LCR Panning Pros And Cons A Mixing State Of Mind
The idea is simple: don’t use intermediate pan positions. Any given mono source can be panned hard left, hard right or straight down the middle.
LCR panning isn’t so much a technique as a mindset that can lead you to more satisfying mixes.
There can be a huge gulf between what trained and untrained ears hear when they listen to a track. Your average listener isn’t thinking “That guitar’s a bit edgy” or “Isn’t the conga fighting a bit with the floor tom?” Their reactions are much more instinctual and basic. Music either provokes an emotional response in people, or it doesn’t. It’s all too easy to lose sight of that basic fact when you’re mixing. Yes, a focus on detail can be important, but if you focus on the wrong details you’ll end up making the track sound fussy and confused, rather than clear and powerful.