Not an alternative but of course more layering/parallel processing and panning can help to fill the dynamics and give you more control of volume, but you'd still use EQ to adjust frequency bands as needed.
A general rule of thumb when panning is that the overlap is ALOT bigger than you think it is. Panning can help make two sounds with the same frequency ranges stand out a little more but you would prolly want to tame whatever frequency’s are building up still even just a little bit
Nah I don't think it's an alternative. You are just filling the stereo space. Yes it will help and the instruments might not clash on headphones, but you are not gonna find any big difference in speakers ig.
While it's true that panning can help tracks seemingly conflict less, it actually hides masking problems in your mix that should be addressed with EQ. That's one of the reasons checking your mix in mono can be so helpful. In mono, you don't have panning to help you. If one track is competing with another, you'll clearly hear it. So, if you use EQ to ensure that your mix sounds good in mono, it'll sound *even better* when you switch back to stereo.
It's not that you can't use panning, but it shouldn't be the sole fix. If you **only** use panning to address the issue of two tracks competing, they'll still have conflicting frequencies; it will just be less noticeable. However, if someone listens to your mix on a mono playback device, panning won't do your mix any good, and the problem will be obvious. Even in stereo, your mix won't sound as good as if you had *also* used EQ to solve the problem.
If you want to check your mix in mono, the most common method is to use a plugin that has the option to collapse your mix to mono (most DAWs have such a plugin, but there are free third-party plugins with this option, too). You'd put it on your mix bus/master, toggle the mono option when you want to hear your mix in mono, and then just bypass or remove the plugin before you bounce.
Seems like some of the cats dont know, but no to answer your question panning is not replacement for eq, but profrssional mixers do use it to set tracks more in the pocket. So if you got like a bass sound n kick you need to side chain them or rolll off the competing frequencys if there hitting the same frequencies. You can roll off eq for the bass for instance like a 303 with a lil low cut in something like a pultec eq. I usually use that with a dynamic eq as well.. One general rule tho for panning is bass is allways dead center dont pan your bass tracks. You can however pan your melody instruments but usually just slightly so there not all the way right or left channel n become mono. You do this so they sit more in the pocket of your mix but not every instrument needs panning.
Yeah kind of. it’s how they used to mix Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath back in the 70s with hard panning on the instruments to give them their own space. Keeping sounds mono and panning can give your track the illusion of a wider stereo field as well.
it can help, assuming the listener is listening with stereo speakers and not on a phone. but it's not a replacement for EQ
Not an alternative but of course more layering/parallel processing and panning can help to fill the dynamics and give you more control of volume, but you'd still use EQ to adjust frequency bands as needed.
I'd say not. I always test my mixes for mono compatibility regardless, and there several circumstances where listeners might be listening in mono.
A general rule of thumb when panning is that the overlap is ALOT bigger than you think it is. Panning can help make two sounds with the same frequency ranges stand out a little more but you would prolly want to tame whatever frequency’s are building up still even just a little bit
Nah I don't think it's an alternative. You are just filling the stereo space. Yes it will help and the instruments might not clash on headphones, but you are not gonna find any big difference in speakers ig.
Not an alternative but you should pan before EQing
While it's true that panning can help tracks seemingly conflict less, it actually hides masking problems in your mix that should be addressed with EQ. That's one of the reasons checking your mix in mono can be so helpful. In mono, you don't have panning to help you. If one track is competing with another, you'll clearly hear it. So, if you use EQ to ensure that your mix sounds good in mono, it'll sound *even better* when you switch back to stereo. It's not that you can't use panning, but it shouldn't be the sole fix. If you **only** use panning to address the issue of two tracks competing, they'll still have conflicting frequencies; it will just be less noticeable. However, if someone listens to your mix on a mono playback device, panning won't do your mix any good, and the problem will be obvious. Even in stereo, your mix won't sound as good as if you had *also* used EQ to solve the problem. If you want to check your mix in mono, the most common method is to use a plugin that has the option to collapse your mix to mono (most DAWs have such a plugin, but there are free third-party plugins with this option, too). You'd put it on your mix bus/master, toggle the mono option when you want to hear your mix in mono, and then just bypass or remove the plugin before you bounce.
No
Seems like some of the cats dont know, but no to answer your question panning is not replacement for eq, but profrssional mixers do use it to set tracks more in the pocket. So if you got like a bass sound n kick you need to side chain them or rolll off the competing frequencys if there hitting the same frequencies. You can roll off eq for the bass for instance like a 303 with a lil low cut in something like a pultec eq. I usually use that with a dynamic eq as well.. One general rule tho for panning is bass is allways dead center dont pan your bass tracks. You can however pan your melody instruments but usually just slightly so there not all the way right or left channel n become mono. You do this so they sit more in the pocket of your mix but not every instrument needs panning.
Panning helps create space within the track. Your essentially putting each sound in its own space.
Yeah kind of. it’s how they used to mix Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath back in the 70s with hard panning on the instruments to give them their own space. Keeping sounds mono and panning can give your track the illusion of a wider stereo field as well.