So I have all my files in a seq. set to volumes and panning I want. (Some are mono files and some are stereo -all audio) I then go to render> merge audio and vsti/dxi files to stereo wave. The resulting file ends up as a mono wave file - no panning. When I open the file in powertracks to master it says it is a mono file. I have windows 10 and PT 2022. I am obviously missing something here.

pan.

post back pics of traks view ie waveforms and mixer view.
it will help people help you.
cos we dont know how your rig is set up.
lets start there.

om

Here are pics. I recorded the tracks unto an open audio stereo track and saved that to file -which worked to make a stereo wave.

Pan.

so your saying all is ok now ??

(note i'm a tad vision impaired but posting pics also help other users/pg to help you without guessing.)

fyi lets go over the various reasons people have problems setting up a music production rig//pc. in case you encounter further problems with your set up.

ie a checklist that i hope helps you at some point.

1..incorrect choice of pc or using an old pc clunker particularly that cant handle the users track and plug in counts. also preferably use a pc with low DPC count.
(google 'DPC LATENCY' and its impact on music production.)

2..using a pc that isnt optimised for music production.
see the optimisation guides both here on pg and on you tube and the net. enter in google 'optimise a pc for music production'. lots of info.

3..choosing a suitable sound interface. in your case i would recommend using a usb interface specifically manufactured for music production with low latency asio drivers.
(eg in my case i get 4ms or lower.). there are lots of recommendations on these forums and the net.
(google 'low latency asio usb interface.)

4..incorrect Windows OS set up for music production . eg recording and playback settings including the 'advanced' dialogs.

5..incorrect set up of settings in the music production software daw chosen by the user and preferences.
(eg in your case maybe also post pics of your various Powertraks settings//preferences so they can be checked. this will also help PG support help you too.)

6..most sound interfaces come with on screen user control panels. this is another area that can bring problems if settings are set inmcorrectly.

i hope the above helps you at some point and you have a happy new year 2023.

om

Thanks for all the info. My set up has been quite reliable for years. (4 core cpu and 16 gigs ram) Things are not exactly Ok. rendering to a stereo wave (in the render menu) creates a mono file, What I did as a work around was recorded a stereo audio track of all the other tracks. then saved that track using the "saved track to file" from the track menu. That gave me a stereo wave file. I am not recording through an interface -just loading existing wave files.

Pan.

re you said quote....

' I am not recording through an interface -just loading existing wave files. '

even though you are doing only loading and mixing in ptw you cant necessarily assume some of the problem areas i mentioned up thread dont apply.

its been years since i used audigy but by any chance does it still have the 'what you hear' feature. ??

have you loaded the rendered MONO wavefile to see that the files waveform is indeed mono and not stereo ?

best

om

Pan.

(see my previous post please.)

i tried render to stereo here again .. no matter what i do i cant reproduce your mono problem.
render works as it should rendering a stereo master.

in ptw preferences
under windows audio please press drivers button and
post back a pic of your input and output drivers for the audigy.

also a querstion...BEFORE rendering just playing back the song with all traks set in ptw as to pan and vol...
do you hear a stereo mix and not mono BEFORE RENDERING THE MIX
ie normal ptw stereo mix playback useing stereo headphones or stereo speakers ??


best

om

yes,the file is rendered as mono. Power tracks shows wave form as mono. I do not use audigy. Just as an experiment I loaded one stereo wave file into power tracks with a few effects added and rendered it and it did render as a stereo file! So I assume it is something in the project I was doing. I will look into all the suggestions you made. Thanks for the help.

Pan.

BUT your traks view pic you posted upthread says audigy on the traks...
maybe therein lies a clue !!

what are you useing then as an interface ??

om

It says "Generic audio" I do not have audigy and am not using an interface. These are wave files I loaded into power tracks from my computer -not recorded into powertracks.

Pan.

look at your trak picture you posted upthread..

on each trak it clearly says under 'generic audio'...
'SOUNDBLASTER AUDIGY' !!! check it yourself.

check your own posted pic.

so i guess your using the sound chip that came with your pc
ie on board sound ?? if so its difficult to advise you further….

without seeing more settings pics ie your win recording and playback
settings including the advanced dialog button….and your ptw driver in/out settings for the was driver used by ptw.

sorry i cant help you further.

have a great 2023.

om

OK, I'll ask the basic question; do you have the last update?
https://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=744228#Post744228

Maybe it will help.
I remember a time period a couple years ago when *some people had this MONO issue and it got fixed, so probably worth a shot if you don't already have it.

Same thing here with PT2022 (3) and Windows 10. Files that rendered in stereo in version 2021 are now rendering in mono. I still have the BB2020 32-bit .exe, so I tested the same file in that version and it rendered in stereo. Could be a version 2022 bug?

RealBand 2023 (3) also rendered to mono.

I have RB 2023(3) and it does not do this here.
Not sure if that helps, but I'm pretty sure enough of us use RB that if it was a bug we'd have noticed.
My latest version of PT is 2018 so I can't test that for you ..
just trying to help

Thanks for helping, Rharv.

I just loaded a .SEQ file that had previously rendered in stereo and this time RB rendered it in mono. I don't really have a clue, but I'm wondering if the presence of PT2022 on the same drive has anything to do with it.

Drew.

by any chance are you using the on board sound chip on your pc instead of a usb audio interface ??
(not a good idea imho cos it can cause problems.)

if so heres a test.

1..outside of rb play back in win itself a song you KNOW is stereo. (rb closed down).
if it also outside of rb plays back in mono…THEN…
2..the only conclusion i can reach is you have somehow win audio properties set up MONO. instead of stereo.

please post back what sound device your using…and pics of your win settings
record n' playback and including advanced settings.

happiness

om
ps you could also import the song you just mixed to stereo back into rb on a spare trak set to stereo (mute any other traks) and view the waveform to see if its mono or stereo.
note the above also applies to powertraks.

Thanks for your suggestions om.

My sound card is a Sound Blaster Audigy 2ZS Platinum and I have rendered literally hundreds of files over the years. This problem seemed to arise with the installation of PT 2022 (3). I've been trying to think of a setting that would cause a stereo file to render as mono but haven't come up with anything.

Windows Media player, YouTube videos, and other programs, including PT and RB .seq files, play in stereo. BB still renders audio files in stereo. It is just when the stereo file is rendered in PT or RB that it is output as a mono file.

This was confirmed by your suggestion of importing the rendered .wav file into a blank track. In fact, if you attempt to import the file to a stereo track, the program warns you that you are importing a mono file to a stereo track and asks if you want to change the track to mono.

I'm including images of the various audio settings.

Two things I see to try ..
SB cards were natively 24/48, so the 16/44 setting in multiple images you posted may be worth testing by changing to 24/48.
Also in your Audio Prefs ASIO Divers image there appears to be a second Audigy option just above the selected one, maybe try selecting that as a test (?)

Remember or screen shot all settings before changing so you can always revert back. <important>
At least you can refer to your images here.

I tried both the Creative Audigy ASIO 2ZS 24/96 driver and what looks like the original Creative ASIO driver. Same result, I'm afraid.

This is the message the program gives if the rendered wave is imported to a stereo track.

Drew.

Questions.

1..by any chance have you updated windows recently ?
apparently this can sometimes cause sb probs if you search/google/utube.

2..please confirm in traks view of rb or ptw when you play back an imported *.seq does it play back in stereo ?
thus its only the mix to stereo thats the prob ?
also a pic of ptw/rb traks view would be useful.

3..are you doing recording also with the sb ? if so frankly i would recommend you possibly look at an alternative. (see rb forum for list of asio devices that pg users find work well. also in the tips n' tricks forum is a list of new multiclient asio devices. ) eg for extreme budget look at a behringer asio umc interface maybe ?

if this prob DOES get solved i would suggest you take pics of your win and rb/ptw settings in case it occurs again.

hang in there mate.

om

If the file is rendered as 24-bit, 48K the output is completely distorted, as in the attached screenshot of the wave.

Band-in-a-Box exports the original file for the same song successfully as a 24-bit, 48Khz stereo .wav file.

It seems that the rendering routine in RB2023 and PT2022 has issues. I am filing an online report with tech support.

Drew.

i might be wrong in your case...but one thing i notice is on the overloaded trak it says 'generic audio'.

typically any recording rig ive set up specifically names the name of the sound device used. in your case i dont see that just 'generic audio'.
are you sure your useing the right sound device ?

the above assumes there is no bug in the music software being used.

one thing i do RECOMMEND is if the problem persists then go n' rent a usb audio interface from a gear store.
if THEN all probs go away i would conclude its a problem with your current sound device.

sometimes one just has to use a process of elimination
to sort out a prob.


best.

om

Drew, I looked over your previous post with multiple images again.
It appears your Creative device is listed in Windows as WDM.
In PT (and probably RB) you are using ASIO.

Does the Creative have native ASIO available in Windows?
Not sure how mixing ASIO and WDM could affect things .. but I'm guessing it doesn't help.

Hi om,

On my system the program has always labelled audio tracks as Generic Audio. The line below says AUD:AISO: (0,1) Wave + Wave. I assume that AUD means Audigy, and the ASIO output ports I am using are (0,1) Wave + Wave.

I'd be willing to rent a USB interface to see if it solves the problem, but this device and setup still works perfectly with Band-in-a-Box 2023 and with an earlier version of PowerTracks. And it had been working perfectly with PT and RB right up until I installed the latest versions.

I'm waiting to hear back from PG tech support.

Thanks again for your help, I appreciate it.

Drew

PS - congratulations on your User Showcase Award!

Hi rharv. That's an interesting observation. I'm not sure why Windows is labelling them as WDM drivers, or if they are performing as WDM drivers. They show up as ASIO in the drivers dialog, and the Creative Labs web site says ASIO is supported for this card.

Whatever the case, they have been working perfectly in previous versions of these programs (PT and RB) and still work perfectly in Band-in-a-Box.

I think we need to hear what PG tech support has to say.

Thanks for taking another look.

Drew

Drew.

try this.

load up the previous versions that worked and jot down ALL settings includeing win settings + ADVANCED.
(of course all rb n' ptw settings.)

also check your settings for each trak via THE LOOONG MENU.

see if there are any discrepencies tween your previous versions settings and the 2023 versions your haveing probs with.

best

om

ps thanks for your kind comments.

Try going into the main menu (Edit - Track - Merge) and, if, in that dialog, Merge audio to Mono is checked, then that's what is causing the problem. Turns out if that command (for merging tracks) were used and the mono checkbox was checked then it could cause a regular render to generate a mono wav instead of stereo.
If that checkbox is checked, then, you could merge a track to a blank track with that checkbox unchecked which would reset it, or go into Options - Reset to Default Settings which would also reset it (and all other settings).

Thanks very much Jeff. That did it. I'm not sure how it happened, but "Merge audio to mono" was checked in both PT and RB. I had looked for a setting that was causing the problem, but just didn't dig deep enough.

With the merge to mono setting selected, the L+R mix output was recorded to a blank stereo track. That track was then rendered to a stereo .wav from the (Track - Save Track to File...) command.

The song also rendered successfully at 24/48 without distortion or over saturation, which presumably was the result of the mono merge.

Thanks,
Drew

Jeff had a simple solution for the problem. Doh!

I intend to follow up on your suggestions for optimizing the computer, especially dealing with DPC latency.

Thanks again for all of your help.

Drew

Hi rharv,

As so often is the case, a simple solution when you know where to look. I just didn't dig deep enough.

Thanks for helping.

Drew

Hey, I learned something too!

Glad that resolved it. For the next RB update, as well as PTW 2023 when that's released, the plan is for regular renders to always be in stereo even if that checkbox in the merge dialog had previously been checked.

+1

sorry, I thought you were referring to another daw "audigy" not my creative soundcard