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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Recording Corner »

Panning tips

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Samurai Joined: Mar 14, 2006 Posts: 2238 Kiev, Ukraine	Posted on Mar 22 2023 05:13 AM Let us exchange tips for instrumental panning in the mixing process. I was experimenting a little, reading some articles and that's what I do usually but still not always happy with results: Drums and bass usually sit in the center and mostly ok especially after some EQ Percussion a little moved to left or right for some space If I have one guitar part I duplicate it and pan 30-40% to the left and right If I have solo and rhythm parts I pan solo left and rhythm right also usually 30-40% Ukulele and acoustics I like to duplicate and hard pan to 50-60% I find harder panning not so good for my years but maybe I am doing something wrong. I think of adding some keyboards and then I guess also need to set them somewhere. Please share you tips and experience! — Waikiki Makaki surf-rock band from Ukraine https://linktr.ee/waikikimakaki Lost Diver https://lostdiver.bandcamp.com https://soundcloud.com/vitaly-yakushin Top
stratdancer Joined: Dec 11, 2013 Posts: 2533 Akron, Ohio	Posted on Mar 22 2023 05:19 AM My most recent recording had kick, snare and bass center, overheads, toms, hard left and right, rhythm guitar hard left and right, leads panned slightly left and right. — The Kahuna Kings https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Kahuna-Kings/459752090818447 https://thekahunakings.bandcamp.com/releases Top
Ariel Joined: Aug 29, 2009 Posts: 1556 Israel	Posted on Mar 22 2023 08:05 AM - Last edited: Mar 22, 2023 08:09:38 Top
Ariel Joined: Aug 29, 2009 Posts: 1556 Israel	Posted on Mar 22 2023 08:09 AM Here's a very eye(ear?) opening article about the Stereo image. Another thing is to make sure everything sounds just as good (volume, timing) when summed to mono, don't rely on panning for instrument separation. Keeping it simple is usually the best bet, LCR has been used successfully for decades with classic productions. Last edited: Mar 22, 2023 08:12:13 Top
ArtS Joined: May 09, 2008 Posts: 1348 Isle of Kent, MD	Posted on Mar 22 2023 08:21 AM This is an area I always struggle with and change per song. Generally, - Drummer mix in stereo, or have studio mix the drum stems - Bass right up the middle - Rhythm guitar if mono, slightly to left or right 30%-40% - Rhythm guitar if stereo mic'd, panned slightly left or right, much less than in mono. - Lead guitar if mono, slightly right or opposite of rhtyhm - Lead guitar stereo mic'd, leave as is - Percussion, if sample, leave as stereo, but pan a little harder left or right, dependent on overall mix. - Keys, always direct out stereo. — Surfcat WAKE UP JIMMY! IT'S CHRISTMASTIME! - NEW SINGLE 2024 CHRISTMAS ON THE BEACH - SINGLE CHRISTMAS ON THE PIER - EP NEW - MARCH OF THE DEAD SURFERS (Released Oct 17, 2024) - Agent Octopus YOUTUBE Video - March of the Dead Surfers NEW Top
chiba Joined: Sep 02, 2022 Posts: 514 Central VA	Posted on Mar 22 2023 10:43 AM There are probably as many ways to do this as there are pairs of ears I like to have the drums across the stereo spread, so when the drummer does a fill it moves from left to right (or right to left, if the drummer's left-handed). I'll put the high-hat slightly left and the ride slightly right, kick & snare center, floor tom(s) to the right and the other toms about where they'd be if the listener was behind the kit. Bass & lead vocals dead center. Keys ... it depends on the part(s). I will often treat them like guitars, especially if they are simple pads or lead lines. Something like piano or B3/organ I'll give more of a stereo spread depending on the mix. Keys really are a case-by-case thing. Guitars ... depends on what I'm doing and how many guitarists are involved. In my current band, we mix one of us left & one right, then put leads in the middle. It works really well this way. When I'm doing a project on my own, I like to double-track with different guitars/amps and create a bigger sound. I'll treat harmony vocals much like the lead vocals, though putting them off to one side or the other a bit is certainly a favorite technique. For ooh-ahh choirs, those I treat like guitars, moving them around the stereo spread to see where they sit best. — -- Project: MAYHEM by Hypersonic Secret now available! Top
Samurai Joined: Mar 14, 2006 Posts: 2238 Kiev, Ukraine	Posted on Mar 27 2023 07:05 AM Ariel wrote: Here's a very eye(ear?) opening article about the Stereo image. Another thing is to make sure everything sounds just as good (volume, timing) when summed to mono, don't rely on panning for instrument separation. Keeping it simple is usually the best bet, LCR has been used successfully for decades with classic productions. that’s interesting, thanks! — Waikiki Makaki surf-rock band from Ukraine https://linktr.ee/waikikimakaki Lost Diver https://lostdiver.bandcamp.com https://soundcloud.com/vitaly-yakushin Top
el_pablo Joined: Apr 16, 2012 Posts: 94 Biot	Posted on Mar 28 2023 05:12 PM I'm appreciating these threads about recording Vitaly. I'm in the process of recording a demo and the ideas and techniques that have been discussed are helpful! Surf-on bro! — Paul The Dead Planet Surfers Top
Samurai Joined: Mar 14, 2006 Posts: 2238 Kiev, Ukraine	Posted on Mar 29 2023 12:54 AM el_pablo wrote: I'm appreciating these threads about recording Vitaly. I'm in the process of recording a demo and the ideas and techniques that have been discussed are helpful! Surf-on bro! I found that that there is a lot of discussion of advanced technics but I needed just a basic stuff, glad you also find it useful! Waiting for you demo) I’ve just finished my EP and preparing a release. You cannot finish mixinig and mastering, you may just decide that you’ve finished))) — Waikiki Makaki surf-rock band from Ukraine https://linktr.ee/waikikimakaki Lost Diver https://lostdiver.bandcamp.com https://soundcloud.com/vitaly-yakushin Top
Samurai Joined: Mar 14, 2006 Posts: 2238 Kiev, Ukraine	Posted on May 01 2023 03:06 AM Thanks everyone, your advise helped me a lot in mixing. You may hear the results using the link down there) I used a lot of panning on guitars and some on drums and percussion, it worked nice. I was trying to avoid hard panning this time as I felt it’s a little too much, even after reading an article about Phantom image. — Waikiki Makaki surf-rock band from Ukraine https://linktr.ee/waikikimakaki Lost Diver https://lostdiver.bandcamp.com https://soundcloud.com/vitaly-yakushin Top
xavier_irvine Joined: Jun 06, 2020 Posts: 13	Posted on Oct 10 2023 01:01 AM Late to the party, but here are a couple of ideas that might be useful to someone at some stage: Drums are cool in stereo but can be great in mono too... I used to pan overheads hard left and right and pan the toms quite wide. This is very common and sounds great, but I've recently been aiming for a stereo image that sounds more like when you're watching a great sounding live show, which means that I'm panning the overhead tracks and the toms much, much narrower. If the drum overheads were recorded in stereo and you want to try a mono overhead, it's better to pick just one of the two tracks and turn the other one off. Just solo them one at a time and see which one has a better mix of drums and cymbals. (You could try blending both overhead tracks in the centre position but you have to be wary of phase issues, because the two overhead mics will contain very similar waveforms with tiny differences in timing, this can make things sounds weird and sort of "thin"). The other thing, maybe worth mentioning, is that there are lots of ways you can build a drum mix out of the individual tracks: For instance, some people like to cut all the low-end out of their overheads, so that they're mainly getting just cymbals from the overheads, and relying entirely on the close mics for the individual drums. But you can also choose to use most, or all of the frequency spectrum of the overheads, and then just use the close mics to reinforce that sound. Anyway the possibilities are quite endless, but they can be fun to play around with, and will all lead to quite different results.... https://the-birdcage.bandcamp.com/album/wave-machine Last edited: Oct 10, 2023 01:10:00 Top

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