Loaded Stereo Tracks Sound Like Mono On Playback

JonnyB

HELP! After I load stereo music tracks into MixPad, they sound like mono when I listen to them with headphones. What am I doing wrong??

EIB

JonnyB wrote:

HELP! After I load stereo music tracks into MixPad, they sound like mono when I listen to them with headphones. What am I doing wrong??

Hi!

It's possible that the track you loaded the file onto is in MONO mode.

You may change this by clicking on the wrench icon on the track which contains the audio clip and make sure the track is set to STEREO

Please refer to the attached screenshot

JonnyB

I already clicked "Stereo" in that box, but the imported stereo files are still sounding totally mono.

I just can't figure this out -- it's very frustrating!

EIB

Could you send us a the sample audio file you are trying to work on?

You may use a cloud storage service (Google Drive/DropBox/WeTransfer/etc.) of your choice then please send us the transfer link so that we may be able to access the files.

You may alsoopen a support ticket through this link https://www.nch.com.au/support/index.html if you need immediate and direct assistance.

JonnyB

It's pretty clear to me that the problem is not the audio file itself, but an issue with the software. I'm importing stereo music tracks to an "Untitled Track" timeline, and then after it's loaded that stereo track sounds mono during playback. I've done nothing to the track except import it. I feel like there's a setting I've missed or something!

JonnyB

Could this have anything to do with the Surround Sound Editor (which I haven't been able to figure out anyway)?

EIB

JonnyB wrote:

It's pretty clear to me that the problem is not the audio file itself, but an issue with the software. I'm importing stereo music tracks to an "Untitled Track" timeline, and then after it's loaded that stereo track sounds mono during playback. I've done nothing to the track except import it. I feel like there's a setting I've missed or something!

Hi!

Yes, we do understand that the file is in true stereo. But it would help if we would work with the actual file you are working with so that we may attempt to reproduce this matter in a setting that's as close to your environment as possible.

Because by default, if you load a stereo audio clip onto the MixPad timeline, it should automatically playback as a stereo clip.

JonnyB

Here's a stereo track I imported to MixPad which then magically turned into mono: https://www.mediafire.com/file/0e175855plkvrv4/Wayne+Cochran+-+Goin'+Back+To+Miami.flac/file

EIB

JonnyB wrote:

Here's a stereo track I imported to MixPad which then magically turned into mono: https://www.mediafire.com/file/0e175855plkvrv4/Wayne+Cochran+-+Goin'+Back+To+Miami.flac/file

Thanks for sending this over.

I've downloaded the file and imported it onto MixPad. Without changing any track settings, the file was detected as a stereo clip, and the playback played in stereo.

If you refer to this video:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-YPacYh2Ar7KTr34mSfV-JdvxKQSs93D/view?usp=sharing

You can see that the level meter is split into two thinner bars which represent the left and right channel, thus, confirming that the file is playing back in stereo.

What version of MixPad are you using?

JonnyB

Version 3.73

EIB

JonnyB wrote:

Version 3.73

I understand. v3.73 is quite dated already, though by default, it should still honor stereo files as stereo files, and mono files as mono files.

Moving forward, you may want to considering downloading the latest version through this link: https://www.nch.com.au/mixpad/index.html and try out the process you are trying to do with v3.73.

billtkd

MixPad seems to display all stereo tracks as if they were mono downmixes. I got this when inproited stereo clips. If you right-click in the waveform and pick the option 'Split into component channels', it will create two new tracks with the left and right channel data. This is neither obvious nor necessary: stereo tracks should automatically be displayed with the left and right separate. (There may be a setting to make this the default, but i can't find it.)