Lawrence wrote: ↑Sat May 06, 2023 1:12 pmolegmcnoleg wrote: ↑Mon May 01, 2023 12:14 pmThe best advice I ever had for mixing is this:Jay wrote: ↑Mon May 01, 2023 11:38 am Been searching through the Studio topic but could not find much on panning tracks.
I am mixing a simple song in mono atm with the following tracks:
Drums
Bongos
Bass
Vocals
Double tracked vocals (chorus only)
Rhythm guitar
Solo guitar
Piano (potentially if recording works out well)
Q: Do I pan any tracks? Which ones and why?
Thanks in advance to you mixing gurus
keep it in mono ... work with the eq so that you can hear all the instruments separately & clearly. Pay particular attention to separating the bass & kick drum and anywhere in the sound spectrum where you have a lot of different instruments competing for attention. I've read that 80% of the effort in getting a good mix goes here. I think it is true, though there are those on here who do this for a living, so their advice will be better than mine.
One you are sure that you can already separate out those instruments then it is time to think about stereo imaging. There are many ways you can do that: panning, chorus, panned delays/doublers, double tracking, effects that 'widen' the signal...it is not all about panning.
Experiment with different approaches. General wisdom is to keep the Bass drum & Bass close to the centre, but you can allow the toms to each pan to a different angle, same with cymbals. I usually keep the snare in the middle also. (unless it pairs well rhythmically with another instrument--in which case they can both be panned--but this is very rare in my experience)
I often aim to have two parts that are close to each other rhythmically, but ideally not identical. Two instruments playing the same chords and a similar rhythm... I might hard pan these, one left, one right. If the rhythms are not similar, this will make the sound disconnected & unpleasant, but if they are close, it can add considerable depth.
Other instruments I will pan more gently, but I use some of the other tricks above (with moderation) to fatten the sound. Pad settings on synths can be great for getting a wide sound, but they need to leave space for the vocal.
I'm still learning, so take all this with a pinch of salt.
Good luck
that's very good advice right there.
Id add a couple of other points:
Before you start EQing (in mono) work on your balance. Don't try to fix balance issues with EQ, Don't assume that any instrument needs to be EQ'd to any particular sound until you can get the context. I see too many people spend ages EQing drum tracks in solo when they have not yet listened to the song balanced.(Since I don't know how experienced you are - Balance will change verse/chorus/ or line/line...even word/word sometimes). Assuming you are "In the Box" and mixing by mouse, be prepared to spend a little time getting these balance moves right.
When doing your balance and EQ, don't just assume that panning to the middle is mono. If possible work with only 1 monitor on at first. its the cleanest and truest way to hear mono.
very early on ask yourself if this is a vocal driven song or a groove driven song. If its a vocal driven song, don't be afraid to start your balancing with just the vocals and BVs switched on. While still in mono and without eq, see if you can get the vocal, BVs and their associated ambience (reverbs , delays) to sound GREAT on their own. Then start adding the other elements...Id probably start with bass & Kick but that depends on the song.
Try to find a few references tracks from big budget recordings and use them to prepare your ears. Im not saying copy the other tracks, and nor do they have to be identical styles. Its easy to get so far into your mix you forget what other mixers sound like. Take a break every hour or so and listen to some music.
Finally
Listen on as many sources and in as many environments as you can....
AS always - there are no rules! Have FUN!
I’ve not tried that idea with the vocals, but I will next time
And YES to reference tracks. They can be quite demoralizing but they definitely help.