Using Pan to provide Clarity
Using the pan controls is another way to provide separation for instruments. The listener can better identify individual instruments and tracks when they utilize the stereo field. Life is in stereo and it takes two speakers in the recording studio to hear the stereo field. The Pan knob works as a balance control for both mono and stereo tracks. The more you turn the knob left the lower the volume gets in the right channel. The more you turn the pan control right the lower the volume gets in the left channel. You can use pan together with EQ to provide separation for tracks during the mixing process. When each track has its own place in the frequency spectrum and the stereo field then your ears can identify everything more easily.
For example, If the ride cymbal is competing with the shaker then try panning the ride cymbal 25 to 30 percent right and the shaker 25 to 30 percent left. This will add to the clarity of these tracks, especially if they are close to sharing the same fundamental frequency. While using EQ will provide clarity, Using pan will provide a bit of separation. Yes, you can use the panning to separate the instruments that sit within the same frequency range, but you can also use the pans to set instruments in different parts of the stereo field. This works well for things like back ground vocals and drum toms.
There are basically two types of tracks that are recorded, mono and stereo. Keyboards are the only single type tracks that I will record using one stereo track. Everything else I record is usually in mono. In some cases, I will use two mono tracks two make a stereo image. Using two mics and recording two separate mono tracks to emulate one stereo image works well with most live instruments.
You also have more options during the mix while doing this. Sometimes I will pan one mono track full right and the other full left to get a stereo image. This allows me to use the fades as a more precise pan control. I can also EQ the left and the right side a little differently. I can apply individual effects to each side instead of the same effect for both sides. This creates the effect of an even wider stereo image.
Phase Anomalies
Sometimes while recording with two microphones you may run into phase anomalies. The two mono waves may become out of sync with each other. In most cases, this is due to improper mic placement. In this example phase is a term used to describe the position of one mono sound wave relative to the other mono sound wave in our stereo field. Two identical waves are ‘in-phase’ when the crests and troughs of the waves meet. This will also have the effect of increasing the amplitude. The mono waves would be considered ‘out-of-phase’ when the crests of one wave meet the trough of another wave.
These waves that are out of phase have the ability to weaken the amplitude. The stereo image may also be degraded. You can really notice it when you play back the waves in mono. Two identical waves at 180 degrees out of phase will completely cancel each other out in a process known as phase cancellation. These are issues that need to be corrected and fixed in the mix. Two mono tracks will become weaker in amplitude when you use the pans if the tracks are out of phase. You normally check for this during the recording process when you are determining mic placement.
