Mono vs Stereo?

[KrazyKatz]

Hello Gents.

An old question Im sure. Would like to know the advantages of using mono samples over stereo, and vice versa.

[LPChip]

Easy one I guess.

If you have a stereo sample, you have 2 channels of sounddata. As for mono, thats just one channel. As result, a stereo sample is twice as big in size than a mono sample.

As you probably know, a stereo sample sounds much better than a mono sample, unless its a mono 2 stereo conversion (can be done by recording a mono source to a stereo wave file by for example a microphone)

Stereo samples usually sound better and "wider" than mono samples. Don't forget that you can pan your samples. So putting different mono samples in different panning positions, can still get a nice effect. Its up to you what you prefer. If you have a stereo sample that is entirelly or near mono (like a basedrum sample or so) You might be better of converting it to mono.

If you're not sure, save your song, play your sample as stereo then convert to mono and play again to compare. If the difference is auditable, it is better not to convert unless you're looking for a small song.