how do you guys pan/mix your guitars?

[3tuxedo]

whatsup guys, i know the topic of mixing guitars comes all all the freaking time, but im more interested in how/where you pan them. i am trying to work with some more punk type stuff? (yellowcard ect.) i dont know if that is punk but whatever. and i was wondering how you guys will mixing your guitars together when they are doing like harmonized/different power chords. i normally pan to the left and right but this sounds off for this kind of music, im not sure maybe some of you have good input.

 

[HostileEx]

For distorted guitars you always want to, at least, double track each guitar. Quad tracking is not unusual. It gives the respective guitar a much wider, in depth feel to it. I've had Mixes where I pan both left takes <100% and both right takes >100%. I've also had mixes where I pan <100%, <35%, >100%, >35%. Just depends on what your going for. Nothing is wrong unless it sounds like utter shit.

 

[3tuxedo]

alright well that makes sense, but what do you do with leads? i mean do you do double tracked on left and right and lead in the middle? because if not it is so unbalanced.

 

[richard.ackroyd]

Personally I only hard pan, i.e left 100% and right 100% for both leads and rythym.

And if you have a single lead guitar just bop it in the middle, it gets muddy if you bop loads of stuff in at 35% haha

 

[3tuxedo]

but doesn't that make it uneven? like lots of stuff on the one side and not much on the other?

 

[Goodfellas453]

i asked Joey this a while ago, he only double tracks now, one guitar left 100% one right 100%, if there is a lead its in the center. its more of leaving room in the center and widens the mix

 

[3tuxedo]

one guitar left 100% one right 100%, if there is a lead its in the center. its more of leaving room in the center and widens the mix

So if there is a lead, then he has 100% right, 100% left, and the lead in the center?

maybe im doing something wrong but when i only pan 100 both ways the guitars sound really thin.

 

[Goodfellas453]

So if there is a lead, then he has 100% right, 100% left, and the lead in the center?

maybe im doing something wrong but when i only pan 100 both ways the guitars sound really thin.

Use that bass fill in the low end

 

[HostileEx]

It depends on what kind of lead it is. If it's a lead part that you really want to showcase, then you would double track it for width and pan like 10% in each direction, or almost center. Otherwise, keep the guitar on it's respective side, assuming you are working with two guitarists.

I always try to pan and use reverb as you would experience in a real-life situation. For instance, I like to keep my left guitarists playing on the left and right on the right. I try to pan drums from the audience perspective of a right handed drummer, etc.

Hope I have inspired some thoughts or answered your question. Because if you want a straight up answer, you're not going to find one. Music production has no limits, no boundaries and no rules. Everything is a possibility. Nothing is right and nothing is wrong, unless it sounds like shit.

 

[Top Ground Studios]

For the rhythm (when double tracking), I always pan 100% left and right. When it comes to panning leads or other guitar parts, i always think about how "in your face" I want them to be. If I want them to be "in your face" then I pan them center or maybe slight off the center (really slightly). If I want them hidden or just to "vibe in" then I would pan them maybe around 30-50% left or right.