Is it really better to Pan tracks left/right and not have them all balanced?
It depends on the sound stage you are creating. Everything balanced will appear in the middle and the middle will get very crowded.
Play with it, record two guitars and pan them about, it's fascinating.
Panning is a matter of taste and can depend on the 'feel' you're after in a song. There's no right or wrong answer, but for me, some panning is always an essential part of the mixing. Sometimes I'll pan different tracks extreme L/R, and sometimes part way. It's hard to tell what will work until you've listened to how it all sounds working together. But I'd recommend panning for sure...
Flash and Greeny are right - It's a matter of personal taste, but it does help broaden the sound by panning some of the tracks. If everything stays in the center there would be no use for stereo.
Ive been listening to lots of music on headphones lately(like never before)...Ive also had questions about panning, but Id suggest listening to some old Van Halen or some Beatles to get some ideas...I was really surprised to hear all of Eddie's guitar on the left side and Mike's bass on the right with Eddie's guitar over dubs on the right too...and I thought the Beatles stuff sounded panned very interesting as well.
Id never considered panning and its effect until actually hearing(and comprehending) it for the first time.
Check out some 70s Jethro Tull and Queen as well - stunning use of panning :)
Quote from: AndyR on June 16, 2009, 03:29:11 AMCheck out some 70s Jethro Tull and Queen as well - stunning use of panning :)
Or Jimi Hendrix for that matter....
Check out some Richie Blackmore's Rainbow Rising for how not to do it (original version). It was pants even with RJD.