Where should strings reside in the mix?

[bigbluebarry]

I'm working on a project in the Southern Gospel genre (think traditional country). There will be a few songs that will have strings on them. I've never had to mix a song with strings so I'm not really sure how I should pan them in the stereo field. Any suggestions or links to suggestions would be greatly appreciated.thanks!- Big Blue

[mrsunshine]

Hey BB...I bookmarked this from a past posting...hope this helps:http://library.thinkquest.org/22673/orchestra.htmlChuck

[mazz]

It really depends on the song and the instrumentation. If the arrangement is pretty full, I'd place the strings sonically where you'd place a B3 part, if the arrangement is sparse, then the string parts are probably a bit busier and fuller, in which case, they'd be more upfront in the mix.As far as panning goes, with studio strings, you don't necessarily need to use standard orchestral seating. I'd pan based on the parts and how they interact with the other instruments. For instance, if the first violin parts are fairly busy and moving, does it sound good if they are panned fairly widely left or would it be better to move them in a bit? It really depends on how you've panned other elements in the mix. A busy string part panned to the same general location as a busy rhythm guitar part may or may not work depending on the song. If the strings are a string quartet, maybe they need to be panned as a group opposite the keyboards. Really it's whatever sounds good for the song.Are these sampled strings or live? If they're sampled you have more options, if it's a live recorded section recorded in stereo, of course you'll be working with the stereo track which will obviously limit your options.Let the song and your ear guide you.Mazz

[bigbluebarry]

Thanks for the link Chuck!Hey Mazz, the strings are sampled. I've uploaded my first rough mix of the song if you wanted to take a listen to it. This was my first instinct before deciding to get advice from people with more experience.Amazing Grace - http://www.taximusic.com/song.php?song_ ... am=trueI'm running Pro Tools LE 7.4 and I'm using the XPand plug-in for the strings with the "Bright Legato Strings" preset. I'll be honest, strings are really not my thing, just don't have much experience with them. I'm recording 10 songs similar to this as a mother's day/birthday gift to my mom. She's going to be recording her vocals in about a month so I'm hoping to have everything else finished before then. So if you have any suggestions as far as plug-ins go or any thing that would be helpful to me, I'd appreciate it. Thank you,Big Blue

[mojobone]

Nice note choices, Barry! I like it. A great deal will depend on the timbre of the artist's voice, but I'd recommend some more active string parts in the latter sections before the fade. The strings could be brought up some throughout the piece, they're almost subliminal in the version I heard. (listening at a very low volume at the moment) Some call and response might make a nice addition; check out some Patsy Cline records for inspiration.(particularly "Sweet Dreams" and stuff from that period)

[bigbluebarry]

Thanks mojobone... I didn't actually write the string (or piano) parts, that would be my brother-in-law, who's doing this as a favor to me. Speaking of Patsy Cline, a friend of mine who has heard the vocals said she reminded him of Patsy Cline so I guess I'm definitely going to have to check out some of her stuff.thanks,Big Blue