channel, that is stereo information. That information is quite different from the stereo information that was originally in the sample, in that example, the original information was lost when you collapsed the track. The new information is just a volume difference between the left and right channel.



LinearZero said:


> The main question was, in orchestral music (if that genre makes a difference) if using virtual instruments should any consideration be given to making certain instrument tracks mono e.g lower pitched instruments?


I think you should strive to preserve whatever stereo information is already in the samples, if any. If your samples are recorded in stereo, use them that way, unless you actually perceive a specific problem coming from the stereo information.

The consideration about lower pitched instruments is related to mono compatibility. If it is important to you to have a firm centered bottom to your music, like in pop/rock/electronic, then you should make those instruments centered, and the point about them being stereo or not originally becomes irrelevant, if they are fully centered, they are now mono.


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