Bass, Kick, Snare and Vox

[lurgan liar]

Hey, i read somewhere one time that once you have the kick, snare, bass guitar and vox sounding exactly the way you like them, they should be be put into one Mono Track and not be adjusted at all after...

They should all be placed relatively central in the mix...?

All other instruments whould then be overdubbed around them ... i mean guitars should be panned to either side....for example

Is there any truth in this...or did i misinterpret what i read?

 

[Halion]

Well, I wouldn't go as far as to say "do that, always" about anything, but there is some truth in it. The kick's fundamental frequencies are low, meaning they are not very positionable anyway. The kick is also in the middle of the drumkit, and forms a solid rythmical base to a composition, so yeah, I'd pan it dead center. Same goes for bassguitar: low frequencies, solid base, keep it centered.
Same with the snare as far as I'm concerned, although in a drumkit type of panning situation, it could be panned slightly left or right. But I'd keep it dead center.
Vox, lead vocals should definately be centered. That's one of the few things I will pretty much always do.

Everything else can be panned as long as the balance stays correct. You don't have to pan everything though.

But please, DON'T mix the kick, snare, bass and vox down to one mono track al together. You will never be able to turn any of them up or down anymore if you want to. I don't see the use of it. If you can't stay away from a fader that is already set correctly, you just don't know your stuff well enough.

 

[stash98]

i wouldnt worry about mixing them in mono..thats just a way to listen for phase cancelling..do that to check your mix, but don't go overboard...but yeah, all those things i put in the center.