Hey David, thanks for taking the time to comment. Let me know how it goes and if you have any questions along the way, please ask. Have fun.

Hey Scott, thanks for your comment. Yes, mono is good for hearing the bottom to top frequency stack without the distraction of left to right differences. So, put your mixer in mono at the start of your mix and balance the sounds. When you have a good bottom to top balance across all frequencies, switch back to stereo to finish the mix. You can even pan in mono. If you not a fan of LCR (left, center, right) pan positions, panning in mono is a good way to find the optimal placement, pan a sound around with the mixer in mono until you find a position that sounds clearer as though it suddenly has its own space, switch back to stereo and be amazed as the mix opens up!

Also, to prove to yourself the problem with balancing in stereo – record two similar parts with the same instrument/sound, i.e., if you are a guitarist, record one track of strumming in open chords and then a second track using the same open chords, then pan track one to the left and track two to the right (with the mixer in stereo) – it will sound great. Then switch the mixer to mono and it will sound terrible with both parts clashing. If you build a song by double tracking all sounds and panning one left and one right you have what is referred to as BIG MONO! It is generally desirable to avoid ‘big mono’ mixes and instead shoot for stereo bounce, unless the genre demands it. Then delete track two and record the same part but use barre chords higher up the neck – this will sound good in stereo and mono as each part has its own space – Have fun.