Audio Panning Techniques To Set Fire To Your Mix
1. Automation — Automating panning allows you to control the movement of sounds in the stereo field in real-time. You can draw in the automation curve manually or use a plugin such as Automaton for extreme precision.
2. Equal Panning — This is where you pan both the left and right signals evenly across the stereo field. This technique works best with equal volume sends and returns.
3. Channel Touch — By adding a little bit of panning on the beginning and ends of individual tracks, you can make them more present in the mix.
4. Offsetting Channels — This involves setting one channel considerably higher or lower than the other. It can give the impression of a wider stereo image, and is great for guitars or instruments with high-frequency content.
5. Hard Panning — This places the sound entirely to the left or right, which is useful to balance out a stereo mix or to bring focus to a single instrument.
6. L/R Delay — This creates a mono effect in the center of the mix. By delaying the left channel slightly, and the right channel slightly later, you can achieve this effect.
7. Mid/Side Processing — With mid/side processing, you can adjust the stereo width of a signal. It can also be used to adjust the phase and the tonal balance in the mix.
Audio panning is the placement and manipulation of sound sources in a stereo or multi-channel environment. Sound can be panned to precise positions using panning controls that are available in a range of digital audio workstations (DAWs). In practical terms, this can involve panning an instrument slightly left or right of the stereo field to create greater depth and texture to a mix.
Using audio panning gives you a better mix by providing greater clarity and depth. Through careful use of panning, you can help create a sense of spaciousness and movement that may not be possible with mixing exclusively on a single stereo side. Additionally, panning can allow for the more efficient use of available space in a mix or performance, allowing multiple voices, instruments, or other sound sources to occupy different areas.
Types of audio panning to improve your mix include:
- Drum Panning: Creating a feeling of depth and spaciousness by panning drums and their individual elements across the stereo field.
- Vocal Panning: This involves panning vocals to each side of the stereo field - often to create a sense of motion or movement in the mix.
- Auto Panning: This technique involves creating an automated ‘movement’ in the mix by cycling the pan position of an instrument from left to right and back again.
Each type of panning is important as it provides a different way of creating depth and movement in a mix. Drum panning adds subtle depth to the mix while also providing clarity to each individual element in a drum kit. Vocal panning is a great way to create motion in a mix while Auto panning can create a hypnotic feel and energy depending on how the effect is used.
