Proof That Guitar Hero III For Wii Is Mono Only?
Posted by William on Sunday, November 11th, 2007 at 3:52 pm under Nintendo
Earlier today, we reported that there may be some serious issues with Guitar Hero III for the Nintendo Wii. Many gamers are reporting that the audio is mono only. Some gamers out there may not even know the difference between mono and stereo. Some may not even be able to tell the difference based on what kind of sound system they have hooked up.
What is monophonic sound? Commonly called mono sound, mono, or non-stereo sound, this early sound system used a single channel of audio for sound output. In monophonic sound systems, the signal sent to the sound system encodes one single stream of sound and it usually uses just one speaker. Monophonic sound is the most basic format of sound output. Definition via Webopedia.
A Gaming Today reader dropped in a link to an image that may in fact prove that there’s something to this recent rumor concerning GH3 for the Wii. Thanks for the link Willy. The image was posted to the GP Forums and is described by the poster as “…recorded the audio from the wii console using audio audition and the line in jack on my computer, with the console set to stereo the first recording is the wii menu and then I load up guitar hero, the guitar hero image shows a section of the games menu and the first track slow ride. Visually you can see the stereo of the wii menu and the dual mono output of guitarhero. Unfortunately I don’t have a copy of the xbox of ps3 version to record from to show the difference of the game sounding correctly”. Actual image after the break.
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November 11th, 2007 at 3:56 pm
Is the line in-jack on his computer capable of recording in stereo?
November 11th, 2007 at 3:58 pm
I can hook my bass guitar up to my computer and record it in 'stereo' with audacity, but it just shows the same thing on both lines, if the device you're using to receive the audio is not capable of decoding a stero line, then 'lol you're getting mono!'
November 11th, 2007 at 4:02 pm
Who knows? There are too many reports on this to believe that there is nothing behind it though.
November 11th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
Well, I'm not implying that there is nothing behind it, I'm just questioning this method in particular.
November 11th, 2007 at 4:30 pm
[...] You can read the rest of this blog post by going to the original source, here [...]
November 11th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
[...] Read the rest of this great post here [...]
November 11th, 2007 at 5:01 pm
"Is the line in-jack on his computer capable of recording in stereo?"
Yes, if you read the source, he first tests stereo with Wii Menu and it works fine. Then he tests guitar hero 3. Surprise surprise, it's mono.
The game is bugged. Activision needs to issue a recall.
November 11th, 2007 at 5:06 pm
Also, I'd like to thank Gaming Today for being one of the first major sites to break this story.
All week guitar hero fans over at the official forums have been sending proof into IGN, Kotaku, Gamespot, etc. and they just ignore us. They must be afraid of hurting their ties with Activision.
This is an expensive game, $100, and people have a right to know what they're buying. Thanks for reporting this.
November 11th, 2007 at 5:11 pm
@ Willy
"If you read the source."
Source is not listed in this article, just another link to another article on this site, that does not list the source.
November 11th, 2007 at 5:16 pm
weclock,
the original source was linked in the first article. The information is all coming from the Guitar Hero forums.
November 11th, 2007 at 5:17 pm
@weclock: Incorrect my friend. The article this one links to indeed has a source. Nice try buddy, but you failed.
November 11th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
I don't know, but it seems like mono shouldn't matter too much. Whaddaya want? The crowd's cheers to be different from each direction? Not a necessary feature.
November 11th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
Willy, thanks. We are fortunate to be in a position where our bosses are very flexible with what we are allowed to write about. Of course, there are some occasions when we simply can't touch something, but as long as it's true or clearly worded as a rumor, I never see anything wrong with writing about it.
November 11th, 2007 at 5:26 pm
@ William and Daniel
I visited the source that willy posted and it's not the same one mentioned in the previous article, sure it's in the comments area, but it was not linked in this article or the previous one.
The link in the previous one is to the Guitar Hero forums while this one clearly mentions the GP Forums. There has been no link to the original post.
"for the link Willy. The image was posted to the GP Forums and is described by the poster "
November 11th, 2007 at 5:39 pm
erathoniel said: "I don't know, but it seems like mono shouldn't matter too much."
Yeah, who cares? Its not like music sounds better in stereo and music doesn't even play much of a part in this game
Mono is to sound what black and white is to colour.
November 11th, 2007 at 5:55 pm
[...] post by William [...]
November 11th, 2007 at 6:19 pm
November 11th, 2007 at 7:32 pm
Man fuck yall, Id stick a wiimote up ma dam ass befo i'd buy a wii
November 11th, 2007 at 7:49 pm
I'm wondering why this is a problem whether it's true or not.
November 11th, 2007 at 8:09 pm
@frod,
The funny thing about this hub-bub, is that if you go to a LIVE concert, its not in stereo. Live music is MONO. If you plug a real guitar into a real amp, the sound that comes out is MONO. I don't think this is a big deal, but I'm sure the same people who whine about perfect graphics will whine about this. I didn't even notice and I own it on Wii and PS2 both. The game doesn't suffer one single iota.
November 11th, 2007 at 8:27 pm
used cisco said: "Live music is MONO."
Only if you want it to be.
BTW I think you will find this is a real guitar amp:
Marshall EL34100 http://www.musicgearmaster.com/reviews/MSHEL34100100
and if you plug a real guitar into it with a stereo effects pedal you will get stereo sound.
November 12th, 2007 at 1:19 am
@ your ass
an amp being plugged into from a guitar will produce a mono sound, yes, but usually bands will have really weird setups so it's different.
if you're just playing at home then you're prolly doing the mono stuff.
November 12th, 2007 at 1:33 am
@norbit,
You clearly know nothing about guitar amps and probably did a google search on "stereo guitar amp" to find that.
The link you mention is actually a two amp rig. When you plug into that you're actually plugged into 2 different MONO amps with a slight phase variance to simulate a stereo sound. This is often referred to as "dual mono". You have no idea how silly you look if you actually know anything about guitar amps. This amp doesn't use a Stereo cord. It uses a standard MONO input cable, just like ALL guitar amps. Nice try though. Live sound is always Mono. Stereo sound only exists in a mix, when you take all the sounds that a normal ear would hear and divide them into 2 different "channels". This is an effort to make speakers simulate a true 3 dimensional auditory environment.
"usually bands will have really weird setups so it's different."
This makes no sense btw.
November 12th, 2007 at 1:47 am
@used cisco
sorry, but i'm not a dollar, you can't make change out of me.
November 12th, 2007 at 4:56 am
uh, concerts aren't mono at all, but that's kind of irrelevant. Most Wii owners probably just use their TV speakers, this isn't an issue at all.
November 12th, 2007 at 5:15 am
@ Cisco Its you that looks silly. You say all live gigs are Mono but that nonsense. A friend of mine does gigs in local pubs just him and an acoustic guitar and his gigs are stereo.
Yet you seem to be under the impression that every live gig ever performed in every venue has been in mono because that's what you said.
As I said. Live gigs are in mono if you want them to be. Large gigs are obviously in mono because of the size of the venue and the inability to get a good stereo sound but there is absolutely no reason why small gigs using just 2 speakers cant be stereo.
If you plug 2 outputs from a stereo pedal (like I said) into that amp you get stereo outputs. This is obviously a difficult concept for you.
Mono Guitar>Stereo Effects Pedal>Stereo Amp>2 Speakers
Or if you have an acoustic you can simply place 2 mics in or around it and plug both of them into the stereo amp and then 2 speakers and voila! Stereo sound.
Anyway your initial statement:
"I didn't even notice and I own it on Wii and PS2 both."
Is your Wii version Mono though?
November 12th, 2007 at 5:28 am
BTW here is a nice little discussion about some of the pros and cons of gigging and doing PA's in stereo which is a bit strange seeing as according to you all live gigs are in mono.
http://acapella.harmony-central.com/archive/index.php/t-973688.html
November 12th, 2007 at 5:45 am
[...] pare nella versione Wii l'audio sia in MONO Proof That Guitar Hero III For Wii Is Mono Only? GP Forums - Guitar Hero III audio issues Guitar Hero Community [...]
November 12th, 2007 at 6:28 am
[...] Hero III en Wii tardaron poco en darse cuenta de la chapuza: el juego está en Mono. Hay incluso pruebas de ello, y al llamar para reclamar, se les ha dicho que la compañía es consciente del disparo en el pie y [...]
November 12th, 2007 at 8:24 am
@norbit,
Read the link you provided. The consensus is that stereo "effects" in a live show are a bad idea. Most people don't do it. And if they do, its an effect created by the mix. Guitars just are not stereo. Period.
November 12th, 2007 at 10:02 am
I think I'll just post here for lulz now, the journalism seems to be sub par.
November 12th, 2007 at 10:43 am
Used Cisco said: Read the link you provided. The consensus is that stereo "effects" in a live show are a bad idea. Most people don't do it. And if they do, its an effect created by the mix. Guitars just are not stereo. Period.
WTF ARE YOU ON??>?
You said that all live music is Mono. You were absolutely 100% wrong in saying that. It seems that you are now trying to backtrack by saying that mono sounds better in gigs which is completely different to what you said. You obviously haven't got a clue what you are talking about because you didn't even know that people were doing gigs in stereo. Mono sounds better in some gigs but WTF has that got to do with this thread? Seriously, WTF are you talking about? Are you under the impression that most people are going to be using this game in a stadium?
Most people are going to use this game at home with the audio running through either a stereo TV or receiver. Mono will not sound better in any way in that setup so once again you are totally wrong.
Hilariously you even end with this gem:
"Guitars just are not stereo. Period."
Really? So an acoustic fitted with 2 condenser mics running into this amp isn't stereo?
http://www.andertons.co.uk/acatalog/info_AC60.html
November 12th, 2007 at 11:17 am
Nice try.
Obviously there are exceptions to any rule. If you search hard enough on google, as you clearly have, you can find some very niche devices to do all sorts of stuff, including gluing 2 amps together and calling it stereo (its not). You link to an amp that is dual mono, NOT stereo (keep researching on google to learn the difference if you like), then you link to another amp that has a stereo chorus effect and think it proves something. Two mics on an accoustic guitar is not necessarily a stereo signal. Perhaps for the hard of learning I should say CONVENTIONAL live music is MONO. Sure its possible to do it stereo, hell you could mix 50 discrete channels if you wanted, it would just sould like crap, which is why almost no one does it. Keep coming with it though, its turning a humorous weekend into an entertaining Monday.
November 12th, 2007 at 5:29 pm
I work with audio every day of my life as I am a studio engineer a stage and sound producer and a musician. The game being mono is not going to be noticeable since the wii has sup par sound capabilities. Most "surround sound" devices that are in the majority of homes these days make there own surround and do not take advantage of the digital inputs to get the "true" surround.
Now with the exception to hockey games, and maybe a few church events with sup par mixing abilities will be in mono…. EVERY other event will be in stereo or greater. I cant remember the last time ive been to a club without 5.1 or better systems actually. Guitars are generally mic'd at the amplifier. Have you ever seen a guitarist with only one amp (besides your buddys PBR drinking punk band) let alone only one mic on that amp.
Like cisco said, you can mix with 50 different discrete channels. And we do. Most every time. These are grouped and sub mixed to 5.1 or stereo. Some clubs have 7.1 and 9.1 sub mixes.
November 12th, 2007 at 5:40 pm
Okay, speaking as a professional musician that spent 10 years playing live in clubs and another 12 years doing studio sessions as a keyboard/sax player…..it's true that large percentage of bands will play through the main speakers in mono. It takes at least twice as many available channels on a mixing board to run in true stereo from the main speakers. If you have limited channels, then to get the full mix, you run in mono. You can also run louder in mono with certain types of bridgeable PA amps.
This fact does not matter though. If my drummer is center stage, my guitar player is on the left, my bass player is centered in front of the drummer, and me (Keyboards) is on the right, then things will be in stereo coming from the stage. At least half of the sound you hear is coming from the stage volume of the instruments and comes from different directions from the stage, even with a big name band in a stadium. It doesn't matter if the induvidual instruments are in mono on stage. I use a mono amp. Add to this the fact that in any venue, sound bounces all over the place and creates an ambience (Natural reverb and delay) from all directions, a well mixed "Mono from the mains" live band sounds even better and bigger than stereo, or even 5.1.
If GHIII is really in mono on the Wii, I'll make sure to buy it for my 360. I spent a LOT of money on my home setup so I can run with good sound, so any game I run had BETTER run in at least stereo or 5.1.
November 12th, 2007 at 6:04 pm
Bryan has no idea what he's talking about.
Davewavy on the other hand does and makes some good points.
Dave, you weren't supposed to point out that a stereo mix is completely unnecessary in a live environment! Thats the whole point I was making and letting it slip over the head of norbit. Stereo is a mix designed to simulate live sound (which is technically mono whether its a cars breaks screeching or a guitar amp).
If you are at a live performance(even in mono as is usually the case), the sound will still be full, vibrant and "3D" simply due to location of all the instruments and speakers in relation to each other. A stereo signal, and even surround sound is designed to replicate the natural sounds in an unnatural environment, like your basement or media room.
November 22nd, 2007 at 5:15 pm
The game isn't mono, the song is. More concretely the guitar track is mono. Just try playing with a dolby system a multiplayer or online song and you'll notice that when a player misses a strum and the other doesn't it will just stop sounding from the side that player is (in the screen, not IRL).
I think if you try that way with that PC program yo're gonna get a neat OWNED!!
May 22nd, 2008 at 5:42 pm
you guys are lame…go outside and excercise