Mono Output NOT Stereo

Since no one has answered your question I'll give it a shot. I haven't really used Mainstage, but I do recall from my messing with it a while ago (it's no longer on my system to confirm this) that the channel strips are almost identical to those in Logic. So I'll give the Logic answer to this question, and perhaps it applies to Mainstage too.


This question as it pertains to Logic does pop up every once in a while, as it is somewhat baffling. You can't actually change a channel strip so it has a mono output. All of the outputs on Channel Strips will always be stereo. But all you need to do is hard pan any channel strip left or right, and it will only be sending to one output. So if you just want your audio to go out of 1 on your interface, select 1-2 output, and then pan hard left.



My apologies if there is another way to do this in Mainstage. But this certainly will work.



Good Luck!

Here's a concept that should work. (Not tested, I'm not at my mainstage machine today.)

At the concert level, route your stereo onto odd & even buss strips instead of the OUTPUT strip. Create mono audio strip that source the busses and route them to the outputs. This method will make sure both sides of your stereo signals make it to the outputs.

Greg

Hi


How about using a Gain plugin inserted on the Output channel.. switched to Mono in the Gain plug?



HTH

CCT

Yes, inserting a "gain" plug-in switched to mono in out 1-2 is the way to go- that's what I do. You can then pan out 1-2 hard left if you need to use output 2 on your audio interface for something else. (I used both outs on my audio interface, but route one to house, and one to a JBL Eon monitor).

Mitchell

On your new audio interface, can't you just use a Y-Cable to go from the two stereo to one 1/4"? This is what I do, because I've been told that since all or at least most of today's samples AND effects are designed in stereo, to take them to mono is a bad idea, mainly because just using one side, eg. panning left, could easily leave out sonic elements that the sound designers have purposely placed on the right side of their sample or effect setting.

OTOH I've also experienced phase problems with mono-summing stereo sources, which is not related to the above.

Just my $0.02, I'll be interested in reading more on this.

thx
Neil

Noooooo! Y cables are (with caveats) usable as splitters, but not combiners. Combining two signals requires a mixer (or some [usually active] circuitry).

The phase problem can be very real, notwithstanding that a Y cable is not the way to combine to signals.

I normally run in mono live, because I don't believe in attempting accurate stereo imaging in clubs or hotel ballrooms (not to mention that a stereo Leslie sim sounds whacked out when the mains are 30 feet apart). The best answer I have for running mono with Mainstage (though I would like a better one) is pick left or right at random, and just use that. On piano patches, for example, I would expect Left to be slightly bass heavy and Right to be treble heavy. AFAIK the Mainstage / Logic virtual instruments don't have a Left/Mono out (like my yamaha S90) or a Right/Mono out (like my Nord Electro). I don't know if those boards do anything fancier than just sending the channel whose output is selected, but one would sort-of hope so.

However, I recently did a session with the S90, in stereo, and we discovered that it's main piano had phase cancellation problems when we summed it to mono. So they clearly can't be giving me a left/right sum when I run from the L/mono output, because I don't hear phase cancellation then...

Cheers,
John

I defer to your expertise but since I have used y cables as combiners (knowing it's not as good as using a mixer but needing to solve a problem on the spot) would you kindly explain why they'd work in one direction but not the other, so I understand the underlying issues?
Thanks much,

Neil