How to Approach Panning
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What is Panning?
Panning refers to placing the audio in the stereo field. A pan control allows you to place the signal hard left, hard right, or anywhere in between. It's a good idea to always check your mix in mono because there is no guarantee people will always listen in stereo and generally a kickass mix in mono will also sound good in stereo, but not always the other way around. Panning and the stereo field should be thought of as any other technique or tool you have to influence the mix, it can be used in all manner of ways to improve or destroy your mix. Be aware that your stereo field is not only effected by variable loudness in the left and right, our ear distinguishes the placement of sound sources by delay as well. Common stereo micing techniques such as AB and ORTF allow you to utilize delay as well as variable loudness to influence the stereo field. An alternate or parallel technique of delaying either the left or right signal also allows you to pull a sound source to one side without adjusting relative volume.
Ways to Approach Panning
Modern Approach to bass and drums
The "modern" or radioesque approach while not a template to use definitively places the bass in the center, by moving the bass to the center it keeps the track grounded. If you have a bass on the right or left (like the live band approach recommends after this), it can make the mix feel "off center" and not hit you right. The drums can vary especially if they are mixed in with samples, and it's really up to you how wide of a stereo image you want to work with. Some of this balance can be found by adjusting the overall level of AB or XY mikes compared to your direct mics as well as the degree of panning you apply to the direct mikes placed on a set.
The Live Band Approach: Make your Multi-Track into a Concert
In this approach, try thinking of your Multi-Track recording as if it were a live concert (not played through a PA) and you were sitting in the best seat in the house.
Hard Panning
Most of the sound in this situation would be coming from front and center. That is to say, you'd be surprised if you heard a guitar amp playing directly to your right.
Keep this in mind while panning an instrument. Don't pan anything hard left or right (if you want it to sound natural).
How Much Should You Pan?
Now think about what seat you would ideally want for the best sound (I.E. not pressed up to the stage trying to get a better look at the artist). Usually the best sound is somewhere near the center, but towards the front.
Now picture where the different instruments in the recording would be. Lets take the idea of a basic Guitar, Bass, Singer, and Drums combo. To do this, it can be helpful to draw a diagram like the one on the right. Yours should probably be to scale, but this one isn't (your listener should probably be farther away so the angles will be less dramatic.)
The red dots are the listeners ears and the blue and green dashed lines represent the angle relative to the closest ear. To pan this mix to make it appear live, pretend that your panning dial is in the same place your ear is and turn the dial until it is inline with the blue or green line.
This method will imitate the stereo picture you would get with an AB Stereo Microphone Set Up.
Problems with the Live Band Approach
While the live band approach can help you give your a recording a live feel, it there are some problems that can arise. Often people pan instruments in order to separate instruments that take up the same sonic space (similar spaces in the EQ or similar Timbres). This is, some would say, a blind method for panning. That is to say, you're using a diagram more than you are using your ears.
Often, to solve this problem it is good to experiment with different diagrams. Try moving your listener farther away or the instruments forwards, backwards or side to side. Save these different mixes if your recording equipment will let you and compare them side by side.
Another problem that can occur with this approach is that, often, mixes sound lop-sided or just plain odd with the bass panned more than just a bit off-center. Take special caution anytime you radically pan the bass.
Things that the Live Band Approach Should Not Be Used For
There are some types of music which the Live Band method would not be good for. Electronic or Hip-hop are two genres that tend to rely on panning for special effects. Often these genres use hard panning as an effect to draw the users attention one way or the other.
Often pop and rock also don't strive for a live feel. Pink Floyd, for example, builds a sort of imaginary stereo bubble that is more 3-Dimensional than a Live Concert.
