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I will be playing at a venue Sunday that runs a mono FOH and monitor setup. I had planned to simply plug a single XLR cable into the left balanced out of the CP4.
Checking the manual, it seems that if I were to do this I might be only getting the left channel output and not a mono combination of both sides, unlike what happens if I plug an unbalanced ¼” cable into the Left/Mono output and run though a DI to the house.
Can anyone confirm that for a mono application I should use the unbalanced jack on the CP4 and not the Left XLR output. Thanks.
John
Posted : 28/10/2015 3:56 pm
You have read this correctly. If you want to use the CP4 Stage in a MONO application, use a single unbalanced connection between L/MONO and a DI box.
Posted : 29/10/2015 4:31 am
... AND, that's the good news. In my experience, just one side nearly always sounds better than summed to mono.
It depends on how the sounds use stereo, and there are definitely counterexamples.
In many cases, we have a mono sound source using stereo effects. In most cases, taking just one side works fine. Summing often produces a bit more mush and no benefit, e.g., stereo reverb. A good stereo Leslie effect sounds far better taking just one side than summing to mono.
The biggest counterexample, when summing to mono is clearly best, is for piano samples that are rather widely panned. If you take one side, you lose volume and clarity for the notes on the other side. The CP4 stereo pianos aren't panned so wide that this is a big problem, but admittedly it sounds better summed, and sounds even better using the mono piano (in which case, taking either side alone is just fine.) IMHO, the right side of a CP4 stereo piano sounds better than the left, especially for combo playing, simply because the high notes are a bit to the right in the image, and I don't mind a little less volume on the bass notes. But as I said, if you're playing mono, you should be using a CP4 mono piano voice, and then it doesn't matter what output(s) you use.
I play stereo most of the time, simply because I like the sound. However, there are times when I have to play mono. When I do, I use the Right output only, never a summed output. That's true for all the patches I use on my previous digital piano, my Nord electro, and my CP4. However, your mileage may vary.
I recommend that everyone should audit their patches to see what sounds best, when they have to use mono: summed, left, or right. Then go with whatever is the best overall compromise for you. There is no single correct answer for everybody. But if you don't want to take the time, then just use the Right output on most stereo keyboards and chances are, you'll be better off.
And, of course, check out the mono patches. That's what they're for, and the CP4 mono patches are very good.
Posted : 09/11/2015 2:41 am
There appears to be a difference of opinion here and I suppose there probably isn't one fits all answer. That said, does anyone have a recommendation for a mono di box? I'm thinking about the ProDI. Thanks
Posted : 10/11/2015 2:35 pm
