Left and Right Pan Sound Issue * Audio Attached* COMPLETELY stumped, Please help

Leviathan I

New member
Hi Guys,

I don't know if this is something that's been happening or something I just recently noticed because of a project I've been working on.
I noticed it when I was reamping guitars for a song and I noticed the Guitar sounded different in the Left channel than in the Right.
So long story short, I've done every single trouble shooting task I could possibly think of and now i'm just completely confused.
In a blank new protools session, I took a small guitar sample and copied it onto two tracks and panned them up the center. I flipped the phase on one and they cancelled out to silence (just to prove they're exactly the same.)
But then when I pan one hard Left and the other hard Right, they end up sounding tonally different. Left sound dull/bassy, right sound louder/brighter. It doesn't matter what sample of audio I use it still makes the same result, even a white noise signal. I've opened up garage band and tried the same thing, and the same result occurs. And If I bounce down the Left and Right to a stereo file and put it on my phone, still the same result, so its baking this problem into the file itself. No matter what the output source is, monitors, headphones, headphones directly into iMac etc same result. I know it's not my hearing because if I flip the headphones its the same result just backwards. And my wife can hear it too. Its subtle, but noticeable.

Attached is the audio file mentioned, one guitar sample pasted left and right.
Left and Right Panning Issue by Sixstringmayhem13 | Free Listening on SoundCloud
I've been using this iMac for audio for 3-4 years and not sure if I just never noticed it or if this just recently started :wtf:
Really hoping someone might have an idea of what this might be.
Thanks!
 
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Reverse the L/R when you put it into the system.
Then try panning. Does the problem go the other way or stay the same.

Do you have the same problem if you use audacity instead of PT?

Do you have the same problem if you record instead of using samples?

Do you have the same problem with other samples of different instruments?

Do you have the problem with samples from another library from another company?

It could be the samples.
It could be an imbalance in freq response of your gear by channel.
It could be PT.
It might be something else.

Need a lot more clues to diagnose the problem.

Hey Thanks for your response. To answer your questions the answer is pretty much Yes for all of them. No matter what the audio source is (recorded audio, sample, generated white noise, etc) it still persists. And yes if I flip the left and right, it stays the exact same the left side still sounds the same and right side still sounds the same. I've tried it in garageband as well with the same outcome. Crazy enough I just installed protools on my macbook pro to see if it happened on there and sure enough it DOES, so now im just completely out of guesses. I recorded a video of my macbook pro playing white noise first up the center and then panned left and right and you can hear what i mean. YouTube
 
Are you using PT engine for garage band or aggregate or mac internal? Trash PT prefs . Try using internal audio instead of interface(which interface are you using?) . Create a new aggregate and try that. Remove and reinstall drivers for interface and PT. It's either corrupt driver/audio engine or possible hardware, but since you said it is no better after bouncing I would really think it's something in driver/audio engine/software.
 
Are you using PT engine for garage band or aggregate or mac internal? Trash PT prefs . Try using internal audio instead of interface(which interface are you using?) . Create a new aggregate and try that. Remove and reinstall drivers for interface and PT. It's either corrupt driver/audio engine or possible hardware, but since you said it is no better after bouncing I would really think it's something in driver/audio engine/software.

In Protools I've tried switching from my Focusrite interface, to my apoggee interface, to protools aggregate and finally the built int output on the iMac. All same result. garageband I only tried via the built in output but still the same result just to rule out protools. I've also tried trashing the PT prefs with no luck. the crazy thing is, its not only happening on my iMac, since i installed protools on my macbook pro just to try trouble shooting this, i performed the same test there and had the same result. :confused: Is this just normal, like some sort of sound physics issue? lol im completely stumped

To test it out I just made two audio tracks in protools, highlighted a selection and used audiosuite signal generator to put white noise in. Then copied that little white noise clip in an alternating pattern between the two tracks. No plugins no special routing just a regular blank session. Sounds fine when they’re centered but they sound way different when panned left and right.
 
Nope...not normal, that's for sure.

This is the first time I've seen this kind of problem that has gotten A-Z troubleshooting, and where the problem exists no matter the computer, the interface the playback system...etc.
It's weird...very weird.
I can't even being to think what would cause that to where it's happening across a variety of systems, with any source and on any playback...???

The best I can come up with...rather than look for the cause...see if you can find any one thing that is common to every system, every test you have done.
There has to be one item at least...and if you can find it that common denominator, you will also find the cause.
You know your gear, you know what your tested and how you've tested it...just do a thorough "Sherlock Homes" and find what is common.
Maybe there's more than one thing common to all your testing...but it sounds like not too much, so you should be able to find that.
 
Nope...not normal, that's for sure.

This is the first time I've seen this kind of problem that has gotten A-Z troubleshooting, and where the problem exists no matter the computer, the interface the playback system...etc.
It's weird...very weird.
I can't even being to think what would cause that to where it's happening across a variety of systems, with any source and on any playback...???

The best I can come up with...rather than look for the cause...see if you can find any one thing that is common to every system, every test you have done.
There has to be one item at least...and if you can find it that common denominator, you will also find the cause.
You know your gear, you know what your tested and how you've tested it...just do a thorough "Sherlock Homes" and find what is common.
Maybe there's more than one thing common to all your testing...but it sounds like not too much, so you should be able to find that.

Yeah Agreed its got to be something, still working on trouble shooting it. My next course of action is to buy a song from itunes so i know its not from my system, and load that song into protools and play the song through protools and then also through my phone which i can hook up to my monitors simultaneously via my monitor controller. If the song sounds the exact same from my phone that it does through protools, then idk what to do from there lol been a long day. Honestly in the back of my head though, until someone does the same white noise test as I did on their DAW and comes back with a different result im convinced its a universal thing. Though I might be going crazy at this point
 
Ok I loaded up a song I had in my iTunes and imported into protools, and simultaneously streamed the same song via my phone plugged into my monitor controller from Youtube. They are absolutely identical no matter what headphones, monitors, computer speakers I use they sound exactly the same. so i give up! lol im chalking this one up to physics or something. How could the left and right channels sound so different with white noise but you load a song in and it sounds identical to the original. That's my cue to call it a night
 
Well then, you've gotten closer to the common denominator...it's something with your originally created sources...so maybe the manner in which you create them or any common processing.
 
Still looks like it is the samples you used.

Did you try other samples from other makers for other instruments and still have the problem?

Yeah, ive tried it with everything, recordings, samples, white noise, pink noise, sine wave you name it.
I'm going to try and see if i can get a hold of a friends computer and load up protools on it and see if happens on there too. I have a feeling it will
 
But your imported wave file is probably 1 stereo track? Not the same test. You need to import that song to 2 mono tracks and then pan those hard.
 
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