should you record centred or panned

[DanTravis62]

I would love to hear some of you guys mixes who don't hard pan left and right

 

[DanTravis62]

i dont think ive ever recorded centered once, guess ive been doing it all wrong lol

Let's say, diplomatically, that I am skeptical about the quality of these supposedly center tracked guitar recordings everyone is making

I would love to hear some full mixes of this in action - god knows none of those are ever forthcoming

 

[Rackman]

Let's say, diplomatically, that I am skeptical about the quality of these supposedly center tracked guitar recordings everyone is making

I would love to hear some full mixes of this in action - god knows none of those are ever forthcoming

Can we please have a distinction between tracking and mixing here? Tracking guitars in general does not have panning except for unusual exceptions where you are tracking with a stereo array (e.g. XY, ORTF, Decca etc.). Since those techniques are almost never used for pop/rock/metal guitar recording I think we can assume that's not what we're doing. With the typical dynamic mic on a speaker, what you get is mono. It does not have panning until mixdown.

 

[DanTravis62]

Can we please have a distinction between tracking and mixing here? Tracking guitars in general does not have panning except for unusual exceptions where you are tracking with a stereo array (e.g. XY, ORTF, Decca etc.). Since those techniques are almost never used for pop/rock/metal guitar recording I think we can assume that's not what we're doing. With the typical dynamic mic on a speaker, what you get is mono. It does not have panning until mixdown.

Yeah, when people say "center tracked" they don't mean it was recorded in stereo, they mean it isn't panned hard left and hard right (to varying degrees, the industry standard since the 80s)

This isn't controversial, and you are literally the only person who is confusing the two, apparently

 

[Rackman]

Yeah, when people say "center tracked" they don't mean it was recorded in stereo, they mean it isn't panned hard left and hard right (to varying degrees, the industry standard since the 80s)

This isn't controversial, and you are literally the only person who is confusing the two, apparently

Oh just me and the OP, who specifically asked about tracking not mixing.

Asking if guitars should be MIXED centered vs panned is a completely different question from what OP asked. Perhaps he and others don't know the difference between tracking and mixing, but if so that's likely to cause much bigger problems than how the guitars are panned.

Likewise I could note you ranted about center *center tracked* guitars suggesting the confusion is rather widespread...

 

[DanTravis62]

Oh just me and the OP, who specifically asked about tracking not mixing.

Asking if guitars should be MIXED centered vs panned is a completely different question from what OP asked. Perhaps he and others don't know the difference between tracking and mixing, but if so that's likely to cause much bigger problems than how the guitars are panned.

The op obviously meant mixing if you want to have a pedantry fueled stroke about it that's fine, we're all good

 

[Rackman]

OP doesn't make any sense if you replace "tracking" with "mixing".

The core confusion appears to be people thinking that the pan setting during tracking affects something other than potentially some monitoring function.

 

[DanTravis62]

OP doesn't make any sense if you replace "tracking" with "mixing".

The core confusion appears to be people thinking that the pan setting during tracking affects something other than potentially some monitoring function.

I believe the OP is asking (in a really poorly worded way) if people are recording in mono or stereo for their tracking and then sorting out the stereo pairs hard panned in the mixing process afterward, but it's either worded so poorly its obfuscated or from someone who doesn't know the normal terminology people use for this stuff

 

[bigchungusstuckinmymouth]

Always record centered, no EQ, and sometimes no effects (although that varies).

Mixing is not recording.

why? should you not being listening to the other one to make sure they line up

 

[bigchungusstuckinmymouth]

I think he means when tracking are you monitoring with the takes panned left or right vs tracking it normal up the center then panning takes after to see what works best.

I've seen people do both, but I'd imagine if you want the takes as tight as possible it would work better to monitor only your current take up the center and your click then see how it all fits in context. Whatever gives you the best results.

@skoora @DanTravis62 this is what i mean

 

[bigchungusstuckinmymouth]

@skoora @DanTravis62 this is what i mean

@Rackman

 

[karol86]

I mean.. whatever i record.. i track guitars panned already.. i just hate the way it sounds when I hear a track that i just recorded dead center and im about to lay another track for the double which is also in the center... it just clashes and smears together.. its like listening to iems with a 2 guitar band in mono.. Panning brings clarity and instant reference and I know exactly at that moment that my take was better or worse..

I mean .. if you mute the rest it does not matter i guess.. you'll pan them depending on what the song requires. 99% of modern music is hard panned L/R .. it's just a tool... do whats right for the song..

 

[Devin]

I always lay down tracks centered then pan after the fact

 

[bigchungusstuckinmymouth]

I always lay down tracks centered then pan after the fact

is that what the pros usually do

 

[Devin]

is that what the pros usually do

I have no idea lol. I do it simply because it's easier to hear so I would assume it's pretty common