Trouble Converting Track To Stereo

Report · Nov 18, 2018

Hello,

I recorded a podcast on Mono with two mics and two people talking. I want to change each track to stereo. When I convert the sample type it changes the track in the waveform view to stereo but when I go back to multi track it is only playing out of one ear and displays as a mono waveform. Would love some help!

Best,

Blake

Report · Nov 18, 2018

Firstly, you can't make stereo out of mono! Mono is what it says it is - a file with one channel's worth of information only - there's no other material available to make it 'stereo'. If you have a two channel file made from this, you get two identical files on each side. Sometimes we call this 'glorious' mono (blame the BBC for that).

Anyway, if you have a couple of single files that you want to position in a stereo sound field, then you import them into a stereo multitrack session in Audition, and pan each one to the place you want it. So you don't need to do anything to the files at all - just import them into the session as they are. When you mix this down, then you'll have a stereo file, with the voices positioned where you want them.

Report · Nov 18, 2018

Thanks for the response Steve. On other projects i've been able to convert sample type from Mono to stereo. Any idea why it would work previously?

Report · Nov 19, 2018

blakep73041775 wrote
but when I go back to multi track it is only playing out of one ear and displays as a mono waveform. Would love some help!

It works fine here - if you have a stereo waveform and even insert it into a mono session, it still displays as a stereo waveform. Can you provide a screen grab?

Incidentally, I can think of no valid reason whatsoever for why you'd ever need to do this for a multitrack session - it's just wasting file space.

Report · Nov 19, 2018

Ok so maybe that's where I'm uneducated. So mono would sound the same?

The reason I was doing it because I had a project where most of the audio had two wave forms for Stereo and I did some voice overs to add in and those were recorded mono. As it wouldn't allow be to record stereo. So I just wanted all to be the same. I also find it easier to edit the tracks when they are stereo. I am new to the program so I love your advice! Thank you.

Report · Nov 19, 2018

Yes, all mono sounds the same - even when it's two channels in a stereo file.

blakep73041775 wrote
The reason I was doing it because I had a project where most of the audio had two wave forms for Stereo and I did some voice overs to add in and those were recorded mono. As it wouldn't allow be to record stereo. So I just wanted all to be the same. I also find it easier to edit the tracks when they are stereo. I am new to the program so I love your advice! Thank you.

If you have a project which is basically stereo, you can add mono tracks to it simply. You start a new stereo session and put your original file in it. Then you add your mono file as another track in the session. You need to add a mono track to put it in, though (Multitrack>Tracks>Add Mono Track). Now, instead of having stereo balance control, you'll have a pan control in the same place. You use this to pan your mono file into the place you want it in the stereo field. Mix down the file - job done. And you don't need to convert anything...