Panning instruments???

Dennis1990

Dennis1990

New member
any tips on panning sounds??

I know hats are always panned

And kicks snares and 808s are centered


What about other instruments like strings, piano, guitars, synth, bells, etc.?


Is it all personal opinion or is there a good way to pan???
 
everything including drums can be panned anywhere in the mix

check out early Beatles recordings to verify this for yourself

only reason we pan things up the centre is based on the misunderstanding of the perceptual psychology idea that bass sounds are omnidirectional.

The perceptual psych people made their findings based on pure tone studies not complex tones; once you add high frequency information to your signal (which most "bass" sounds already have, btw) it has directional information and so can be panned anywhere

the other reason given for panning signals to the centre is to ensure compatibility with mono systems and avoiding issues with phase alignment of the signal as represented in the left and right channels. Again the idea is misunderstood: if you are panning a mono source then the signal is phase aligned in both channels and will sum to mono with little or no destructive interference
 
I actually don't really like the panning on early Beatles recording because I find it distracts me from the actual music- I think that's just personal taste though.

There are no rules, but I try to avoid 'gimmicky' panning just for the sake of it. Sometimes it can be good, if done tastefully, and in the right kind of music, but don't overdo it.

The more things you have very wide in the mix, the less impact the wideness will have so try and have a balance between central and wide elements.
 
My tip on panning sounds would be to pan it 100 % either all the way to the right, or to the left.
Then you dial it back until it sounds good, rather than starting at the centre and dialing in more and more panning.

Also, you might want to take a look at LCR panning, as well as the so called "panning pockets" that are involved in that practice.
Not saying you must use it (there's a lot of debates wether you should use it or not), but at least learn what it's all about so you understand the principles of it, and decide if you like the approach of it or not.

Then it's always good to get a grip on the "circular panning law", versus the "linear/triangular panning law", so you may choose the one you prefer the most and let it enhance your workflow.
 
bandcoach said:
everything including drums can be panned anywhere in the mix

check out early Beatles recordings to verify this for yourself

only reason we pan things up the centre is based on the misunderstanding of the perceptual psychology idea that bass sounds are omnidirectional.

The perceptual psych people made their findings based on pure tone studies not complex tones; once you add high frequency information to your signal (which most "bass" sounds already have, btw) it has directional information and so can be panned anywhere

the other reason given for panning signals to the centre is to ensure compatibility with mono systems and avoiding issues with phase alignment of the signal as represented in the left and right channels. Again the idea is misunderstood: if you are panning a mono source then the signal is phase aligned in both channels and will sum to mono with little or no destructive interference
Click to expand...

That's funny you bring that up. I was watching a Groove3 video the other day and one of the instructors (Kenny) was demonstrating how bass sounds are very hard to hear the panning of but I thought "I can definitely hear that..."
 
steffeeh;49855310[B said:
]My tip on panning sounds would be to pan it 100 % either all the way to the right, or to the left.
Then you dial it back until it sounds good, rather than starting at the centre and dialing in more and more panning.
[/B]
Also, you might want to take a look at LCR panning, as well as the so called "panning pockets" that are involved in that practice.
Not saying you must use it (there's a lot of debates wether you should use it or not), but at least learn what it's all about so you understand the principles of it, and decide if you like the approach of it or not.

Then it's always good to get a grip on the "circular panning law", versus the "linear/triangular panning law", so you may choose the one you prefer the most and let it enhance your workflow.
Click to expand...
Exactly, thats the way I approach most of my effects and techniques, because end of the day, your ears can teach you like no other. Only problem is, room acoustics. At some point, even though non colored headphones may give you a good idea of where your sound lies in the mix, I feel you start losing track of the sounds as you pile on more and more FX like Reverb and Imagers. The difference is truly detectable when listening to it at very high volumes on a system with a subwoofer or even a car for that matter. Sorry about my language, I'm really the opposite of a technical person, but I've made it so far just with my ears support so do help me understand these technicalities.

Also, can you link me to some of those debates you speak of? Got the free time so might as well learn something. Thanks.
 
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