Your Questions: How Do I Know My Vinyl Rips Are In Stereo?

Reader Rikki writes: “I’m recording my old vinyl to my hard drive. I’ve got my audio coming out from the Tape Out on my amp via phonos to mini jack. The mini jack is plugged into a Y-splitter, then into input channels 1 and 2 of my Onyx 400F audio interface. I’m recording into Adobe Audition, and both channels are panned dead centre in my Onyx virtual mixer interface. My question is: Am I getting a true stereo recording ie a true recording of my vinyl? Sorry if it’s a daft question…”

Digital DJ Tips says:

Not a daft question – software routing can be confusing.

I’m not aware of your audio interface’s software, but it sounds like you’re not getting stereo because at your virtual mixer, you’re taking the left and right channels and mixing them together by having those pans central. You should pan the left-hand channel hard left and the right-hand hard right. The easy way to test this is to record a track, and unplug first the left input, then the right input physically, and either monitor to check that the left and right channels are cutting out, or listen back to the recording to check. Stereo’s either “on” or “off” though, so yet another way is just to listen to the recording to check it’s actually in stereo – and if you need to remind yourself what it should sound like in stereo, listen to the record through the headphones output of your amp first.

Do you struggle to get your vinyl rips to sound right or to come out how you wish? Got any tips or tricks to share with us or with Rikki? Let us know in the comments…