Where does this come from, and can I check it?

Signals that sit in opposite polarity cancel when the channels are added. The figure is taken from Sound on Sound, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a music fact?

Yes. It sits on the Music shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

What else can I read about it?

The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

Folding stereo down to mono can erase parts

Signals that sit in opposite polarity cancel when the channels are added A mono fold-down simply adds the left and right channels together. If a sound appears in both channels with opposite polarity, the two copies subtract and it vanishes, which is why some very wide synth pads or spaced room microphones disappear on a mono radio. Engineers check mixes in mono to catch it. It sits in Mondo's music collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

Sound on Sound

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

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Tags: mono, phase, mixing

Folding stereo down to mono can erase parts: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: Signals that sit in opposite polarity cancel when the channels are added. The figure is taken from Sound on Sound, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a music fact?: Yes. It sits on the Music shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.