Panning Explained

When mixing, something as simple as positioning a sound to the left or right may seem like a simple thing, but it makes all the difference between a good mix and a great one. Multi-Platinum mixer Kenny Gioia breaks down the art of Panning so you get a solid foundation and advanced knowledge of this basic, but incredibly important mixing technique.

Videos

• Introduction (04:09) - In this tutorial, Kenny goes through the basics of panning, how it's used in modern production and how it really works.

• Pan Laws (03:22) - Kenny explains the complicated concept of using Pan Laws simply and how to set them correctly in your DAW.

• Frequency and Sound Localization (09:47) - Part of panning is how each sound is localized differently. In this video, we go through how frequencies affect panning.

• Panning FX (06:56) - In this tutorial, Kenny goes through many popular panning plug-ins like Autopan and Rotating speakers in addition to using automation.

• Creating Stereo and Doubles (11:30) - Here, Kenny shows you how to create stereo from mono sources and how to use delays and shift tracks to imitate doubling. Comb Filtering and Phase are also explained.

• Stereo FX (09:21) - Kenny runs through all the most popular stereo FX and how to use them and create widely panned versions of them. Reverb, Delay, Chorus, Flange and Ping Pong Delays are all described.

• Drums and Percussion (12:38) - In the next few videos, Kenny takes a typical song and it's mix and carefully chooses how to pan each source. Here we start with the drums.

• Bass, Keys and Piano (09:01) - Kenny continues to take a typical song and it's mix and decides how to pan each source. Here we do the Bass, Keys and Piano.

• Guitars (05:06) - Kenny continues with the song and it's mix and chooses how to pan each source. Here we dig into the Guitar tracks.

• Vocals (09:59) - Here Kenny carefully chooses how to pan the vocals.

• Finished Mix (04:03) - Kenny has included the final mix of this song so it can be referred to and what it will eventually sound like panned correctly.

• LCR Mixing and Panning Approach (12:56) - LCR mixing has become very popular lately and Kenny shows you why and how to adjust your mix to match these rules. Kenny remixes the song using LCR techniques.