Stupid is as stupid does
 

I have the Zoom H4 and am using a Tram lavallier to record audio for editing in FCP. It is a stereo file though only one channel is recorded.

What is the best way to handle it in the FCP timeline? Should I place it as a single channel, spread to stereo, or export and bring back as stereo? But wouldn't the noise that way be greater?

thanks,
elmer

if you are saying that only one side of the stereo audio has anything on it, then lose the side with nothing and pan the good side to center. If you have 2 tracks ( L and R) of the exact same audio from a mono source, lose 1 track and pan the other to center. This will avoid any potential for something slipping out of phase or shifting out of sync between the 2 tracks. If you have a true stereo recording then you can either keep it L/R or pan both tracks to center, depending on what you are trying to accomplish.

cheers
geo