Help me fix an issue. 3 way split, bass, octave up, split stereo, great stereo but horrible mono

Quad Cortex
1

Hey gang!

So I’m experimenting with a 3 way signal.

Bass to bass amp on row 3.

Row 1 & 2 receives the bass signal, octave up, hard panned L and R. Each have their own amps and effects.

Vocals on row 4

The idea is to simulate bass & two guitars, where I have independent control of each LR channel using Scenes.

To add some dimension, i added to one of the guitar an 8-12 ms delay offset, to mimic double tracking. Works “great” to some extent, wish I could modulate it further to simulate 2 actual different takes, as one would in the studio. Gets the job done for live. Definitely widens the stereo field.

Even using radically different amps and pedals,
when I collapse a recording to mono, the guitars cancel each ither out. I was expecting some serious phasing issues, but damn, not to this extent.

What advice could you give me to improve mono compatibility while at the same time widen the stereo field?

Easy on slower tracks without distortion, adding depth with delays, verbs and modulation.

My main gripe is with power riffs with significant amounts of distortion.

Any tips?

Cheers guys!

2

I would play with your delay time(s). Are there phase issues with delay(s) turned off? I would start by increasing the delay time in small increments. You can get away with up to 28ms max without it sounding too obvious. You could also try different mics and/or positions on the cabs.

3

You could also try adding a gain block before or after one of the amps and invert the phase.

1 Like
4

Good point, will diagnose this