Mixing in Mono - Save Your Stereo Mix!

Learn more about Reason:

Hear Matt's song, The Hardest Part, and the album mix by Shane D Wilson:

If you've ever had the unfortunate experience of taking a mix you've done outside your studio only to find out it doesn't sound nearly the same or nearly as good on other playback systems and devices, it's time to take your stereo mixes into the mono realm.

If mixing in mono for better stereo results sounds counter-intuitive right now, watch as Ryan takes you through some of the benefits on a huge multi-track production by songwriter Matt Tinsley.

[diymusicbiz]

This is the best mono mixing tutorial I've ever seen.

[frankyoualot]

Phase Invert Button. This is unreal - been using Reason for many years and have never come this far. Thanks a million, and i LOVE your quotes throughout, my favorite is Luke's!

[thegranster]

Okay, I have watched nearly all the Propellerhead tutorial videos here on Youtube. Hands down this video tops them all!!! I spent last night experimenting with mixing in mono on my tracks, and already there is a night and day difference. Trying to make proper tonal changes using EQ has been difficult for me in stereo, but doing it while in mono makes it much easier to hear what channels are fighting each other and what changes I need to make for them to sit together in the mix better. Damn awesome video Ryan! And loving Reason 9. :)

[jayroberts]

Propellerhead we applaud you for working with Ryan. Every single time I get a swoosh of joy watching these perfectly crafted films. An honour to watch. Awesome job Ryan. 🔥🔥🔥

[Rogers]

THIS THIS THIS is so important. I feel like a lot of people don't remember this. One tip that one of my teacher taught me is to do ALL your mixing in mono. That's EQ, compression, sound design, and balancing. Then leave panning to the END. That way your mix will still have great mono compatibility.

[cassieg]

You're a brilliant teacher and film editor Ryan, I love seeing your videos pop up.

[itstonyholiday]

I don't care if I'm watching this 2 years late Ryan, this is a game changer and you explain it perfectly. Thank you!!

[decoysilver]

I love your tutorials because your tutorials show us something many others don't and that is the concepts

[ucheattoh]

3 years and still changing perspective and opening eyes

[noris]

Gosh! Where have I been? All these comments are from years ago and I just discovered this by accident. Wonderful tutorials, hope they will stay where they are for future composers. 🙋‍♀️❣🎹

[SpeoMusic]

always blown away by the quality of these. way to go Ryan!

[benjaminschultz]

This is amazing. I've heard you should mix in mono, but never understood all the reasons why. Ryan, you did a brilliant job of illustrating just how many kinds of problems I can solve with this technique. Thanks for the enlightenment!

[mfortes]

Thanks Ryan, for making society capable of revisiting sound engineering foundations. In an analogy, I would say that is like having the capability of switching between black and white and technicolor in movies !

[Reeper]

I love these quick mix fix trick videos, but this one is amazing. Never even thought to mix in mono first and then add the stereo shaping. This works wonders. Makes mixing and mastering a breeze.

[humblenature]

Ryan, your tutorial video was the main reason why I chose Reason as my main DAW few years ago. just wanted to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for your hard work.

[chatolars]

Perfect videos ....fun and instructional

[hoagy_ytfc]

The mono-v-stereo demo at 4:30 was quite enlightening for me! Especially as I found I had to look at the side that I wanted to "isolate".

[owenwestlake]

If anyone ever sees Ryan out and about, please buy him a beer! Exceptional work sir. I will be checking all my mixes in mono moving forward.

[JMedinaBeats]

I barely leave comments but I had to with the presentation quality of this whole video. This was super in depth and easy to digest. The examples you choose were great and really helped me comprehend what you were saying. Thank you!

[zeefour]

This is why I use reason, videos like this are educational and entertaining.