Correct way to PAN out instruments/vocals?

S

SerenityThen

New member
I was wondering what are some guidelines to correctly pan out instuments and vocals. Im recording using a 4-track with a combination of something like... drums/keyboards/bass/vocals -or- drums/bass/guitar/vocals etc.

To make it easier to understand, could you advise me in terms of a fooball field with the 50 yard line being the center of the stereo field.

Do drums always go on the 50 yard line? Should vocals also be on the 50? Or....do you put vocals on the Giants 45yrd line and the drums on the Ravens 45? You see...Im lost on how to properly seperate out everthing for a good sound. I know every song might be a little different but what are the general rules?
THANKS FOR ANY INFO!! GO GIANTS!
Jeff
 
I'm surprised no one's answered this yet. I'll go ahead and tell you what most would tell you...

DO WHAT YOU WANT! Be creative!

If you have access to the first Ramones album (self-titled) listen to it. The drums and vocals are center. The bass is completely on one side and the guitar is completely on the other. If you unplug a speaker, you only hear one (guitar) or the other (bass).

Grab a beatles album (preferably a greatest hits since it will have several different recording periods and sessions).

Do the same thing. Listen to only left and only right. On some songs, the drums were completely panned to one side. Nowadays NO ONE does this. And if they do people say it's a Beatles ripoff.

If you want the standard recording way (ho-hum) put the drums center. Put the rest either center or slightly center. Perhaps the vocal slightly left and the keyboard slightly right.

Now if you have an 8 or 16 track, that's a whole other can of worms...

Danny
 
Well... there are no rules - as PD said........ BUT there are guidelines... and some darn good reasons behind following them.

Snare/Kick/bass/Lead vocals are generally panned dead-centre (snare sometimes slightly off-centre). The remaining drums are panned in a stereo spread, and guitars/other instruments are spread across the stereo field to taste.

The reason behind this "typical" panning is not conformity, it is because in mono playback, the basic elements of the song need to be consistent, with the remaining instruments providing a more creative outlet. If you don't have to worry about mono compatibility, then go nuts and do what you feel!

Bruce Valeriani
Blue Bear Sound
 
When I say "stereo spread" I mean 2 or more tracks mixed together in such a way as to end up being a 2-channel blend of the tracks within the stereo field.

For example, let's say we're dealing with submixing 4 tracks of backing vocals - on tracks 1 thru 4 to a "stereo spread". I want my spread on tracks 5,6 (the intention being that 5,6 will be panned hard left and right at mixdown). I may take tracks 1 and 4 and pan them each hard left and right and apply a stereo effect to taste. Then I may take track 2 and pan it somewhere in between, possibly more to the left, and it may get it's own stereo effects. Then same with the last tracks but it may end up more right in the stereo field. Of course, exactly what I do and what effects are used depend totally on the context of the song, but I'm exaggerating the technique's description for demonstration purposes...

Bruce
 
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