Panning for 2 tracks onliy

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trijari

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I will be recording a guitar player and a singer.
I'm more used to mix much more tracks and I'm wondering how should I pan the 2 tracks?
I don't want to get guitar hard left and voice hard right, this would be weird.
But how to get a nice stereo mix with only those two tracks?
My question may sound stupid but I'm learning.
Thanks
 
It depends on the effect you've after. In real life, both the guitar and the voice would be simply panned centrally.

However, an effect I've used is to mike the acoustic guitar with two SDCs in the usual places, then exaggerate the stereo field by panning them fairly well right and left, putting the vocal in the centre. Not reality, but it can sound good. In Audition, there's an effect available to enhance the stereo effect--I don't usually use this but it worked nicely on that particular mix.

...but if you really are stuck with single miking the guitar, I probably wouldn't pan them--I can't think of how that could work without sounding too artificial.

Bob
 
What Bob said. You can put one SDC on the bridge, one on the 12th fret, pan them in opposite directions. If you want to get a little creative with vocals, keep the main vocal track in the middle, and 2 other vocal tracks panned slightly right and left. The extra tracks could be slightly pitch shifted, or simply just retakes of the main track.
 
Another technique that you should probably only use if you have to is to put a stereo delay on the guitar track and delay the left channel from the right channel by a very small amount of time.
 
Thank you Bobbsy Saads and Guitarplayr82.
Excuse my ignorance but what de SDC letters stand for?
 
Sorry...it's "small diaphragm condensor", just a type of microphone that I happen to favour for acoustic guitar recording. If you read the "sticky" on recording guitars you'll see that it's far from the only way--just my personal favourite.

Bob
 
SDC = small daphragm condensor microphone.
If you are not using 2 mics to record the guitar, consider the 'stereo enhancer' effect. You have not mentioned what DAW you are using.
You can create some separation by panning the guitar 15% left and the vocal 5-10% right, and use slightly different reverb (more on the guitar, for example).
 
trijari said:
..But how to get a nice stereo mix with only those two tracks?
Click to expand...
Another option would be to envision what might be an appropriate stereo image of the two in/on this soundscape you're making. How close, as in intimate' or the listener viewing them from a front row seat'(?) leads to cues for size as well as width. Along that line (as opposed to 'very close and or 'unreal) their dry width would perhaps not be very wide, and you build them into a fitting stereo ambience.
 
Or don't worry about it and put them both center.

Unless you're doing multiple takes of the guitar or using multiple mics, most other options sound weird or forced.
 
You could compromise and go 50L/50R (guitar/vox) and use reverb to fill in the gaps. Just a thought.
 
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