Instead of having instruments compete with one another in a mix, you can separate elements by positioning audio and instruments in the stereo mix from left to right. Typically, you want to have the most important tracks (lead vocals, solo instruments, drums, bass) positioned in the center of the mix, and have other tracks (rhythm instruments, instruments doubling the melody) to the sides. In general, most of the mix should be close to the center, with tracks panned far to the sides only for an unusual effect.
The Pan (short for panorama) knob defines whether a track is heard from the left, right, or center of the stereo field. You can set the pan position for each track in a project. Logic Pro X includes several different panning modes. Which options are available depends on the type of channel strip:
Pan: This is the default panning mode for mono channel strips. The Panner determines the position of a signal in the stereo image. At the center pan position, the channel strip sends equal amounts of the signal to both sides of the stereo image. If you were to increase the pan position on the left side and decrease it on the right, the sound would move to the left.
Stereo Pan: The Stereo Pan knob is only available on stereo channel strips. It is similar to having two pan knobs, allowing you to place the position of the left and right signals individually in the stereo field.
Balance: This is the default panning mode for stereo channel strips. It differs from Stereo Pan in that it controls the relative levels of two signals (Left and Right) at their outputs.
Binaural: Binaural panning is a method to simulate the full range of spatial information—angle, elevation, distance—on the panning plane. Binaural panning is best suited for headphone playback. For more information on binaural panning, see Use the Binaural Pan knob.
Mono channel strips have a Pan knob by default. Stereo channel strips have a Balance knob by default.
Note: If you have configured a send to be in Independent Pan mode, the pan knob for that channel strip controls the stereo panorama to the send. The pan options above still apply to the pan knob when controlling a send. See Adjust panning for sends independently from channel strips for more information about Independent Pan mode.
Control-click the Pan knob, then choose a panner from the shortcut menu.
Do one of the following:
Drag the channel strip’s Pan or Balance knob horizontally or vertically.
Option-click the Pan knob to return it to the center position.
Press and hold Shift while you drag the knob to change the pan position in finer increments.
To adjust the stereo spread of one channel without affecting the other channel, drag that channel’s white handle. For example, if you want to narrow the stereo field of the left channel only, drag the white handle of the left channel vertically closer to the center position.
To invert the right and left channels, Command-click anywhere inside the Stereo Pan knob or ring. The signal ring changes color from green to orange (or back again).
To widen or narrow the stereo spread range, drag the green or orange ring vertically.
To adjust the center position of the stereo spread, drag the center of the Stereo Pan knob vertically.
To reset the stereo spread and center position to their initial values, Option-click anywhere inside the Stereo Pan knob or ring.
When a channel strip output is set to Surround, the knob is replaced by a Surround control.