I tried recording from the AD input to the Motif XF in Song Mode.  Using Sample + Note, I was able to record a stereo sample to a sequencer track but it would not play back in stereo.  To correct this, I copied the track to another track and panned them both hard left and right.  I guess it worked but is their an easier way?

I tried recording from the AD input to the Motif XF in Song Mode.  Using Sample + Note, I was able to record a stereo sample to a sequencer track but it would not play back in stereo.  To correct this, I copied the track to another track and panned them both hard left and right.  I guess it worked but is their an easier way?

You cannot make a sample stereo by copying the data to another track and panning them hard left and hard right… that just simply is not what stereo is.

In order to sample in stereo the following requirements must be met:
1) You must have a stereo source. A stereo source is one that would plug into both the Left and Right A/D INPUT jacks on the back panel of the Motif XF, and the source should be stereo itself. (you don’t mention what your source is at all, so we are not at all certain you have a stereo input. Examples of stereo input sources would be a handheld recorder/playback device like an iPod, or Pocketrak, a CD player, another keyboard synthesizer. Examples of mono input sources would be a microphone, a guitar, a bass, etc).

2) You must set the MONO/STEREO parameter to STEREO. On the Sample setup screen under SOURCE, the MONO/STEREO parameter prepares the XF for the type of incoming signal - this must be set to stereo in order to accommodate a stereo input. It cannot/does not turn a mono signal into stereo. The source must itself be stereo

When the above requirements are met, the Motif XF will create a stereo recording. Stereo is defined as follows:
Stereo is an illusion using (a minimum) two speakers to reproduce sound via independent audio channels. It creates the impression of sound heard from various directions, as in natural hearing. It is often contrasted with monophonic, or “mono” sound, where audio is in the form of one channel, often centered in the sound field.

It is an illusion because when signal is equally sent to both left and right channels the ear/brain will be fooled as to the location of the source. It will locate the sound source as being in the center between the speakers. In a stereo field (called a panorama) you can make a signal sound more left by adding electrical resistance to that signal trvaeling to the right channel.  However, for a Source signal to be stereo there has to be a minimum of two channels such that the left side is actually different from the right… in much the same way when you place your head (with its two ears) in any room, the reflections that arrive at your left ear are slightly different from those that arrive at your right ear.

The example I use in one of the Power User articles about how the ear/brain deals with recognizing sound… is about being in a totally dark environment, and a coin is dropped 20 feet behind you slightly to the left. The sound will reach your left ear slightly before it reaches your right and you will immediately locate the sound as to your left, 20 feet, behind you, and recognize even that the coin is a quarter, and was dropped on a wooden floor in a room larger than 40 feet across with high ceilings… actually, your ear and brain can conclude a lot of things from this one event (it can do this because of stereo (you having two ears), because you’ve previously dropped a coin on wood, and ‘know’ what that sounds like… The size and shape of the room is not difficult either and the beyond that you can tell if the coin was dropped or thrown (truly amazing).

But Stereo is a part of what the ear/brain uses to identify sound by direction. This is why with two speakers we can be ‘fooled’ about the source of the sound. But you must have a stereo source for the unit to create a stereo sound.

That said, there are effects that can ‘stereo-ize’ a mono source - by delaying one side slightly - it is not quite the same thing.

What was your sound source? Let us know.

The source is a Guitar Amp Model with stereo FX.  I just tested it out step by step again using a cross delay on my external processor going stereo (so there would be no doubt) into my AD input and it did indeed record it in stereo and playback in stereo.  I’m not sure what I was hearing the first time.  Thanks for your response.  Going to get my ears checked.