Re:Reversing Pan
Friday, May 09 2008 @ 07:06 PM CDT

Hi Johnny..Wow..Confusion..LOL...You can use a mini stereo plug into your computer..The other end should have 2 female 1/4 inch plugs..This is known as a Y cable..You will not get stereo guitar this way however.. ( you will however then have the ability to record a mono track for both inputs at the same time. This is advantagious if for instence you want to lay down your guiyar on one track and a scratch vocal on another at the same time)..If I am understanding you correctly, you want to "Plug" your guitar into the mac and record..2 mic.s is a different matter.If indeed you wish to run a cable from your guitar into your mac you will only have one signal..There fore it will be mono..Even if you had a way to have the output of the guitars pick-up split so it would record on a stereo track and on both the left and rite sides it would stil be mono..Plus you would be using twice the amount of disc space needlelessly..Stereo tracks are basically twice the disc space as a mono track..If for example a mono track was 10mb.s the same track recording using a stereo track would close to double that..

Basically a stereo track is, for simplicity sake just 2 mono tracks..It is allways best to use 2 mono tracks than a stereo track for audio such as micing a guitar..This is the most flexible and productive way to work in that regard..The disadvantages of using 2 mic.s on one guitar and then recording to a stereo track should be immediately obvious..You sacrifice almost all control of the individual mic.s in regard to EQ, FX,,etc..

The other thing to be aware of is that when a stereo FX plugin is inserted on a mono track, whatever spatial effect it has in regards to imagining (stereo field) is applied..So a stereo output is applied to the mono source..Depanding on the FX it can be subtle or extreme..

Bottom line..Allways record any audio source that you are using either a split feed or multiple mic.s as individual mono tracks..A stereo track is a very, very limiting thing when it comes to audio.. Just my thoughts and how I work.. JjET

Re:Reversing Pan
Saturday, May 10 2008 @ 09:32 AM CDT

Quote by: massa Thanks for the terms clarification. Always helpful!!! Is there something like a stereo audio cable? How do i record stereo using cables and not mics. Can i record in true stereo using only my guitar and the mac (via mac's audio input)? Rgds

Of course there are stereo cables. A pair of RCA cables is stereo (one left and one right) headphone cables are stereo with a mini connector that is called a TRS (tip ring sleeve) where the tip carries one side of the stereo signal, the ring the other side and the sleeve is the common that completes the circuit.

A guitar is usually considered to be a mono source, but the effects you add to the sound may be in stereo. Chorus is a stereo effect with a difference between the L and R signals. Some reverbs are stereo as well, and delays can be stereo or mono. Most distortion effects would be mono. If you record the guitar straight with even a stereo cable you would simply get the identical signal in the left and the right. This would be not a true stereo signal but a dual mono signal because there is no difference.

Ever been to a three D movie?. If you use the glasses on a regular TV it does nothing because there is only one signal. If you use the glasses on a 3 D signal there is a depth because what you see in the L and the R eyes are different. Same with stereo.