If you only have a single mono track that you want to convert to stereo with custom panning (such as vocals you recorded), you’ll want to duplicate the track first. Just select the track, go to Edit, then select Duplicate so you have two separate identical tracks. If you’re starting with a stereo track that you want to edit as two separate mono tracks (one for each channel), click the down-arrow next to the track’s name, then select Split Stereo to Mono.
For example, if you only want this track to play on the left speaker, you’d drag the slider all the way to the “L” to pan 100%. If you wanted the track to play mostly in the left speaker but also a little bit on the right speaker, you can pan to 75%.
If you want to edit either of the tracks, you can do so now. Audacity will apply all of your gain, amplitude envelopes, and other effects to your final stereo track once mixed and rendered. [1] X Research source
If you’d rather keep the original files in your project, select Mix and Render as New Track instead. Remember to hit Mute on the other two tracks before previewing your new stereo track so they don’t play too.
By default, converting a mono track to stereo automatically pans one of the tracks 100% to the left and the other 100% to the right. If you want more control over panning and gain, use this method instead.
Once converted, the top track will be the left channel (pan 100% left), and the bottom track will be the right channel (pan 100% right). Don’t change any of the pan or gain settings—these changes will be ignored during the merge to stereo. [3] X Research source
