Ella Walter
Panning is a crucial aspect of mixing as it helps instruments and vocals occupy their own space, preventing overlap and reducing masking. While there are no hard and fast rules, there are some conventions and guidelines to follow to ensure a well-balanced mix. For example, traditionally the kick, snare, bass and vocal tracks are panned directly to the centre, with other instruments occupying the sides. If you have two similar-sounding instruments, pan one left and the other right to create a fuller sound. It's also important to check your mix in mono to ensure it translates well and doesn't lose impact. Ultimately, panning is an art form that allows you to sculpt a rich and immersive stereo image, enhancing the listening experience.
Characteristics and Values of Panning Instruments
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Panning Purpose | To achieve balance, prevent instruments from overlapping and reduce masking. |
| Panning Techniques | Panning hard left and hard right, panning by percentages, panning in layers, panning in odd numbers, panning in mono, panning in stereo, panning by frequency spectrum, panning by performer's perspective, panning by audience perspective, panning by stereo field. |
| Instruments to Pan Center | Kick, snare, bass, vocal tracks, lead instruments. |
| Instruments to Pan Sides | Guitars, drums, reverb. |
| Instruments to Avoid Panning Center | Hi-hat, toms. |
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What You'll Learn
- Panning drums: There are two ways to pan drums—the audience's perspective and the drummer's perspective
- Panning guitars: When panning a single guitar, find another sound in the mix to complement it
- Panning similar-sounding instruments: If you have two similar-sounding instruments, pan one left and the other right
- Panning layers of guitars: If you have three stacks of guitars, pan two left and right and keep one in the centre
- Panning microphones: Stereo pairs of microphones should be panned hard left and hard right
Panning drums: There are two ways to pan drums—the audience's perspective and the drummer's perspective
Panning drums is an important process that can make your drum sound fill the entire room. There are two ways to pan drums—the audience's perspective and the drummer's perspective.
The Audience's Perspective
When panning drums from the audience's perspective, you need to picture someone facing you while watching you play. You would then pan your kit from their perspective, not yours (the drummer's). For example, if you have a stereo overhead track, pan it fully wide and listen to a section where the toms are being played. If the floor tom is louder in the overhead left track, then it is in the audience's perspective.
The Drummer's Perspective
The drummer's perspective is the opposite of the audience's perspective. You will pan your drum like how you'd hear them while jamming. For example, if you're a right-handed drummer, the hi-hat is set up on your left. You can pan it about 30% right, simulating where you would hear it in the audience in a live setting.
Other Considerations
When panning drums, it is important to keep heavier or key elements in the centre, such as the kick and snare drums. This will help ensure your mix sounds balanced between the left and right channels while also giving cymbals and hi-hats room to sparkle on the sides. Additionally, be careful when panning all the way to the left or right, as elements panned to the extremes may disappear when played through a mono source.
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Panning guitars: When panning a single guitar, find another sound in the mix to complement it
Panning guitars is a critical aspect of creating a good-sounding mix. It involves positioning guitars on different sides of the stereo image, with one guitar in the right speaker and the other in the left. This technique enhances the overall sound, making it more powerful and full while also creating space for other instruments.
When working with a single guitar, it is essential to consider how its panning will complement the other instruments in the mix. Panning the guitar to one side, such as 30% to the left, should be accompanied by panning another instrument to the opposite side, such as 30% to the right. This could be a piano, synth, or xylophone, for example. This approach ensures a balanced stereo field and prevents the mix from sounding unbalanced and unpleasant for the listener, especially when using headphones or earbuds.
The choice of panning direction for the guitar depends on the desired effect. For instance, panning a single guitar playing a melody, solo, or rhythm to one side can create space for other instruments. However, it is crucial to avoid panning it too far to one side, as this may result in an unrealistic guitar sound. Instead, a position of around 10 o'clock or 2 o'clock may be preferable, allowing for a clear separation without sounding like the guitars are in totally opposite positions.
Additionally, when working with a single guitar, it is beneficial to record the same part multiple times to create layers. This technique adds depth to the mix, making it sound more interesting and full. However, it is important to use different tones for each guitar layer, whether through different guitars, pickups, amps, or settings, to ensure a superior audio experience.
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Panning similar-sounding instruments: If you have two similar-sounding instruments, pan one left and the other right
Panning is a way of achieving balance in your mix, just like frequency manipulation and dynamic control. If you have two similar-sounding instruments, such as two guitars strumming away throughout a song, placing them in the same location in the stereo image will make them sound confused, as though just one instrument is playing. To avoid this, pan one left and the other right. This is a classic move with heavy electric guitars, but it can also work with instruments such as EDM synths and saxophones.
This technique can also be used with double-tracked instruments, where the same part is recorded twice for effect. Panning them hard left and hard right will result in a fuller-sounding mix. This is also true of stereo pairs of microphones, which should be panned hard left and hard right if they are balanced across the stereo sound stage.
It's important to remember that our ears tend to focus on signals that are panned center, extreme left, or extreme right, with all other points being less distinct and more impressionistic. So, if you have several instruments panned center, and then pan one mid-left, it will suddenly stand out more in the mix, and you might want to lower its level.
However, there are no hard and fast rules for panning, just guidelines. If you want to fit in with the audio community, follow these guidelines, but if you want to stand out, break them!
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Panning layers of guitars: If you have three stacks of guitars, pan two left and right and keep one in the centre
Panning guitars in a mix is an important aspect of music production. It can make a big difference in terms of how everything sounds and how distinct each guitar part is. If you have three stacks of guitars, you can pan two hard left and hard right and keep one in the centre. This will give a fuller sound and create a good balance.
It is important to note that panning guitars hard left and right is a common practice, and listeners are accustomed to hearing guitars in this way. By panning two stacks of guitars hard left and right, you free up space in the centre for other instruments like vocals, drums, piano, and bass. This also ensures that the two guitar parts are clearly distinct from each other.
However, there is no rule about how far the guitars should be panned. It depends on the number of guitar tracks, the genre of the song, and the effect you want to achieve. For instance, if you have double-tracked guitars, you might want to experiment with panning them only slightly left and right, creating a clear separation between the two without making them sound like they are coming from totally opposite positions.
Additionally, when panning guitars, it is important to consider the balance of the stereo field. If you pan a guitar left, it is wise to pan another instrument to the right to complement the guitar and prevent the mix from sounding unbalanced and unpleasant for the listener.
Finally, always check your mix in mono to ensure that it still sounds good and that you are not losing too much in the fold-down.
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Panning microphones: Stereo pairs of microphones should be panned hard left and hard right
Panning is a way of achieving balance in a mix, just like frequency manipulation and dynamic control. It is important to know the conventions of panning to create more meaningful, intentional mixes. For example, snare drums, bass guitars, and kick drums usually appear in the centre image, even though they are not centred on a drum kit.
Stereo pairs of microphones should be panned hard left and hard right. This is a common stereo microphone configuration, where the microphones are balanced across the stereo sound stage. This technique is called the Blumlein stereo microphone technique, which specifies a pair of bidirectional, or figure-eight, microphones. The microphone capsules are placed in close proximity at a 90-degree angle relative to each other. The Faulkner Array stereo microphone technique also uses a pair of bidirectional microphones, spaced 20 cm apart and facing the same direction.
The X-Y stereo microphone technique uses two identical cardioid microphones, placed on top of each other while facing away from each other at a 90-degree angle. The microphone capsules capture sound to the left and right of the immediate area, creating a stereo image. The ORTF stereo microphone technique uses a pair of directional microphones (usually cardioid) with the microphone capsules spaced 17 cm apart at a 110-degree angle relative to each other.
The Mid-Side stereo microphone technique uses one directional microphone (usually cardioid) and one bidirectional microphone. The cardioid microphone (Mid) faces the sound source on-axis, while the bidirectional microphone (Side) faces the left and right and picks up off-axis sound. The track recorded with the Side information is duplicated, and the phase is inverted on the duplicate track, with the original panned hard left, and the duplicate panned hard right. The cardioid (Mid) channel is always panned centre.
It is important to note that what sounds good on loudspeakers may not sound good on headphones or earbuds, especially with hard pans. It is recommended to check the mix in mono to ensure that the panning decisions make sense and that the mix is not losing impact.
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Frequently asked questions
There are two ways to pan drums: the audience's perspective and the drummer's perspective. In the former, the hi-hat will be on the right, and in the latter, it will be on the left.
These are usually panned directly in the centre as it is the focal point of the mix.
If you have a single guitar, you will need to find another sound in the mix to complement it. For example, if you pan the guitar left by 30%, pan another instrument right by 30%. If you have three stacks of guitars, pan two left and right and keep one in the centre for a fuller sound.
The key is not just panning things left and right but sculpting a full, rich stereo image. You can use width-enhancing tools to create depth, height and width. However, you should also check your mix in mono to ensure you are not losing too much in the fold-down.
