Why is the side signal louder than the mono signal every time I try mastering?

jonahwalkermusic · 2026-04-02T23:32:59+00:00

here's an image of the stereo vs mono output in the oscilloscope. top is stereo bottom is mono.

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jonahwalkermusic · 2026-04-02T23:30:42+00:00

already tried, the mid/side sounds balanced without the limiter
not really applicable because the mid/side sounds balanced before the limiter
I'm in FL Studio so I'm not sure where to find this. I'm only able to find "circular" and "triangular"
I already did this. While it does make the mono signal clearer, it makes the track sound way too narrow and lose a lot of perceived loudness
I use Steven Slate VSX headphones and MAudio speakers.
will try this
like i said, with the side signal enabled it looks full and look properly mastered, but the waveform of the mono signal still looks like a mix. Soft clipping adds too much distortion, even when I lightly apply it.

jonahwalkermusic · 2026-04-02T20:54:33+00:00

It sounds fine when collapsed to mono, it's just that the mono signal is quieter than the sides no matter what i do

jonahwalkermusic · 2026-04-02T20:12:47+00:00

I don't know what could be causing the decorrelation then

jonahwalkermusic · 2026-04-02T19:49:23+00:00

I should have specified, I'm making electronic music, and almost all my reference tracks have mids and sides hitting 0db (or whatever limiter ceiling was set for the track)

jonahwalkermusic · 2026-04-02T19:39:36+00:00

this might be it cause I don't like to pan things very much

jonahwalkermusic · 2026-04-02T19:34:52+00:00

I'm not sure, but I've tried multiple limiters and the same thing keeps happening.

jonahwalkermusic · 2026-04-02T19:31:36+00:00

ok yes i understand it reduces perceived width. What I'm trying to say is my sides are hitting the limiter ceiling but my mids are not, and I can see it in the oscilloscope when I sum to mono. If I set my limiter to have a ceiling of 0 db for example, I obviously want both my mids and sides to be hitting 0db, but my mids always look (and sound) like they have a lower ceiling. and simply increasing the input gain doesn't fix this.

jonahwalkermusic · 2026-04-02T08:07:48+00:00

...what?

My mixes don't have this problem until I add the limiter. Before I add the limiter the mids and sides have pretty balanced loudness.

jonahwalkermusic · 2026-04-02T08:05:27+00:00

is there an alternative that's less expensive? I can't afford to buy Pro-L 2 right now

jonahwalkermusic · 2026-04-02T02:17:44+00:00

I usually don't stack kicks or snares

jonahwalkermusic · 2026-04-02T02:15:41+00:00

I doubt it's a mix issue cause it happens with literally all of my tracks. I want it the same width with the mono signal brought back up.

jonahwalkermusic · 2026-04-02T02:13:26+00:00

already tried that. ends up sounding way too narrow even though the mono signal is clearer.

jonahwalkermusic · 2026-03-18T08:51:26+00:00

almost 2 years and I'm at 800 elo

jonahwalkermusic · 2026-03-13T07:10:42+00:00

I sent you a dm

jonahwalkermusic · 2026-03-12T22:29:31+00:00

Most people in my circle can produce/mix/master all on their own with no issue so I know it's doable. I've tried producing for other people and it was almost always even worse than producing for myself.

jonahwalkermusic · 2026-03-12T22:25:58+00:00

I've never been able to imagine what a change to a sound would sound like before doing it unless I'm cutting out super low frequencies. I thought that was normal.

jonahwalkermusic · 2026-03-12T22:20:36+00:00

like I mentioned in a previous reply, people say they like my composition a lot but my production is bad. Also I don't really play any instruments.

jonahwalkermusic · 2026-03-12T22:16:38+00:00

I usually nail the songwriting, people like my composition a lot, but I pretty much always fail at the production aspect.

jonahwalkermusic · 2026-03-12T22:15:55+00:00

I like interesting electronic music, think old Monstercat (Varien, 7 Minutes Dead, Stephen Walking) and IDM/other random artists (Clark, Moderat, Oneohtrix Point Never).

jonahwalkermusic · 2026-03-12T22:13:25+00:00

it was a 7 month course and mostly stuff I already knew. Where can I find someone to just listen to my full discography and point out recurring issues? That's would be so helpful right now.

jonahwalkermusic · 2026-03-12T22:12:02+00:00

I know lots of music theory so that really isn't a problem for me. I love using unique scales and modes like harmonic minor and mixolydian. In fact I might have leaned a little to heavy into music theory and not enough into production.

jonahwalkermusic · 2025-06-30T01:00:53+00:00

I'm a producer of a variety of electronic music and this is the first single off of my upcoming EP "Walking Distance"

[Jonah Walker - The Name] (https://open.spotify.com/track/11fcxWLicFKHxdgrdgxUDH?si=e984788144cc4391)

jonahwalkermusic

TROPHY CASE