Pan question

[bonzerboy]

Would it be best if I have doubled guitar parts , 2 different guitars a & b both with double tracks. Panning a gtr l and 2 R, should I pan both gtr of 1 the same day 45 or 45 and 30 and other side same, the question is should ynd double track gtr be the same pan or offset?

[albee1952]

No doubt you'll get lots of opinions on this, so here's mine

What you need depends totally on how you want it to sound. Sometimes each part will be played twice(maybe with different guitars OR different amps OR both). Sometimes guitars are not doubled at all(listen to the first 4 Van Halen records which are mostly one mono guitar panned to one side with a mono reverb panned to the other side. In general, I pan doubles hard left and right. Non-doubled guitars are usually done like VH(or Led Zep). Solo guitar is usually mono up the middle(or slightly panned), with stereo reverb or ping pong delay. This is only for a guitar solo and not for bits(see next). Guitar fills within a verse or chorus will usually be mono, panned to around 9 or 3, with a mono reverb panned opposite(but hard). The idea here is to avoid the middle so not to compete with the vocals.

If this isn't doing it for you, maybe describe a commercial release that has the sound you are shooting for. That's likely to get the most accurate advice

[take77]

Gtr I & II panned hard left & right is tried and true for capturing the audio imagery of 2 guitarists or enhancing/widening rhythm parts.
Whether magnifying the same rhythm part, weaving in and out of each other or trading off leads etc.

As far as multiple pan positioning (the 30-45% question and case of 4 separate guitar layers) pan each layer to the same position as the part you are layering.

Gtr 1 and it's 2nd layer track to the same position

Gtr 2 and it's 2nd layer track to the same position.

You want it to sound like 2 authoritative guitars at most.
Rather than 4 different guitarist across the stereo field.

Are you miking the sound source or using a sim plugin?

[bonzerboy]

sim plug in

[albee1952]

Originally Posted by bonzerboy

sim plug in

Do you mean a plugin that creates stereo from a mono signal? plugin alliance's BX Stereomaker isn't bad, but any of this type of plugin is a poor sub for real double-tracking. I would sooner stick to mono guitar with mono verb as I already mentioned(and if you haven't tried this, by all means, at least check it out). This is actually a spot where Dverb shines as not all reverbs can do mono. Start with the default settings but drop the time down to 1.7 to 2 seconds.

[take77]

Not sure which amp sim you're using but NI Guitar Rig & Amplitube allow you to mix various mic/cabs within the plugin.

When tracking in mono keep the mixer for each mic channel panned center within the plugin.
Then use the pan control in Pro Tools to pan to the left or right.

Record a second DI to another using a 2nd mono plug-in instance.
Then pan the 2nd mono track in Pro Tools to the opposite side of the first track.

You'll now have 2 mono DI signals & 2 instances of your amp sim each panned L & R.