Panning - Binaural vs Balance

[JeanieLarkin]

Hi Folks,

Currently working on a hybrid kind of track - hip hop beats, keys, heavy bass, synths but with orchestral stuff thrown in, extra percussion... you name it, this track has got it! Trying to do a mix down and playing around with the panning. For some things Binaural seems to give it a kick but then others don't seem to sit right, so I send them back to Balance (working in Logic Pro X).

Does anyone have any preference for the type of panning they use when mixing? Is there the right kind of pan for each individual job? Which do you prefer to use for what? Are there issues one needs to be aware of when using different types of pan? Or is it just a matter of keep playing around until it fits and everything has the perfect space!

Any advice greatly appreciated!

TIA,

Jeanie

[Len911]

I think actual binaural is recording using one of those heads https://en-de.neumann.com/ku-100. "Headphone playback optimized, loudspeaker compatible". The software binaural is more of an effect, one that is going to sound strange if played over loudspeakers. You may use it and it sounds great by itself, but if it is mixed later with dialog or any other audio it could be problematic. Mid-side or m/s could be more advantageous in mixdown, even though it is somewhat different than recording m/s with an m/s mic configuration. With the software's phase meter and ability to set a frequency threshold for what is taken from the sides and sent to the middle..., it could be much more useful imo.

[Russell Landwehr]

Panning really depends on what sounds right.

Sometimes LCR panning is the way to go. Sometimes just letting your stereo synths fly as-is works.

The things that DONT work so much are the plugins that use special tricks to widen the sound.

While I've been known to use the haas effect on some parts on music I've signed... and will use a rotary speaker effect... I generally stay away from artificial things that cause phasing problems.

Russell

Edit: for mono signals, any sort of panning law is good... for stereo signals I always use panning that moves each side to where I want it to be as opposed to the type of panning that simply attenuates one side of the stereo signal.

[cosmicdolphin]

Keep it simple..and mono compatible

[JeanieLarkin]

I think actual binaural is recording using one of those heads https://en-de.neumann.com/ku-100. "Headphone playback optimized, loudspeaker compatible". The software binaural is more of an effect, one that is going to sound strange if played over loudspeakers. You may use it and it sounds great by itself, but if it is mixed later with dialog or any other audio it could be problematic. Mid-side or m/s could be more advantageous in mixdown, even though it is somewhat different than recording m/s with an m/s mic configuration. With the software's phase meter and ability to set a frequency threshold for what is taken from the sides and sent to the middle..., it could be much more useful imo.

Thanks for the input! I'll certainly bare that in mind.

[JeanieLarkin]

Panning really depends on what sounds right.

Sometimes LCR panning is the way to go. Sometimes just letting your stereo synths fly as-is works.

The things that DONT work so much are the plugins that use special tricks to widen the sound.

While I've been known to use the haas effect on some parts on music I've signed... and will use a rotary speaker effect... I generally stay away from artificial things that cause phasing problems.

Russell

Edit: for mono signals, any sort of panning law is good... for stereo signals I always use panning that moves each side to where I want it to be as opposed to the type of panning that simply attenuates one side of the stereo signal.

Thanks so much Russell. Super useful info and along the lines of what I'm beginning to think. So much to learn, it's a minefield!

[JeanieLarkin]

Keep it simple..and mono compatible

Ha! After spending a ridiculous amount of time tinkering back and forth with the mix on this track, I am totally with this train of thought!!

Thanks for the input!

[waveheavy]

Really depends on the genre and number of, and type of instruments. You mentioned a hybrid composition which sounds like an EDM style with added orchestral instruments. An EDM style kind of defines the panning in the mix.

As a general rule in mixing, the vocal, bass, kick, and snare are up center. Lower frequency instruments/sounds stay out of the sides, while higher frequency sounds can be panned harder to the sides.

But EDM as a rule is not hard panned L-R, because of Mono compatibility, and this mainly because of shooting for it being played in a club. In a club with one huge monitor on one side of the room and the other one on the other side, you might not hear all the instruments unless you were situated between the two monitors. So most EDM styles don't have a real wide spread.

Orchestral tracks usually do have a wide spread, this because of so many instruments, the space is needed. With Rock, the rhythm guitars are usually hard panned L & R.

A mixing trick if you have a lot of instruments is to limit the number of stereo tracks. Use mono instruments as much as possible. If not, you can use a plugin like Waves S1 stereo imager to make the stereo spread more mono, and then pan it where it best fits with other instruments.


L-C-R panning - this is when instruments are either panned strictly center, or hard left and hard right, nothing in between. I don't recommend this, but a lot pro mixers use it. (I almost never pan anything all the way right or left.)

[andygabrys]

Logic has three panning modes.

This video will help explain https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riR9-NMIFbQ

Like Len said I would stay away from Binaural panning for most applications.

As Russell and Dave said sometimes super wide isn't great for all applications and there are plugins like the Brainworks eqs and the Waves S-1 and Center and the Direction mixer which is resident in Logic X that all handle stereo width.

For most things already in stereo they are pretty wide so messing too much with the width can make then sound wide and weak - a lack of center "punch".

Reference other stuff that is out there commercially. It usually "works". Use that as a guide for what you want things to end up like.

[Len911]

https://www.plugin-alliance.com/en/prod ... ol_v2.html

this is really a handy tool if you want to really get creative with panning. you can play with mid and sides, mono-maker sets a freq threshold for what goes to the middle, phase(correlation) meter, balance meter, stereo widener...
you can experiment with things like a voice on the left, while the reverb or delay or effect pans mid or right... all with meters to monitor your phase and balance for adjusting your levels. You might experiment with the freq of your voice, and send any freq below a set freq to the middle while keeping the rest somewhere on the left side... It's great if you want to swim in reverb and still maintain clarity by panning the reverb return to the right of the position of the instrument or voice... If you've ever tried to match the reverb on an old record and only ended up drowning in reverb before you even begin matching the amount of reverb...