Panning, collapsing, and results..

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SwanSong

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Is it possible to bounce tracks and keep the panning on a 388? My band and I have been recording and we've reached the point where we need to start collapsing tracks down so we have more tracks available for guitar overdubs and such. We've got some parts that are panned hard left, and some that are panned hard right but when I bounce the two tracks down, they both come straight out the middle with no panning. Is there anyway to collapse tracks and keep my panning on the 388? Thanks.
 
SwanSong said:
Is there anyway to collapse tracks and keep my panning on the 388? Thanks.
It sounds to be like your question is really "Can I bounce two channels to mono and keep it stereo?" in which case the answer is a definite 'no'. You can however bounce four channels (two stereo pairs) down to two, or even three panned channels down to two.
Otherwise you'll just have to bounce them to mono...
 
Yeah, remember that one track on tape = one sound wave, whereas in order to keep panning you need a stereo "track", wich is actually two mono tracks, one panned L and one panned R. You can go quite far with this on 1/2 inch 8-track if you make intelligent decisions about what to keep in mono.

EDIT: Here's an example from something I'm working on, 1/2" 8-track just like you. I've also learned a few tricks and some things to be careful about from doing this pretty frequently. A bounce can sometimes be a very good thing- I really like its effect on strings, for instance. It just makes them sit together better- the closest thing I can compare it to is a mix before and after mastering. It's subtle, but definitely there. It can also sound great on vocal harmonies. That said, bass frequencies degrade first, as do transients, so try to record drums and bass without any bounces if possible. The bass is bounced in this song, but only becuase it's very low and not terribly important.

1. (Panned hard left) Accoustic guitar, clean electric, ambient synth, brushes on snare

2. (panned hard r) Accoustic guitar, clean electric, ambient synth, brushes

3. (panned C) accoustic guitar, reed organ, bass

4. (C) distorted drum set

5. Stereo piano L

6. Stereo piano R

7. Stereo vocals L

8. Stereo vocals R

The piano and vocals carry most of this song, so they get the most attention in the mix. Notice that I'm using two tracks for each, because they are stereo recordings. The tracks are recorded at the same time, and are generally treated as though they are one track.
 
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