really weird problem

[andrewmaris]

This is one Ive never come across...maybe im just being stupid? I was recording vocals today and something wasn't right. When I have the vocal track solo'd (recorded in mono) it sounds very muffled and the volume is reduced - also it seems panned slightly right. When i pan it hard left or right the volume is normal and it becomes clear. So then I copied the recording to a new track and panned them 100% opposites to see if they would produce a clear center-sounding vocal - and only the right channel played. when I mute the right channel THEN the left track plays (panned 100% left). There are no effects, no busses, no settings on my firepod...this is awful. Could this be a problem with my monitors somehow? Any ideas?

[garww]

Normally, I would suspect the input. I work ass-backwards, though, and start by double checking operation strictly from the OS. Then, the interface.