How do you pan during mixdown?

[rockonin]

Hey guys just curious how everyone pans all the individual parts? Especially the Bass Guitar.

 

[legionserial]

I use the pan knob.

 

[legionserial]

Ok ok....sorry. Couldn't resist.

It varies depending on the tune a lot. Yep, I know, it's a cliched thing to say. However, I guess there are some general pannings I use most of the time.

Bass is straight down the middle.
Rhythm guitars doubled and then layered. One set will be about 50%-60% left/right, and the other set really depends.
Lead guitars, sometimes in the middle. Often I'll pan it off centre and then send it to a reverb that's panned equally off centre in the other direction.
Drums...apart from the kick, which is always down the middle, and the snare, which is down the middle most of the time, the rest depends.

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

I let the composition, arrangement and tracking of the song suggest the panning scheme to me, and make no assumptions before that. I don't even assume there *is* a bass guitar to be panned.

G.

 

[miroslav]

Hey guys just curious how everyone pans all the individual parts? Especially the Bass Guitar.

For a typical Rock/Pop mix...I like to "split" the Kick drum and Bass guitar L--R at about 11:30 and 12:30 respectively.

 

[dintymoore]

When you sit at the drumset, the kick goes to the right just a hair. That's the way I mix, and I put the bass to the left just a hair. I mix as if I'm sitting at the drumset. Then I put the hihat hard left, and find something like shaker or a light rhythm guitar (something that matches the hihat in weight) to pan hard right.

After that, it's whatever, but that gets me there. Usually I use a chorus Rhodes that sweeps slowly from side to side.

There's big holes at 10 and 2 o'clock for stuff like strings, horns and guitar.

I put the vocals straight up the middle and usually have a doubled vocal track with delay that can go on either side of the main track to make the vox thick.

The idea is to get the biggest, widest possible sound... it should be like watching a huge movie panorama screen.

As always, there's no rules except no rules.

 

[miroslav]

When you sit at the drumset, the kick goes to the right just a hair. That's the way I mix, and I put the bass to the left just a hair. I mix as if I'm sitting at the drumset. Then I put the hihat hard left, and find something like shaker or a light rhythm guitar (something that matches the hihat in weight) to pan hard right.

Yeah...that's pretty much what I was saying...only I always mix from the audience perspective...I mix for the listener not the player.

However...I don't pan the HH or any other drum element...I just leave them where they fall from the M/S OH pair. That usually "splits" the Kick and Snare apart, since the MS OH pair is sitting right between them, over the drummers knee. That's what I consider the "center" of the whole drum kit...that point between the Kick and Snare.

 

[gcapel]

most everything @ 12:00. Best stereo field ever!

seriously, its fun to just do a pan check on everything for the hell of it. You may discover the oompa loompa's.

I will sometimes use some automation to pan bass g to one side and a single layer guitar the opposite side during a verse. Then for the chorus pan bass center and 2 layer guitar stereo to be dynamic.

 

[gcapel]

Double post alert!

On the last two Melvins albums they have added a second drummer. It sounds like they have panned one kit left and the other right. It is wicked bad. Dale G. is no slouch.