From: someone@anywheret.net   
      
   "JimD"  wrote in message news:201802121931573842-email@nowherecom...   
      
   > Normally, I run my pa stereo.  Simple reason, it sounds better.  The " old   
   > school " wisdom is pa's should be mono.  Reason ?   Old pa's were   
   > primitive, simple, and almost always mono :-)   Yeah they say it's because   
   > a stereo system will sound different depending on the listeners positon in   
   > the room, closer one or the other sides speaker.   
      
   There's an even bigger reason than that.   
      
   Stereo was originally intended for sound REproduction.   
      
   And by far, the most of that was in the form of carefully mixed down   
   recordings that would often use panning and placement of the apparent   
   sources(s) of the sound as an actual effect in and of itself to enhance the   
   listening experience.   
      
   Not only that, but recalling way back to those Much Better 'old' days when   
   Quality in life was actually taken seriously, it was very common for Music   
   lovers to have a "stereo", system that is, and a Real one, capable of   
   reproducing some Awesome Music...as opposed to today's CRAP played on   
   so-called 'stereo' equipment that's just as CRAPPY as what's being played on   
   it.   
      
   Those of us with Real stereos...and that was most of us ;) did our best to   
   carefully place the speakers where the stereo effect would be the most   
   Awesome. Then we could listen to our favorite albums and really get into   
   it...something Zombies nowadays are really CHEATED out of!   
      
   But to get such stereo effects for sound production would require the same   
   careful placement of the speakers at the venue as it did in the rooms of our   
   homes where we thoroughly enjoyed our stereos back in the day.   
      
   With very few exceptions, like acoustic drums and acoustic pianos, there's   
   really no such thing as a stereo instrument.   
      
   And with acoustic drums and acoustic pianos, the person playing them is   
   practically the only one who hears a stereo effect. For example, an acoustic   
   piano player hears the low notes coming more from the right, the high notes   
   more from the right, and the middle notes in the  center.   
      
   But at any practically greater distance than that, the sound becomes mono   
   since the angles for left and right perception become so small as for the   
   stereo effect to no longer be noticeable.   
      
   That leaves only delay, and reverb, a kind of delay, to produce any   
   semblance of a stereo effect...and there are some really nice stereo   
   delays/reverbs out there.   
      
   Personally, I'd like a *Live* mix, i.e. sound production, during a gig, that   
   would place the apparent sound of the instruments in specific and separate   
   places along the stage. This would absolutely require proper placement of   
   the FOH mains - those speakers would be producing the desired   
   effect...plus...I'd still have to hear every instrument and every voice   
   clearly, so needless to say, this is a job ONLY for someone who actually   
   Knows how to do it Well!!!   
      
   And the stereo effect can easily change depending on how the musicians and   
   instruments are playing and singing.   
      
   For example when I demo recorded "Roll Deep Six", the short 'Hammond' organ   
   intro, although carefully placed somewhat left of center (I guess because   
   most of the time when I'm playing a gig, for some reason, I always seem to   
   be a bit stage left and I've come to prefer that). When the song starts, it   
   sounds totally mono, then the vocals, 'guitar', and bass come in and it   
   practically explodes into stereo...simply because other carefully placed   
   points of reference have been added.   
      
   I'm all for stereo performances, but it's sure going to take a LOT of   
   Serious Effort!   
      
   > I guess live orchestras, pre everything running thru a sound system, must   
   > have sounded downright awful.   
      
   An orchestra doesn't need an electronic sound system, because they've   
   already got an acoustic one, and a loud one too...so loud in fact, that   
   hearing damage can occur there too!   
      
   But of course, the stereo room setup would work there too.   
      
   > Stereo is the way to go.  Even small combo's sounded differently because   
   > from a listeners perspective the bass was on one spot on the stage, the   
   > drums somewhere else, and so on.   
      
   Low frequencies, because of their extremely isotropic radiation nature,   
   always appear mono. Of course, with headphones and a mixer, bass could be   
   placed left or right - then it would sound downright weird and unnatural.   
      
   Start with the FOH mains in the quarter space and 'place' the sources from   
   there.   
      
   > Stereo is sweet.   
      
   It is, but it's going to take a LOT more work to make it sound right.   
      
   > Except on my solo gigs.  I'm not carrying two speakers to my small room,   
   > intimate solo jobs.   
      
   That would probably be the easiest setup because of the small size....a   
   couple of small speakers in the quarter space, and it'd sound great.   
      
   > So I need a way to run the XR-18 in mono. And do it without changing the   
   > pan settings on all the channels.  Too much fuss to do every day.   
      
   I'm sure it has the capability - it does everything else ;)   
      
   > The way I did this was to make one of the AUX outputs a mono version of   
   > the mains.  Sadly, I don't see any way to just simply set the two main   
   > outs to mono.  Before giving up, it was off to search the net.  Found   
   > this.  Makes me smile, not because it solves the mono problem, but because   
   > the expert basically says, "  hey, just convert to mono "   
      
   > https://forum.musictri.be/showthread.php?17129-Running-XR18-mono-output   
      
      
   JIm   
      
   It wouldn't surprise me at all to find there are several ways switch between   
   stereo and mono   
      
   Ouisie   
      
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