Need some good advice here folks. I imported the 4 Op-1 tracks on a song into Audacity. When i corrected a few things i went to export and got the you can obly mix down to mono only message(not stereo). Ive read a workaround by duplicating each track and making one left channel and one right channel. Although this apparently is not genuine stereo. So the questions
Album and the master/mix section are stereo, the tape tracks and synth / drum section are mono. You can split a stereo file into two mono tracks (left and right), import it to tape, and pan one track left and the other right.
Thanks motone. Yes just discovered the album is stereo. So if i reimport the changed tracks from Audacity into the OP-1 as mono files then record to Album i get genuine stereo? Or pan as you say. Which method do you think is best/fastest. Audacity duplicate or reimporting? Im thinking Audacity duplicate. cheers
Tape and Album are separate in methodology. Tape is 4x Mono tracks that can be panned within the stereo field. They are recorded as mono tracks and will always be mono tracks. Doubling them in Audacity will still be a mono track - just with two of them. Album is 1x stereo track with the panning of the Tape recorded and any stereo effect being recorded that way. “Genuine stereo” is a weird term – does this mean a stereo track that actually utilizes two separate mono tracks that are just not identical? To me, stereo is still just 2 separate mono tracks that can either be different (I guess genuine stereo) or identical (the same as 1x mono track that is being delivered to both stereo channels).
Get to know your audacity a bit more. It takes time to find the options to make it play game. Maybe in the effects column there’s a stereo -izer type effect, but I have a feeling its a column further left , like edit or inbetween those two columns .it may even be on the track itself ,on the far left, near solo controls. There is a drop down menu that converts elements of your track, like frequency sample stuff etc. I haven’t it infront of me but Audacity is choosy about its sample export features. Once you’ve got it, it will be quicker for you , but recording to album on op1 is going to instantly get you your results .
I wanted to mention, too, that if all you are doing is doubling a mono track to get two copies, then you need to ask whether there is any benefit. As in, are you doing it so that you can listen to it on a phone or something where stereo is required to come through both headphones? But if you are going to be working with it in a DAW or something, there is no real reason to have a doubled-mono stereo track. It will only take up more space and not allow you to do anything additional that working with a mono track would allow you to do. You can still pan a mono track or apply stereo effects, etc. in a DAW to get a stereo mix down.
Thanks guys as you can tell im no audio engineer.
I always thought stereo was better than mono. But it seems its not always the case.
If i keep the mix down as Mono in Audacity would there be any difference to the OP-1 album stereo mixdown? One would be Mono one would be Stereo. But is there any difference in quality of sound? Isnt Mono just applied equally to left right channels anyway? Im not after panning fx yet.
So im just wasting my time converting the Mono mixdown to stereo as i already have the finished product/track. So may as well keep it as Mono. I wont notice any difference?
Hmm, I’m not sure I follow what you are trying to do. Album output should be stereo as is. Tape output is mono. If you are trying to mix multiple Tape tracks together without any panning of the tracks (like, track 1 panned hard left and track 2 panned hard right), then mono vs stereo won’t matter. But if you are combining the Tape tracks and want to have some stereo panning, then you should definitely mix to stereo.
I have 4 tracks exported in Mono from Tape folder, then Imported into Audacity. I work /tweek a bit on individual tracks. But then export only available as Mono.
Are you trying to mix for an Internet up load? Daw mixing for post production? Or just dropping to CD?
I would say check that audacity program more. The option is there to convert.
It’s not my software of choice for mixing. I use it for pre production or post - for samples /tracks .
I prefer the OP-1 itself for mixing or other hard ware. Others get amazing results by importing 4 OP-1 tracks to Ableton for mixing and production.
I will check Spheric. But most vids say the only way is to duplicate the mono first. Then assign to right/left channel.
Im just dropping to CD. Just worried about quality as a Mono file only.
Ah gotcha. Yeah the quality of the actual sound won’t improve. You just need to check whether when burning to a CD with a mono track, does it only play out of one speaker or does it sound how you’d like it to. But duplicating, assign R/L, and then mixing down in stereo will be just fine for you too. The alternative would be to record your track to Album, then import that to burn to a CD.
I will try all the methods mentioned and get back to you all. Then see if there is any difference in sound. Cheers for staying with me on this
Pete
In Audacity each track has a gain and pan control. Once you have your tracks panned as you would like, go Tracks -> Mix and Render, and you will get a stereo file. Just make sure that all of your tracks are selected. The resulting stereo track you can export as stereo.
Cheers for that. I will give that a go!