visheshl wrote: ↑19 Jan 2023
Im not a club music person, but i think its a wise choice to make low frequency content mono... something doesn't sit correctly in my mind,if its not mono... because low frequency wavelengths are very long i think if there's a phase difference between LR LF content, the wavelengths would interfere...i mean thats what logic says...im not too sure if thats the reality of the situation...but then again music is the interference of waves ultimately... however it is better if the interference is desirable...my music doesn't play at clubs so,i really didn't worry about it...byt if you as an artist climb up the ladder...i think its wise to make sure your mixes sounds good on the big stage...
Allow me to present another side of the coin. All the logic about wavelengths and phase etc. goes out the window if it sounds good. I long ago gave into the "if it sounds good, it IS good" mantra and never looked back. Talking yourself out of something without actually trying it doesn't 'sit correctly in my mind'. There are probably hundreds of ways to make low frequencies stereo, fwiw, just to point out we're not talking about any specific effect here. Could be you want to use awesome stereo room mics on the drum kit, maybe even on their own for a section, and not mono the low end. Or just use some reverb on a bass or kick part, or double the bass line like you would with guitars, or use some crazy stereo guitar pedal on bass, or even use a bass patch with odd harmonics panned L and even panned right (so no chance of interactions), and so on.
And to be clear, I'm not advocating for stereo bass, I'm advocating against those who say it always MUST be mono!
Full disclosure, I tend to use mono basses when I want things super punchy, when is probably more often than stereo bass. I venture towards the weirder illogical sonic choices when exploring the edges of recorded music with modular tracks or extreme ambient stuff. I just realized I should post an example so we're all sure we're talking about the same thing here…