Hi everyone

Just a quick question here: are there any hard and fast rules re: which sounds should be kept mono versus stereo?

A buddy of mine told me that the kick and snare should always be mono so as to ensure that they hit dead-centre in the mix. Beyond the kick and snare, though, should other sounds also be kept mono? What about the bassline for instance? The sub-bass? Etc.

Thank you kindly

There really shouldn't be any hard & fast "rules" regarding what you can and can't do this day in age as far as music goes. However, it is generally considered useless to make kicks/sub-basses stereo since they aren't really directional sounds.

Defo kick and sub basses, upper basslines can be as wide as you want as long as kick and sub bass are mono, can sound phat as hell too

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stereo

Thanks for the replies

Different styles have different rules.

In trance, you'll almost always find the kick and low bass in mono, in the centre. Claps/Snares are often centred as well, but you're just as likely to find them spread quite wide. Hihats can be mono or stereo, centred or panned.

Listen to a bunch of your favourite songs and make notes about whether elements sound like they're mono or stereo, and whereabouts they're panned to.