Panning
Placing sounds left to right in the stereo field to set width and space
Related
Panning places a sound left or right in the stereo field. The common method uses level differences between the two channels; small delays or EQ can also push a sound forward or back.
Wider is not automatically better. Bass and lead vocals usually stay centered, while rhythm and pads spread to the sides; too much width hollows out the middle and can cancel when summed to mono. Many mixes need only left, center and right.
The usual mistake is to confuse panning with volume. Moving a sound changes its position and the balance between channels, not its overall loudness; real width also comes from arrangement and effects.
Sources
- 声像定位与单声道兼容，参 Bobby Owsinski, The Mixing Engineer's Handbook 与 Huber & Runstein, Modern Recording Techniques；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.