I was hesitant writing a blog about panning because it’s a no-brainer. Most of you are probably like “yeah yeah panning is easy”! It is very easy but let me open your mind a bit!
In my early days of mixing all I ever seemed to do is hard pan everything. One vocal all the way to the left, one all the way to the right, and one up the center. Although there are times I still do this, there’s a lot of experimenting that can be done with panning less than that. Sometimes panning hard left and hard right can be a little distracting to the center vocal. Also, don’t forget that hard panned vocals need turned down because they cut through way louder once panned. Here’s a couple methods to try…
Panning 50 percent each way can sound nice and full. 30 percent each way can sound nice too! If you have a lot of vocal layers to play with, you can have hard panned and less panned! This is actually the best because it fills out the whole stereo field! Imagine 1 vocal and a vocal double panned to center, 1 vocal hard left, 1 vocal hard right, 1 vocal at 50% left, 1 at 50% right, and a couple vocals panned 30% each way or 70% each way for a wider sound. With this method you will create a “wall of vocals”! Try it out and tell me how it goes!
Perfect Vocals Academy 