Tillie Doyle
There are several ways to pan individual notes in Reaper. One way is to use two instances of a synth with different MIDI channels and pan one left and the other right. Another way is to duplicate the entire track, pan each one left or right, and then remove the notes you don't want from each side. You can also create an envelope and set the pan manually or edit the pan settings on your virtual instrument. If you know how to code, you can write a JSFX script in Reaper that listens to MIDI CC messages and adjusts the audio pan. Additionally, you can use the Volume/Pan Smoother plugin to set a different pan for every key input.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| MIDI notes | You can alternate notes between left and right panning, but this may sound strange if notes overlap |
| MIDI support | MIDI only supports channel pan, not note pan |
| VSTis support | Very few VSTis support note pan |
| Solution | Duplicate the track, pan each one left or right, and remove the notes you don't want from each side |
| Other solutions | Use two instances of the synth with different MIDI channels and pan one left and the other right; use a plugin that sets a different pan for every key input; use FL Studio |
| JSFX script | If you know how to code, you can write a JSFX script in Reaper that listens to MIDI CC messages and adjusts audio pan |
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What You'll Learn
Using the Volume/Pan Smoother plugin
Panning individual notes in Reaper can be done using the Volume/Pan Smoother plugin. This can be achieved by following these steps:
Firstly, create an envelope and manually set the pan settings on your virtual instrument. This can be done by adjusting the velocity/volume under the piano roll grid in Reaper. Here, you can create a new parameter to control panning, labelled as CC10. However, this may not work with all VST instruments.
Next, you can use the ReaControlMIDI module to enable the Pan CC changes. Add this module first in the chain and enable Control Change. Then, add your VST synth, which will play notes as usual, ignoring any Pan changes.
After this, add the JS Utility Volume Pan plugin to pan the sound. Touch the pan slider, then go to the Param button at the top of the FX chain window. Select Parameter Modulation, and this knob will now be driven by another parameter – the pan changes from ReaControlMIDI.
Additionally, you can use the Volume/Pan Smoother plugin to automate the panning process. This plugin allows you to set a different pan for every key input or specific key inputs. By enabling parameter modulation, you can make static notes more interesting and better seated in the groove.
It is worth noting that MIDI does not support panning individual notes, but your virtual instrument might. Drum libraries, for example, often place drums in the stereo field, similar to the layout of the kit. Piano libraries sometimes subtly pan lower notes to the left and higher notes to the right.
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Manually editing the pan settings on your virtual instrument
One way to work around this is to duplicate your entire track, pan one track left and the other right, and then remove the notes you don't want from each side. This method can be time-consuming and tedious, but it is a way to achieve individual note panning.
Another method is to use two instances of the same synth with different MIDI channels, panning one left and the other right. This way, you can achieve the desired panning effect without having to duplicate and edit multiple tracks.
Additionally, you can try using a plugin that sets a different pan for every key input. The Volume/Pan Smoother plugin is one such plugin that can be used for this purpose.
If you know how to code, you can also try writing a JSFX script in Reaper that listens to MIDI CC messages and adjusts the audio pan. This will allow you to add MIDI pan support to any VSTi.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that some virtual instruments, such as drum libraries, already have built-in panning that places drums in the stereo field similar to the layout of the kit. As a result, manually editing the pan settings may not be necessary for certain instruments.
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Using MIDI CC messages to adjust audio pan
MIDI only supports channel pan, not note pan, and very few VSTis support it. One way to pan individual notes in Reaper is to use MIDI CC messages to adjust the audio pan. This can be done by inserting a panning FX, such as "JS: Volume/Pan Smoother", on the FX track chain and using parameter automation to modulate the pan parameter on the FX. Another way is to create an envelope and set the pan manually or edit the pan settings on your virtual instrument.
If you know how to code, you can write a JSFX script in Reaper that listens to MIDI CC messages and adjusts the audio pan. This will allow you to put it after any VSTi to add MIDI pan support. However, keep in mind that only a few VSTis, such as Omnisphere, honour the pan message.
To manually set up panning for individual notes, you can separate the notes into individual tracks in Reaper and set up the pan on those tracks. If your VSTi is multitimbral like Kontakt, you can duplicate the patch, pan both patches symmetrically (left and right), and assign the patches to different channels. Then, in your MIDI editor, set the notes you want on the left to channel 1 and the notes you want on the right to channel 2.
Additionally, you can use different MIDI channels to pan overlapping notes in opposite directions, as suggested by Tod. This method may be easier to set up as it requires no signal routing.
When using MIDI CC messages to adjust audio pan, it's important to remember that MIDI CC 10 is typically for pan control. However, this is just the MIDI data, and it won't pan the instrument unless the connected instrument also runs this standard.
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Using FL Studio plugins
Panning individual notes in Reaper is not a straightforward process. Reaper's Transient Auto-Pan feature can be used to bounce a sound from one speaker to the other on every note, but it is not possible to pan individual notes to the left or right.
FL Studio, on the other hand, does allow you to pan individual notes in the piano roll, but only with its own plugins. This is because MIDI does not support note pan, only channel pan.
To pan individual notes in FL Studio, you can use the Panorama plugin, or use the "Create DirectWave instrument" option in the channel settings to copy the octave range and use FL's DirectWave sampler. Alternatively, you can duplicate the entire track, pan one track left and the other right, and then delete the notes you don't want from each side.
For third-party plugins, one user suggested using Basispan, a plugin by Oli Larkin and Elevayta, to achieve individual note panning. Another user recommended using LFOs or Envelope shapes linked to panning and setting them to retrigger on every new note press. However, this will apply the modulation shape to the synth position as a whole.
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Using two instances of the synth with different MIDI channels
To pan individual notes in Reaper, one method is to use two instances of the synth with different MIDI channels and pan one left and the other right. This method can be achieved by duplicating the patch and panning both patches symmetrically. For instance, if you have a sequence of MIDI notes triggering a soft synth VSTi and you want to alternate the notes between left and right panning, you can use two instances of the synth with different MIDI channels.
Firstly, duplicate the patch and pan one patch to the left and the other to the right. Then, assign each patch to a different channel. In your MIDI editor, set the notes you want to pan to the left to channel 1 and the notes you want to pan to the right to channel 2. This will allow you to pan individual notes by assigning them to different channels and patches.
Another way to achieve this is by using ReaControlMIDI. Put ReaControlMIDI first in the chain and enable Control Change. Your VST won't read the Pan CC changes, but ReaControlMIDI will. Next, add your VST synth, which will play its notes as usual, ignoring any Pan changes. Then, add the JS Utility volume pan, which will be used to pan the sound. Touch the pan slider and then go to the Param button on the top of the FX chain window. Select Parameter modulation, and drive this knob with another parameter – the pan changes from ReaControlMIDI. Click Link from the parameter, and in the box that says "none", select ReaControlMIDI and the Pan option. You may need to change the slider at the top to get the full pan range.
Additionally, you can create an envelope and manually set the pan or edit the pan settings on your virtual instrument. You can also create a send from your MIDI track to a plugin that sets a different pan for each key input. This will allow you to pan individual notes by assigning them to specific key inputs.
It is worth noting that MIDI only supports channel pan and not note pan, and very few VSTis support it. Therefore, you may need to use a specific VSTi that supports panning or use a workaround method like the ones mentioned above.
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Frequently asked questions
You can try writing a JSFX script in Reaper that listens to MIDI CC messages and adjusts the audio pan. Alternatively, you can duplicate the track, pan each one left or right, and then remove the notes you don't want from each side.
You can use MIDI CC 10 to control panning, but this may result in strange-sounding audio if your notes overlap. Another way is to use two instances of the synth with different MIDI channels and pan one left and the other right.
A simple way to pan individual notes in Reaper is to automate the pan on the track. You can also create an envelope and set the pan manually or edit the pan settings on your virtual instrument.
You can use the native FL Studio instruments to pan individual notes on drums. Drum libraries will usually place drums in the stereo field similarly to the layout of the kit.
