Is A Live Concert Stereo Or Mono

Concerts are actually reproduced from stage right and left speaker stacks running in a stereo mix. The engineer (the guy sitting in the audience working from a mixing console) runs the show in stereo but mixes it so that there is directionality from the speaker stacks and on-stage amps but with a view towards mixing the show to make sure even those in far right and left seats can hear everything. Bottom line result is sort-of stereo from the front and sort-of mono from the sides.

Nwext time you are at a show ask the engineer before the show when he at the console waiting for the houselights to go down (but not too close to the start of the show). Having worked many years with them they are generally friendly and will answer simple questions.

G'day all, this is actually a very good and interesting question! I'm always believed, and read that the invention of stereo recording was an attempt to reproduce the sound of an actual live performance!

Yet as a regular attendee of live music performances (unmiked) myself and sitting pretty well in the middle of the venue my own impressions are that 'stereo effect' (left /right directionality) is discernable, but only marginally so which leads me to believe that much 'stereo' on recordings is deliberately exaggerated!

Whilst that sounds great coming over a stereo system, in my opinion it isn't the real thing! Regards Fap.

I would think the individual instrument would be mono with there own speaker location. So we would here the drummer center keyboard guitars and other instrument where the group players would be located for the concert. The same as it is when we listen at home. Plus we have line of sight to help with location for it to appear we are hearing stereo. Stereo is really a way for us to here the location of the instrument is it not.

Apparently none of you have attended a Pink Floyd concert. They used multi-channel reproduction since the 1970's at their shows.

Live unamplified instruments playing are not mono, stereo or multi-channel. Those terms are only appropriately used when describing amplified, reproduced sound. There seems to be some confusion because nearly all mid to large venue concerts are amplified. If you're at a Pink Floyd concert you're not listening to the band play, you're listening to a big concert hi-fi system reproduce what the band is playing.