PAN and volume

[drums4life135]

I just got CEP, and i was wondering; when recording drums through my mixer, i put them on track 1, then a guitar on track 2, do i pan the drums to the right and guitar to the left, or keep them both at zero? what exactly does the pan do? also, how do i record my drums and a guitar at the same time but on different tracks? or do i need to do them seperate? do i need a special sound card to record them at the same time on seperate tracks?? i have a sb pro16. how do i prevent clipping? please help. thanks!!

 

[bball jones]

Hi drums4,
I am not familiar with CEP, but here are some of my thoughts. When working with a guitar and drum track, keep them both relative to center - you may want to offset each a little, let your ears decide what you like, nothing is set in stone here. Your pan is the balance control for the track - just like a balance control on your reciever - you keep it center for equal sound to both speakers or full left or full right to alter your perception of placement. There is no easy garden-variety answer regarding recording two instruments on different tracks. Use of meters helps in the prevention of clipping, also practice and experience - recording a clean take should be of the highest priority.