Easiest way to copy L channel to R channel in stereo track

Audacity Help Forum Windows
1

Audacity 2.2.1, Windows 10

Hi, seems like this should be easy but I’m not sure how to do it. I digitized an old cassette recording of some live music that for some reason was recorded only on the L channel of the cassette, so now I have a .wav file that is a stereo track but only has the L channel. So when listening, sound comes only from the L speaker, headphone, etc. I’d like to make into either a mono or stereo track with the sound in both channels …

thanks for any help!

2

Use the drop-down menu on the left > Split Stereo to Mono. Delete the dead track.

Koz

3

Thanks! just in the meantime I found a couple of ways to deal with this.
cheers,
–J

4

There are more complicated ways to do it, but two-track mono (which is what the same thing on left and right is called, is wasteful and not required.

If your job expands, if you decide you’re going to add stereo effects and delay enhancements, then yes, you’ll need actual stereo. Split Stereo to Mono > delete the bad track. Duplicate the one remaining track (Control-D).
Upper Drop-down menu > Make Stereo Track.

How did you do it?

Koz

5

first I did “mix stereo down to mono,” which worked but gave me the 2-track mono result you mention; then I found a short video explaining the very solution you just explained, and used that.
thanks again,
–J

6

oh wow. pretty easy stuff. thanks for this!