Panning

In a stereo mix every sound can sit anywhere from hard left, through the center, to hard right. The pan control on each mixer channel (short for panorama, and often called a pan pot) sets that position by sending more of the sound to one speaker than to the other. A sound sent equally to both seems to come from the middle, a "phantom center" between the speakers.

Why pan?

• Clarity. Two instruments in the same frequency range can mask each other in the center; panning them apart helps the ear separate them.
• Width and space. A mix with its parts spread out sounds bigger and more open.
• Realism. Panning can recreate where musicians stand on a stage, or where each drum sits around a kit.

Common conventions

There are no fixed rules, but many mixes share some habits:

• Center: the lead vocal, bass, kick drum and snare, which carry the song and most of its low-frequency energy.
• Off-center: guitars, keyboards, backing vocals, percussion and other supporting parts.
• Pairs: two similar parts, such as a guitar part recorded twice (overdub) or two backing vocals, panned to opposite sides for a wide sound.
• Drums: panned as the audience would hear the kit, or as the drummer would. Pick one perspective and keep it consistent.

Panning in practice

1. Build the balance first with every part in the center, and get the levels right (mixing).
2. Then spread the parts out, listening for clarity rather than following a formula.
3. Check that the left and right sides feel roughly balanced in level and activity.
4. Switch back to mono now and then. A good mix should still make sense when both sides are combined, for example on a single phone speaker.

Pan law and stereo tracks

A centered sound plays through both speakers, so it can seem louder than the same sound panned to one side. A DAW's pan law turns centered sounds down slightly to compensate; the amount varies between programs and can usually be changed in the settings. On a stereo track, the pan control often works as a balance control, turning one side down rather than moving a single image, and some DAWs offer a separate width control.

Movement can be musical too: auto-pan effects sweep a sound from side to side in time with the tempo, and a ping-pong delay bounces its echoes between the speakers.