I am fairly sure that, in the ears of the seasoned guitarists and bassists around here, my question will border on the realms of the unmeasurable dumbness, and will almost certainly deserve a royal portion of the rook soup duly prescribed in such circumstances by @wyleu, only maybe in the seasonal Xmas edition (c’mon let’s be nice, and add to the usual mixture some festive nuts and raisins!).
As a keyboardist, I have little acquaintance with treating audio mono inputs, but I have got a little interesting analog polysynth with only a single mono output, which I very much would like to spread in a shimmering landscape of stereo echoes and reverbs. While this is inherently possible, by design, with dedicated FX boxes (like the affordable but effective MS-70 CDR), I have not come up on the Z with an audio routing or FX processor setting that performs the same behaviour.
Alternatively, I have found an inexpensive Y splitter cable, from mono TS to double mono TS, which should do the trick, but I am curious to know if this is also possible with some stereo routing of a mono signal inside the Zynth directly. With that, I don’t mean duplicating an audio chain with FX on another audio chain, having the first as the input source, but real stereo reverb, chorus and delay.
So your cable has three connectors on it. Two are mono and the other is stereo or mono . You say mono but has ti actually got three metal connectors on it?
You don’t say what zynth you are using, but if I assume a kit with the basic provision you with have a stereo audio in which by default will end up as left and right on one chain.
To set this up for use add an audio chain with None selected when you are offered a choice of Engines. …
Oh blow it ( it is here… Alot) I’ll do it with pictures.
Here we can turn off channel one or two selecting just one audio input into that specific zynth chain. So you can set up two completely different chains for your two inputs.
Thanks for the detailed explanation, complete with on-screen pictures :+1
I am planning to use a V4 as a stereo multi-FX processor, and the Y cable which I mentioned is marketed as a mono to 2 X mono signal doubler (actually, rather than splitter, which would apply to a stereo output).
Providing that I understand correctly your words (please correct me, if I’m mistaken on something), your proposed workflow should work in two ways:
Without Y signal doubler, thus using either the left or right Zynthian input: I could create a mono audio input which would be treated with stereo effect processors, resulting in a stereo signal from a mono input, sent to the main mixbus.
With a Y signal doubler, thus using both the left and right Zynthian inputs: I could create a stereo L+T audio input which I might even treat with different FX settings and/or processors on the two channels, resulting in a stereo signal from a stereo input, sent to the main mixbus.
Right got you. Yes this lead’s primary purpose would be to take a mono source and apply it to both inputs of a stereo system. So your signal would appear equally in both channels of a ‘normal’ hifi sort of system. It’s a purely hardware solution and would be needed in most systems but zynthian is cleverer than that. You can just plug your mono synth into one channel, select as described and the zynthian will place the mono channel in the centre of the chain to the zynthian’s stereo mixer. . Your synth will appear in the centre of the mix and it’s position can be adjusted with the pan control.
This is without effects in the chain but that all just sort of works. The ambiance plugin produces a stereo mixable chain from a mono input and reverbs and such do this as a matter of course as well. Zynthian just keeps track of what audio is going where. . .
Sounds like you have it sussed. but best to keep it simple, initially, using None as the chain setting to be sure you have it right.
I have an audio signal wav file of alternate left and right spoken on left and right channels to help sort out which is which.
There was a time in the early days when the zynth got it the wrong way round!!
Things have moved on, and when using a zynth with a device like the Behringer 1820 or the Tascam incredibly involved systems can be managed, without having to clamber round the back of a piece of kit to remind yourself which channel is plugged in .
The rename facility on the chain is also well worth employing to get everything labelled properly.
