Important or not?

C

ClC

Guest
How often do you producers pan, not just the instruments, the effects also. I've heard people saying it's important and people saying it's not.
 
I guess pan is a tool you can use whenever you like but;
Somethings in you composition are better left untouched, for exsample: the basline..
ambient effects ca be panned very well..
check out some of Timbalands productions, he's a master in those things.. Listen to 'cry me a river' for exsample, put on your headphones and listen..
check out Bubba Sparxxx's 'nowhere'produced by Timbaland.. you'll have a good dea of what I mean..
 
Panning is very important. It ensures that, in conjunction with compression and eq, each instrument or sound in your track has its own space in the stereofield. If you don't pan at all it'll be like sucking a golfball through a garden hose- squeezing everything through the middle. Play around with it and you'll see instant results.
 
Depends on the "feel" that you are going for imo.

Panning is a great tool. It can add dramatic effects and create such motion in your music, but it depends on what sound is being panned and the overall goal of what you are trying to accomplish.

In any case, use it... and not just on instruments. Experiment, you'll be suprised at the results :)
 
For mixing standpoint, panning is as important as the faders, if it wasn't, why does every single mixing board have them both ? :)

Panning should be done before you touch any outboard/fx gear along with balancing your faders to strike that balance

From a beatmakin/production standpoint, not so much

With that said, randomly panning **** just cause someone told you Panning is important will easily **** up a track, theres a reason behind every single touch you do, or atleast there should be
 
i really don't get the whole panning thing.... how do you know WHEN to use it? is it entirely on feel? or are there times whe you HAVE TO use it?
 
I think it may be on feel, I'm fairly new to it and all seems to do is sending sounds in either direction left or right depending on what your're trying to do. Can anyone give any examples on when to use it and when not to?
 
Spektrum said:
I think it may be on feel, I'm fairly new to it and all seems to do is sending sounds in either direction left or right depending on what your're trying to do. Can anyone give any examples on when to use it and when not to?
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It is all up to personal preference... but there are some typically accepted theories with panning.

For instance, you don't typically pan a bass or lead vocal or main kisc or snare hard left or right... but then again, look at Van Halen's first albums... all the bass was panned completely in one direction and thew guitar panned completely to the other side. Legendary producer Phil Spector, famous for developing his "wall of sound" technique, panned everything straight up the center. So, there are no "rules"... you can do whatever you want and it would not be wrong... it is all up to your "artistic vision."

But, like i said, typically you will not do too much panning with the "foundation" elements like the main bass, kick, snare, lead voc, etc... but you may want to pan some auxiliary percussion parts, hats, backup vox, FX, various synths, rhythm guitars, etc.

For my money, the more elements you have in your mix, the more you will likely want to strategically pan instruments to let them all have their own space. I'd pan the things around the core of the track, and leave the core elements mostly centered.


Be creative... have sounds spinning all over the place. Do what you feel.
 
the beatles are a prime example of panning. all the drums were to one side. and that **** was awesome. anyway... it can help bring otherwise hidden harmonies for example into the mix. not necessarily to the forefront, but it can make them heard. it also helps give the song dynamics. for example... let's say you'd like to add a little more balls to the guitars in the chorus of a song. if the rhythm track is panned to the left when the chorus comes have another rhythm part, harmony possibly, enter panned to the right it will have the illusion that the guitars have gotten louder. i also like to use it on fx because if done tastefully (which is the key) they can help envelope the listener in the music.
 
The Beatles were a prime example of panning because at their time there was no such a thing as stereo. Everything was separated far right and far left and that's how it worked. Back in the day u would have your vocals coming from the right speaker and the instrumental from the left one. The effect might be cool but it was not done because of creativeness but because of technical limitations.
 
although it still has it's own distinct sound. which is another reason to use panning. it can help develop a signature sound.
 
yeah, i tried doing 3 vocals one right, another left and another center this weekend and the sound is nice...you know
 
make sure u test it on different speakers tho. Do the car test. I would be interested to check it out. If u got it up can u drop a link so i can check it out?
Thanks
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well, not yet...but "que esta pasando" is the song and its on my soundclik below...(on my footnote)

It is how the song sounded first..
 
Oh I am definitely feeling this song. Is the beat yours? This is really tight. I like how u got the vocals laid out and the track as well. I think u need stronger kick drums and more bass. Hey if u want I can try to do a remix, put stronger kicks, more bass. I know some local Hispanic DJs here so I can give them a copy see what they think, they may play it at parties n ****. I'ma do all that if u agree to it. I aint gonna jack your song and run around with it like its mine. I'ma give u full credit. PM me for more info.
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I'm not going to say Panning is or isn't important. But what I will say is what it can do for you as an artist.

I saw that someone used the beatles drums being panned all to one said as an example. Well, it wasn't on impulse that they decided to do that. They wanted their drums to stand out. Considering a lot of people danced to the beatles I would definitely understand why they would want the rhythem of the song to be loud and strong.

By panning you get to tickle the listener's ear. Say you have a song that has a lot of sounds/instruments in it. Lets say 8 including vocals and background vocals. You probably want your lead sounds center (Lead Vocals, Lead Guitar, ect) Then have your background to the right to make it really sound like it's in the background.

For the rest of the instruments...picture an orchestra. There is a reason certain instruments are placed in certain sections of the stage. It's going to give a certain sound effect. Just play around with your panning and figure out what kind of feelings you get from listening with this here and that there.
 
But if u pan your drums hard on the right or left, when u play the mix in a club or a big room where people dance only half of the room will hear the drums. U r right panning helps instruments stand out but it is a rule that u dont pan leading instruments such as kick, snare, bass. U want those in the center. And then when u pan u dont wanna go hard usually. Pan a little bit to give the tickling feeling but not all the way.
 
remember anything you do is at your own discretion for any reason. i was just using the beatles as an example of good sounding music where panning is evident. i don't give a **** if they did it on purpose or they had no choice. the fact is it's its own distinct sound, and that was the point i was trying to make. :)
 
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