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I think there's a few different aspects of the subject matter in this thread.
The primary is about mono sounds, i.e single channel sounds vs. stereo sounds (in some cases two mono channels representing the stereo signal).
The second is about panning - don't forget we mix in stereo (at least to achive a stereo master) so mono sounds are panned within the stereo field.
The third is about separation (between sounds).
All of these factors are considerations for what your sounds should be within a given project and all three of them interrelate.
Personally, I take the approach of traditional recording (probably becuase I record/track most days through work) so I always go back to the basic principles of mic'ing sources.
If you think about it, apart from a few specific techniques (overhead for drums, mid side for cello or acoustic guitar etc.) you use ONE mic or line per source/instrument*. That means a mono track for each one.
*unless you are working in surround in which case you'd have rear dual front and rear placement but that's a discussion for another time.
So I use the rule of thumb that most sounds would be mono, then panned in the stereo field. The final (basic) stage is separation (obviously firstly with eq, then secondary tools such as gates, compressors, limiters, ).
TBH, a good rule of thumb is the V technique for mixing (where the lower the frequency the more centered the sound (so sub bass at the bottom of the V point), but it's also the rule of thumb for source sounds.
Having said that there are always exceptions such as the wide panning of matching bass sounds (as excellently described in Andy Vax' Mixing secrets).
So basically, most sounds really should be mono, unless there is something about the sounds that truly warrants a stereo source (like a wide pad with stereo delay causing differences in the LR balance), becuase you can still place mono sounds in the stereo field to give a great stereo image.
It also gives you much more control to later add stereo FX to your mono sounds or groups^, without the clutter and mud of layering stereo FX over sounds that are already stereo or have built in stereo FX.
I think one of the problems is that so many softsynths these days are by default stereo (or loaded on stereo tracks from people not knowing better) and also have so many internal FX (many stereo) to give them that big sound.
The main thing to remember is that we mix and master in stereo, but our tracks can be made nearly entirely from mono sources - it's the other factors such as placement, panning, separation and FX that contribute to a wall balanced stereo image.
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