Questions about stereo

tandrewnichols

tandrewnichols

Well-Known Member
I've never had a stereo board. I think there are things I don't understand. I understand how to set it up, but . . . is there an easy way to disable it? Like if I set the buttons on the mastermind to mono/mono, can I leave all the wiring as is to get a single mono out or will I lose some audio because it's rigged for stereo?
 
There are two options: you can simply use only one output from the PBC, or you can mix down the stereo output to mono (assuming you have a PBC/6X or a PBC/10 that has been modified to do mono mixdown).

This can be a tricky thing, because you would want to use the mono mixdown option if you're using ping-pong or panning effects, so that you don't lose half of your effect. However, some effects like stereo chorus don't work well if you try to mix down the left and right sides, possibly cancelling out the effect. So, the solution that you choose is going to depend on the effects you're using.
 
I'm okay with not doing mix down to mono. I was asking cause I've heard recording in stereo can make a muddy mix, so if I'm recording something that doesn't require stereo, one output seems fine. If it's a preset that actually uses the stereo field, stereo output is fine in . . . nearly all cases I can think of. So you're saying, just use output A and not both and that's it? Or do I also need to toggle those two buttons on the back of the mastermind?
 
tandrewnichols said:
I'm okay with not doing mix down to mono. I was asking cause I've heard recording in stereo can make a muddy mix, so if I'm recording something that doesn't require stereo, one output seems fine. If it's a preset that actually uses the stereo field, stereo output is fine in . . . nearly all cases I can think of. So you're saying, just use output A and not both and that's it? Or do I also need to toggle those two buttons on the back of the mastermind?
Click to expand...
You can just use one output, don't change the buttons. If you have a PBC/10, changing the button settings will only cause trouble.
 
Okay, follow up on this, cause I've now wired up stereo (I think) but I'm still only getting one channel. I have mono coming into "Loops 7-10" and actually my pedal in loop 7 is mono, but 8 and 9 are stereo. Following this article, the suggestion for mono in to 7 and stereo out (of 10) is to have the "Mono -> Stereo" button in the OUT position to convert the path to stereo at that point, but as the first pedal is mono, it seems like I don't actually want that. If I leave it on the IN position, and set the output to stereo, and just wire up 8 and 9 for stereo, will that be enough? Or do all the loops in 7-10 need to be stereo for it to work? (Incidentally, I have tried with "Mono -> Stereo" in both OUT and IN positions and either way I seem to only get mono out.) I have the "Mono Output" button OUT - which I believe means "stereo output" right?
 
Okay, that did fix it, but I am still curious about the mono/stereo pedals part. Will there be a problem if I'm running both mono and stereo pedals in loops 7-10? (The mono ones come first though, they don't alternate.)
 
On a PBC/10, mixing mono and stereo pedals in loops 7-10 is possible, but you have to use specialized cables to make sure that it'll work in all cases. Especially the mono pedals in stereo loops - if they're not done correctly, you'll get partial or total signal loss. Here's a bunch of information on it:

USING STEREO EFFECTS

If you have questions, let me know!
 
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