Splitting Stereo Channels into seperate tracks

Report · Sep 24, 2008

I have a stereo audio track which I have pulled from an AVI file in prem pro. The left channel has voice from a radio mic while the right channel is the camera mic with general audio. I need to seperate the two channels so I can use the voice audio when its needed.

So my question is how do u do this?

I'm a beginner user of AA though I have owned veris versions for some years, just never had the time to get right into it until now. I've have spent the last couple of days digging through help menus and manuals trying to solve this problem. Usually I'd use hardware to do a work around but I figured I might as well start using the software.

Any help would be appreciated...
Sorry if this is a silly noob question.

Report · Sep 25, 2008

Probably the easiest and simplest way is to use keystrokes, although you are going to have to save a pair of mono files during the process, which involves a 'save as'.

So, in EV:
Ctrl-A (selects entire file)
Ctrl-L (selects LH channel)
Edit>Copy to new (no keystroke for this, but you could assign one if you needed to)
File>Save As

Then go back to your original file (which we are not destroying, incidentally - good practice) using the Window menu (it will be selectable at the bottom of the list), and repeat the process above, only this time using Ctrl-R instead of Ctrl-L.

I'm sure that there are other ways of doing this as well - I can think of at least one using MV, but if you want to keep process files, the above method is probably the best one to use.

Report · Jan 09, 2016

This worked perfectly... Easy and quick too.. thanks!

Bernie

Report · Jan 10, 2016

For future projects it might be easier to split the stereo into mono in Premiere before you start the edit.

Report · Jan 11, 2016

As this thread is mostly very old the original answers, although correct and still applicable, have been overtaken by the 'Extract Channels to Mono Files' command to be found in the Edit menu of the latest versions of Audition.

Report · Feb 17, 2018

Thank you so much!
Exactly what I was looking for.

Report · Sep 25, 2008

Or you can use the Convert Sample Type (F11) to split out the audio into separate files. Or the Channel Mixer effect. But remember to do a Save As to keep the original file and have separate newly named ones for the split files.

Report · Sep 25, 2008

>Or you can use the Convert Sample Type (F11) to split out the audio into separate files.

Hmm... you have to have a separate copy of the stereo file in the first place for this to work. If you set Convert Sample Type to change your file to 100% left, it will promptly get rid of 100% right for you!

And using the channel mixer will run you into the same problem - you need at least two copies of your file to start with.

I still think that all things considered, my original approach is the one to go for, simply because it creates what you need without you having to do a load of extra work in the first place.

Report · Sep 25, 2008

Not necessarily. Surely after you have saved it you just do an Undo and have your stereo file back to split out the other half from.

Report · Sep 25, 2008

>Not necessarily. Surely after you have saved it you just do an Undo and have your stereo file back to split out the other half from.

Don't like that! I do have another suggestion though - and that's to do the Ctrl-A Ctrl-L bit, and then go Edit>Copy to New. Then, go back to the original waveform by clicking on it in the files list, and go Ctrl-R and do Copy to New again.

That leaves your original, gives you two mono files to save and doesn't invoke Undo - which I've always regarded as something of a cop-out in this sort of process.

What's most annoying is that the process I described doesn't seem at first glance to be amenable to being scripted... it's failed at every attempt so far, because the concept of 'to New' doesn't appear to be supported in scripting at all, unless I'm missing something.

Report · Sep 25, 2008

Thanks for the info...I'll give your suggestions a whirl.

I sat down last night and had a rethink on the problem, the method I managed to work out with what I'd learned was to edit the left channel drag the field the entire length and delete it then covert the left over right channel to mono 50/50% left right. Then save it as say Radio Mic then went back to the original and repeated the process with the other channel.

Seemed to work alright...the voice track is now clean and clear.

So my original question was me wondering if there was a way to do this more simply. But I'll have another read of your replies and give them a try. Since there is more than one way to skin a cat...

Cheers

Report · Sep 25, 2008

>I sat down last night and had a rethink on the problem, the method I managed to work out with what I'd learned was to edit the left channel drag the field the entire length and delete it then covert the left over right channel to mono 50/50% left right. Then save it as say Radio Mic then went back to the original and repeated the process with the other channel.

Ooh that sounds painful... the shortcuts are well worth it, especially if the file is large - and I think that I've saved you having to make any more copies of the original file at all!

Report · Sep 25, 2008

> The left channel has voice from a radio mic while the right channel is the camera mic with general audio. I need to seperate the two channels so I can use the voice audio when its needed.

I would have thought the way to do this is to use multitrack view.

Put the file on track one and on track two.

Use the "channel mixer" effect on track one and set it so that the left and right outputs are sourced from the left input. Use the same effect on track two and set it so that the left and right outputs are sourced from the right input. You now have the signal from each mic on a totally separate track.

Now use volume envelopes to bring the two sources in and out as required. Mix down when done, whole job done in one pass. (And you could pan the two tracks slightly apart left/right if you wanted).

Report · Sep 26, 2008

>I would have thought the way to do this is to use multitrack view.

In principle I agree, but there's something about the way the original is worded that made me think that perhaps this wasn't the answer - I very much got the impression that the OP wanted to do the editing with separate files in PP, rather than sweetening in Audition. Maybe just me, though...

Report · Sep 26, 2008

He might not be that familiar with this way of working but it sure would be a good project to learn on (depending on degree of urgency of course)!

Report · Oct 14, 2008

In the thread shown below, in the entry dated 18th July 2007 I posted a link to a program I created to perform this task.

http://www.audiomastersforum.net/amforum/index.php/topic,6374

I've had very little feedback about this, but it works for me.

Note:

I don't know if the version posted is the latest version (the first version I posted may have had a problem, can't remember).

I am currently in Scotland and won't return home to Australia until the end of November, so can't provide any help for several weeks.

Cheers,
Alan

Report · Oct 14, 2008

excellent Alan, I believe Adobe should give you a wad of cash (USD please...) and incorporate your functionality into Audition.

I know music people don't really "get" why you need to split stereo's, but people working in radio and (especially) film/video need to do it all the time and it's quite frustrating to not have a clear & simple workflow in AA3.

matthew

Report · Oct 15, 2008

For reasons not yet ascertained, you can't download the zip file at present. Well, I can't here, anyway, because the download site password doesn't appear to work (and it certainly did before). I will contact the owner of it...

Report · Oct 16, 2008

>I will contact the owner of it...

I've now heard back from the server owner, and the server is now working again - it was moved to a new ISP and not reset, apparently.

What's not so good is that Alan's folder doesn't appear to be there, so a little more remedial work is required, I think.

Report · Oct 16, 2008

I got a message back from the site manager which says "If it isn't there, it wasn't on the FTP site when I switched hosts."

So Alan, if you are presently able to, you need to put the file back!

Report · Oct 16, 2008

OK, I've rummaged around this laptop & found the files. You'll now find them here:-

http://www.bunyipmusic.com/s2m.zip

stereo2mono.exe can be run from the command line, e.g.

stereo2mono wavefile1.wav wavefile2.wav ...

or you can drag several wave files to stereo2mono.exe (or a shortcut to the program). If you wish to use it this way, I have provided an icon.

Either way windows will limit the number of files to 10 or so, depending mainly on the length of their names. Note that the program is not a DOS program, but must be run from the command line in windows (NT, XP etc.), although just to be confusing we sometimes call this DOS!

Heading off into the unknown tomorrow, so internet access will be rather patchy.

Report · Oct 16, 2008

That's great - I've renamed it to the way it was, and put it back in the archive. So the original link still works, and it's a simple matter of right-clicking on that and using Save As.

Report · May 09, 2010

I realize this thread has gone dormant, but having begun putting Premiere Pro CS5 through some paces and needing to split a stereo audio track in order to treat each side differently, I wonder why not

A) duplicate the stereo audio track and place the result in the next available audio channel, then

B) pan track one all the way to either the L or R, followed by

C) pan track two all the way opposite

Voilá! Separate tracks for processing!

However, the best and most obvious choice is an editing app that simply allows one to de-couple the stereo track in the first place -- like Final Cut Pro.

====

That said, I am impressed with the speed at which PP works (aaaahhh, 64-bit app). Otherwise, underwhelmed by the relative paucity of functionality of the app compared with FCP.

Report · May 10, 2010

Audition does this easily and always has done although not a video editing app and not available for Mac users except when used in a Windows emulation.

Report · May 10, 2010

Good to know that Audition has that capability, although for we who edit, bouncing out to a second app simply for the purpose of being able to perform simple operations on accompanying audio is inefficient.

Having no interest in working with windows os nor emulating same, Audition is, for the foreseeable future, off the table for this correspondent. Perhaps down the road.

Happy editing!