Feel stoopid asking....

[LIMiT]

What do you do with the pan pot with a stereo channel on a console that only has 1 pot for panning?

 

(I apologize to all the smart people out there)

 

-LIMiT

[Kiwiburger]

That's not a silly question. Typically if you are using a stereo channel, you are dealing with a stereo source (keyboard, stereo pair of mic's etc) and you normally want to preserve the full stereo image. In that case, leave the pan pot at dead centre (it's probably indented). Turning it left or right would skew that stereo image, which probably isn't what you want.

 

But let's say you recorded a stereo image with two different mics, and one was less sensitive than the other - you could use the pan pot to balance the image.

 

Or you might be using this channel with two mono signals - maybe two vocal harmonies - and you might want to balance these, or crossfade between the two. That might be easier than working with two faders.

 

Basically, it's your choice how you use it.

[Daniel Smart]

It may be worth pointing out, as alluded to, that a pan pot on a mixer for a stereo channel is generally a 'balance' control between left and right (i.e controls relative volume fo L/R channels).

 

It isn't the same as panning two mono signals (i.e. you can't actually pan across from left to right and vice-versa or change the spread/amount of stereo separation).

 

-Daniel

[rhythminmind]

it depends on the console... on some consoles you set how the pot works... it can attenuate the left or right channels or shift the whole stereo signal left or right..

[Kiwiburger]

What I like about software mixers such as SX3 or Nuendo is that you have options for stereo channel panners. You can have the simple single fader pan, or dual faders that let you place each side of the channel anywhere you like. So you could reverse L & R, or Mono them, or anything in between.

[CN Fletcher]

It works like the Left/Right pan control on your home stereo or in your car... say you are bringing back a stereo reverb on a guitar you have panned to the left... you might want more reverb panned to the right and less under the actual guitar track... that's what that pan knob on the stereo module was born to accomplish.

 

Peace.