Recording gets sent stereo despite setting audacity for mono channel.

[fshort]

Phil Chenevert --help
My audacity setting for mono channel gets sent stereo presumably because of my Yeti stereo microphone even though I set it to the heart logo which is the desired Cardioid setting. My recording looks like mono. In Audacity Tracks, I mixed and rendered, saw 2 tracks develop and deleted one. It worked so that I sent my recording in mono mode. I don’t think I know how to do again.

How can I get my Yeti microphone to result in sending my recording in mono?

[Rapunzelina]

Does this always happen? Do you always get a stereo track when exporting to MP3 even though the recording looks like a mono track? Or does it happen in a particular recording? If it's just on one particular recording, the L / R slider on the left-side box might have accidentally been moved. This should be centered.

Another setting to check is when exporting, at the Export window, look for the Audio options and make sure "mono" is selected for Channels.

The easiest way to convert a stereo recording to mono is from menu Tracks -> Mix -> mix stereo down to mono.

[sjmarky]

Before you start recording, go to Audio Setup (in the Audacity menu bar), select Audio Settings. In the dialogue box set Recording Channels and select 1 (mono).

[loon]

In the 'export to MP3' dialog there are selections for channel mode - 'joint stereo', 'stereo' or 'force to mono'. If one of the stereo options is selected the MP3 file will be stereo even if the recording has been edited in mono. The bitrate and stereo/mono choices will remain the same in future sessions until you change them.

[Winnifred]

In the 'export to MP3' dialog there are selections for channel mode - 'joint stereo', 'stereo' or 'force to mono'. If one of the stereo options is selected the MP3 file will be stereo even if the recording has been edited in mono. The bitrate and stereo/mono choices will remain the same in future sessions until you change them.

In later versions of Audacity (starting around 3.5, I think), those export to MP3 channel options have changed to "mono," "stereo" or "custom mapping." "Force to mono" seems to have disappeared from Audacity, though there is a "mix stereo down to mono" under Tracks now.

Cheers,

[sjmarky]

The newer releases look like this:

When exporting your MP3 from Audacity, go to File>Export Audio. In the pop-up menu select:

Format: MP3 Files
Channels: Mono.
Sample Rate: 44100
Bit Rate Mode: Constant.
Quality: 128kbps.

[loon]

Audacity changes the menus a lot!

I wasn't about to change versions while I edited Stand By For Mars! - now that that's out I should look at newer versions.

The newer releases look like this:

When exporting your MP3 from Audacity, go to File>Export Audio. In the pop-up menu select:

Format: MP3 Files
Channels: Mono.
Sample Rate: 44100
Bit Rate Mode: Constant.
Quality: 128kbps.

[Winnifred]

Audacity changes the menus a lot!

I wasn't about to change versions while I edited Stand By For Mars! - now that that's out I should look at newer versions.

The newer releases look like this:

When exporting your MP3 from Audacity, go to File>Export Audio. In the pop-up menu select:

Format: MP3 Files
Channels: Mono.
Sample Rate: 44100
Bit Rate Mode: Constant.
Quality: 128kbps.

The pace of updates has really sped up this past year. I wrote the How-to for Audacity users in January of this year, and we were on 3.4.2 then. We’ve since zipped through 3.5.0, 3.5.1, 3.6.0, 3.6.1, 3.6.2, 3.6.4, and now 3.7. Next they’re going to leap to 4.0, which will likely have substantial changes.

I’m still on 3.6.4. I may just wait for 4.0 or even 4.2 before upgrading again.

I like to wait until they release the x.2 or x.x.2 versions or higher, as there are inevitably issues with each new x.x release that are ironed out in the higher versions.

[fshort]

Thank you all bundles for these suggestions. I’m sure to find a solution now.

[fshort]

Thanks everyone. I was so delighted to get mono working correctly that I recorded and sent in a recording of the fortnightly poem selection. I may have the courage to download a newer version of Audacity.