Fostex VF80 digital recorder. Panning advice?

[Weissey]

I've just started trying to use the track panning on the machine, but I'm not sure it's working properly .... or maybe I don't fully understand what panning is supposed to sound like. I thought panning 1 channel hard left and the other channel hard right, when 2 mics are used to simultaneously record one sound (like live vocals/guitar), was designed to give a stereo effect, but maybe I've got that wrong.

For example, when I record a vocal/guitar on the first channel only, using 1 mic, with the pan set to "center", the playback sounds no different to when I record the same vocal using 1 mic in channel 1 and another mic in channel 2 (using any of the various mic stereo positions), with channel 1 panned hard left and channel 2 panned hard right. With both of these recording techniques, I get the same nice, even sound coming out of the left speaker and right speaker. I can't hear any difference. The same applies when I listen through stereo headphones. So, panning 2 channels hard left and hard right, sounds exactly the same as using only 1 channel, and having it panned to the center. Hmmm.

Why use hard left/right panning, using 2 mics, when it sounds the same as using 1 mic with panning set to center?

Can panning be used to produce a stereo sound, when 2 mics are recording the same vocal/guitar input?

I'm assuming I must be doing something wrong, so any help would be welcomed.

 

[bouldersoundguy]

A voice is essentially a mono source. Using two mics will not magically make the source stereo, but it will capture the room sound in stereo, which is a subtle effect. There's little reason to use stereo mics on a vocal.

Sometimes people try to record guitars using a stereo mic setup, but it's usually disappointing. It's better to use the two mics to capture two different parts of the guitar (body and 12th fret), then pan them for a stereo effect. Technically that's not a stereo mic technique, it's just stereo mixing.

When it comes down to it, there's not much about a voice and an acoustic guitar that lends itself to stereo, whether mic technique or mixing.

 

[Weissey]

I can get real stereo sound on Audacity by first making an initial recording of me singing/playing. I then play back that recording, and mic the speaker whilst recording the first recording. When I play back the 2 Audacity recordings I get a true stereo sound, and I just love that spaciousness in the sound. However the Audacity recording quality is not nearly as good as the recording quality of the VF80. I'd love to find a way to get that true, spacious stereo sound on my live vocal/guitar using the VF80.

 

[bouldersoundguy]

I can get real stereo sound on Audacity by first making an initial recording of me singing/playing. I then play back that recording, and mic the speaker whilst recording the first recording. When I play back the 2 Audacity recordings I get a true stereo sound, and I just love that spaciousness in the sound.

That's a completely different thing than what you described in the first post. Simply recording something with two mics at the same time won't sound like recording it once with one mic and recording the playback through a speaker. If that's the effect you want then use the same technique with the VF80.

However the Audacity recording quality is not nearly as good as the recording quality of the VF80.

Well, it ain't the software that's causing a difference in quality, it's technique or hardware differences.

I'd love to find a way to get that true, spacious stereo sound on my live vocal/guitar using the VF80.

The answer is above (use the technique that worked for you).

 

[Paj]

Pan is not active during direct recording. Every recorded track is mono. Pan is only active on mixdown/bouncing (and playback) and of course, only audible as panning if you bounce/mix to a pair of tracks.

Paj
8^)