Using 2 mono tracks to create a stereo signal

Stereoizers, and a lot of analog chorus pedals take that idea of using one mono signal, and using slight delay or varying modulation to create two slightly different versions of the same mono signal to give that impression of space. Some prefer this due to the control, but it will not replicate all the subtle properties of a true stereo signal.

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I think everyone needs to read the thread from the beginning as we are talking about two different mono audio streams panned to make a stereo stream.
Not talking about mono summing of any kind or pseudo stereo effects made from identical signalsā€¦

What you say is true, but a separate bit of info not affecting the methods described above.
I just donā€™t want people to get confused.
True stereo can be achieved using two non identical hard panned audio streamsā€¦

the stereo field contains more information than just left and rightā€¦ mono means all to the centre.

Panned mono is literaly just left and right.

You can not replicate natural movement in this field by simply panning 2 mono versions left and right ā€¦ what you have there are 2 static mono versionsā€¦

Same goes for depth perception ā€¦ itā€™s not magic, itā€™s all around youā€¦ and it not mono.

To be fair when you commented on my comment originally (before you removed it) It was about just that.

The DT sums anything you put into it. Sampling L only sums LR into mono thus removing any stereo information and putting it in the centre.

LR panned mono is for all intents and purposes stereo but it canā€™t preserve any natural stereo movement from a sample

That was what my post was about. Not sure now what yours was about if it wasnā€™t what you just described above.

From Wikipedia:
Stereophonic sound or, more commonly, stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that creates an illusion of multi-directional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two or more independent audio channels through a configuration of two or more loudspeakers (or stereo headphones) in such a way as to create the impression of sound heard from various directions, as in natural hearing.

This is a stereo recording of a car passing, as you can see it is two different mono audio streams. The top is for left, the bottom right. They have different time of arrival and pressure levelsā€¦ When played back together they recreate the car passing byā€¦ By looking at the audio you can tell that the car must have come from the right to the left as the audio appears louder first on the right(bottom) and then the left(top) becomes louder as the right fades out firstā€¦

And some more from Wikipedia:
During two-channel stereo recording, two microphones are placed in strategically chosen locations relative to the sound source, with both recording simultaneously. The two recorded channels will be similar, but each will have distinct time-of-arrival and sound-pressure-level information. During playback, the listenerā€™s brain uses those subtle differences in timing and sound level to triangulate the positions of the recorded objects

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Seriously ? In the 60s they were discovering stereo, hard panning was to be sure people can hear stereo. :grin:
For me low register sounds should be more middle panned than hard panned.
Anyway, you canā€™t play bass sounds on DT.
ONLY Drums computer. Written on it.

What do you think: Will it be possible to at least process Realtime Input in Stereo with the Effects on the DT? I mean, it has a Stereo-Input Pair, so that would make sense. Would be interesting to see the OB Side of things here too.

I guess that it will just record in Mono, but other than that it will process incoming Audio in Stereo. And if its only routing it to the Main Outs in the simplest scenario. That would be totally fine for me, because i see the Digitakt as the perfect Drum companion to the Octatrack which finally allows me to separate everything Drums onto another machine and do neat stuff on the OT i couldnt do before - because i ran out of tracks :smiley:

Standalone the DT might be a bit too limited as it seems. But then combined with our existing machines it can take several Roles; depending on the Machines you hook it up with.

I donā€™t think we have any real information to go on about that. Weā€™re gonna have to wait to find outā€¦

wiki eh ? smooth ; )

I think everything that needs be said has been, weā€™re starting to chase talesā€¦ Iā€™m sure DT will be everything you think it is.

What we all know for sure tho is The DT IS a mono playback device ā€¦ stereo sampling is unlikely at this stage, as itā€™s pointless without proper stereo handling of those samplesā€¦ whatever Wikipedia says about it, that is the truth of the matter, and what my original point was about. : )

Edit - This is all based on the current state of affairs tho. Not withstanding the fact there may well be ingenious as yet undisclosed work arounds for the ā€œmono sampleā€ playback ā€œin stereoā€ limitation.

Cheers :beers:

Iā€™d say itā€™d probably work in a similar way to the RAM machines on the MDā€¦

IBAL ā€“ The recording is made monophonic. This parameter
decides how the recording from the external inputs
should be balanced.

You can decide how much of the L and R signal you want in your monophonic sample. If you turn it all the way to the left, you record the left channel only. Turn it all the way to the right, and itā€™s the right channel only. In the center, it sums both channels to mono. So, to record stereo, use two tracksā€”one with ILEV setting all the way to the left, and the other with ILEV all the way to the right. Then, when playing back (on the MD, using RAM machines), pan the track containing the recording of the left channel to the left, and the right channel recordingā€™s track to the right.

I have no experience with the Octatrack so maybe theyā€™ve improved this method, but itā€™s still pretty straightforward IMO

Yeah, it seems you and I arenā€™t going to understand each other, and thatā€™s ok. Itā€™s all just tech talk anyway so itā€™s nothing personal and I wish you happy music makingā€¦

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Alright, love to yā€™all, Iā€™m outta hereā€¦
I stand behind everything I said. I was trying to share knowledge but never expected people wouldnā€™t believe me. If you donā€™t believe some crazy Elektronaut named Open, then please use google, consult daw manuals, call a mastering engineer and ask themā€¦
Happy music making!

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If all youā€™re saying is that a stereo signal requires two channels (L & R), and you can take a stereo sound and split it into two mono channels, then you are correct. I think the misunderstanding exists because people think that you are saying you can recreate a stereo signal by taking two of the same mono sound and panning them left and right.

Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back inā€¦
I think this is probably the case, misunderstanding, and probably from folks not reading from the beginning of the thread. If you read my posts from the beginning of the thread, one will find I am very specific about two different samples being used, and there are two posts which are very clear examples, one about a sample that says left/right and one about a kick/snare sampleā€¦

Edit: even my first post starts by saying, ā€œyou could always just take two samplesā€ and every other post is trying to explain thatā€¦
Edit 2: ā€œTake two samples and pm me in the morningā€

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No, youā€™ve been crystal clear from the onset. I think the only confusion that remains here is with Play Records, who seems to be suggesting that there is something more at work than just a left and right file in a stereo signal. And this isnā€™t the case.

Not passing any judgement- Iā€™d be a hypocrite in doing so as there are many rudimentary audio concepts which still vex me from time to time (hello mid/side). I just think itā€™s useful to get to the bottom of the confusion so the conversation can move forward!

What we know for (relative) certain at this point: the DT can ā€œplay stereo samplesā€ in that itā€™s possible to split them into L and R in your DAW and then use two tracks to play them back panned hard L and R.

What we donā€™t know (but is looking unlikely): if there is going to be a way to split signals in this mannner using the DT inputs.

As on the MD. Agreed. It has the effect of leaving us hoping that perhaps theyā€™ll try to make this happen. And if it simply wonā€™t - or canā€™t for physical reasons - itā€™d be far better to kill the hopes now. But yeah. All will be revealed eventually and the world keeps on turning in the meantime.

Iā€™ve said this before on the DT thread; the Electribe E2S has a function that allows two tracks to be tied together in order to process stereo samples. After reading the Gotharman Fusion manual, I see that it has this feature as well. Itā€™s a no-brainer feature that allows this highly desired functionality (ability to easily process stereo samples in the box) without stressing the DSP resources. When I see these types of features being omitted, I lose a lot of faith in what can potentially be offered when forced to speculate.

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Yeah, I remember that from the ES-1. Kinda annoyed me, since the first time I put samples on it, I didnā€™t realise that they had to be mono if you didnā€™t want them to take up two tracks (ie. no quick way to convert them). Itā€™s a great feature if you need it though.

Only difference that I can see between two hard panned mono track and a stereo track is when applying FX.
When using a reverb, I will want some of the left to go to the right to create space, and vice versa.
When using a compressor, I will need the signal to be treated as a whole, not separately.

Other than such examples, two hard panned mono tracks = 1 stereo track as far as I understand it.
:slight_smile:

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