where to pan things?

  • Thread starter Thread starter darkecho
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darkecho

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Ok, up to this point I have recorded 2 symphonic metal type bands, I have a thread with an mp3 for download here
https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=219746

but here are my instruments,
Rhythm and lead guitars, bass guitar, keyboard, drums, and vocals...

now I understand that you are usually best off putting vocals, drums, and bass down the center, the guitars go left and right (but what percentage? in my mp3 i have them about 60% on either side) and where do you usually put the keys? i recorded the keyboards into two mono tracks and panned them left and right 100%


is there a better way anyone might suggest? mostly i like to know where you generally pan guitars and keys? THnks!
 
First off, you have a LOT of room to pan; I wouldn't just stick everything but the guitars and keys "down the center". Give yourself a little texture and breathing room there. For example, throw the bass about 5°L and the kick about 5°R to seperate them just slightly and subconsciously. If your drums are mono'd (one track), then slide those about 10°L (the opposite side of the bass) and the lead vocal about the same to the right (the opposite of the drums.) If you have stereo drums, then a stereo spread about 35° wide centerd on the middle can sound good. If you're a headbanger with 3 dozen drum mics/tracks, then widen them even further if that's to your liking, keepng the vocals more or less down the center.

As far as the gits and the keys, try to balance them based upon frequency usage and arrangement. If the rhythm git sounds similar to the keys and/or shares many of the same lines as the keys, then seperate them L-R somewhere in the 40-60° range. Not necessarily identically balanced, just seperated enough so they're not stepping on each other. Then either put the lead where there's the biggest remaining hole in the pan space, or simply balance the lead and the vocal so they're seperated L/R by enough to keep them distinct but no so much as to make the mix sound lopsided.

Since it sounds like you're not running teen angst, cookie-cutter, doubled guitar distortion, I suggest not hard panning anything, but rather leaving the edges open for reverbs, placing you mix in a styling sense of space instead of an abstract LSD headphone wonder.

But it really all is dependant upon the arrangement. The above recipe is based on sume general assumptions on my part. Modify it as you see fit to fit the song. The idea to to keep balance - if not necessarily perfect symmetry (which is not always required) - in the spectral space so that two like-sounding instruments remain seperated and so that the overall energy of the song remains fairly distributed.

G.
 
I like to keep lead vocal, bass, snare and kick in the centre with the rest of the drums sort of in that area between 11 and 1 O'Clock. Percussion and auxilliary guitar and/or keyboard gets shunted off far left or far right. Lead and rhythm guitars go to about 10 and 2 O'Clock respectively. And backing vocals can be anywhere from 7 to 9 O'Clock on the left and 3 to 5 O'Clock on the right.
 
awesome thanks! I am going to try moving the bass and kick offcentre a little bit, i have 4 drum tracks, 2 overhead tracks left and right, triggered bass drum, and a snare mic that ended up sounding almost like another overhead.

I currently have the kick and snare right down the middle. the vocals are double tracked and down the middle with about a 5* spread to each side.

the overhead mics are about 35 points left and right respectively. the guitars are at about 60 and the keys are at 100 on both sides...

I generally do "epic" sounding keyboard parts, and thats how this band is, so the keyboards are supposed to sound wide and surrounding... going 100% with their respective left and right tracks seems to give that affect of wide/surrounding strings.
 
:eek: What's wrong with teen angst, cookie-cutter, doubled guitar distortion?
:D

Adam
 
I re-panned things around now and it seemed to have helped a little bit, here is a link to the new version of the song

New Version

Any suggestions? Im panning for gold!
 
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