Why are some tracks in some styles panned left or right as supplied by BIAB? Wouldn't most performers want to start from zero panning and adjust to suite their circumstances? Whenever the panning is noticeable I usually remove it.
Since you mentioning 'starting' in BIAB, just checking, are you aware of the setting in BIAB to export tracks dry and centered? It makes a clean start possible in the DAW.
BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
There are default pan settings (which you can change) to give the BIAB arrangement stereo separation (remember, a lot of folks like to enter the chords and just hit play).
If you want everything centered and flat, just click on the "Master" radio button and select "set flat and centered" (or something like that). It will adjust it accordingly.
There is also a panning setting under MIDI options, which allows the style definition to set the panning (or not), and in the "Channels" screen, you'll see the default panning settings (which you can change.
John
Laptop-HP Omen I7 Win11Pro 32GB 12TB SSD Desktop-ASUS-I7 Win10Pro 32GB 12TB SATA
Thanks for the replies but I'm asking WHY are the basic styles panned, I know how to change the panning.
How can the person who wrote the style know if, or how much the user wants the different instruments panned left or right. Surely stereo separation depends on how the style will be used and performed etc. Why not just leave all panning at zero and leave it up to the user.
I always set the panning to zero if it is at all distracting.
I find the panning settings provided in a style to be helpful input from a knowledgeable source -- to me they usually sound pretty good. When I import audio tracks from BIAB unto Sonar Platinum, one of the first things I do is approximate the original BIAB pan settings (BIAB is a figure; Sonar is a percentage), which I use as a starting point, to then be varied from as appropriate based on preferences, as other tracks are added, etc. More info better than less, IMHO.
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There are a lot of customers who don't touch the mixer at all, and just want to enter chords, pick a style, hit Play, and start practicing. For those users, some stereo separation by panning is applied automatically, so the style sounds pretty good right off the bat.
The controls are still available so that someone who wants to adjust them to their needs can do so as well.
The program does generate music automatically for the user, it makes sense to me that it would also do some basic mixing automatically as well.
Perhaps my question shows my ignorance in understanding the benefit of arbitrary stereo separation when performing with BIAB. Why is the sound better just because the guitar seems to come from the left or the trumpet from the right etc. If you are listening to a live band and you can see the lead guitar player standing on the left then perhaps it adds to the experience but when everything is generated electronically and the sound appears "out of nowhere" I cannot see the need for stereo separation. This is especially true when using a mono PA system.
Also when using BIAB at home through stereo speakers or phones I find the panning very distracting so usually get rid of it anyway.
BTW separation for a stereo piano played from a keyboard is different and is essential for a good quality piano sound but that isn't part of the BIAB style. I have my mixer piano input set permanently with left panned fully left and right panned fully right and keep the separation through stereo PAs.
I guess it must be a matter of personal preference. When I listen at home on my stereo speakers, I want the music to be in, well, stereo. Pretty much every recording I have has the instruments spread out across the stereo field.
John
Laptop-HP Omen I7 Win11Pro 32GB 12TB SSD Desktop-ASUS-I7 Win10Pro 32GB 12TB SATA
The bass is almost always in the center because those low frequencies are hard to locate directionally. The lead vocal or instrument is also typically centered. Other instruments are spread gently across the stereo field to give the music some depth, and bring out certain instuments in the mix.
BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
I guess it must be a matter of personal preference. When I listen at home on my stereo speakers, I want the music to be in, well, stereo. Pretty much every recording I have has the instruments spread out across the stereo field.
Same here. Stereo playback is the default, and most popular, music playback these days. I rarely encounter mono playbck when I listen to music from my favourite artists.
Well yes, if you are going to end up playing it through a MONO PA, you might as well use MONO from the beginning.
However, as touched on, the stereo field adds a spacious depth to resemble more of the visual setting you mentioned. Rhythm guitar is on the left, lead on the right, etc. to help distinguish them like you would see them visually. When I do a mix, that's one way I judge it; does it sound like how a band would set up and perform it?
To reverse your logic about sound spread across a sound stage .. MONO causes things to sound like the band is all standing in the exact same spot.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome Make your sound your own!
Tony, now you're getting into the whole history of stereo music starting in the 40's I guess and evolving into surround sound now. Your question is basically asking "What good is stereo?".
The answer is simply personal taste. Don't like it, turn it off but the vast majority do like stereo.
When you mentioned live gigging of course then stereo is completely lost in most cases. But when I was using Biab live some years ago I panned the bass and drums left and everything else right and used a stereo splitter coming out of my laptop headphone jack. Why? It gave me some control over the mix on the gig even with a mono PA because I used two separate channels using that L and R feed from the laptop.
It's very hard to mix your tracks at home and have that mix still work at different venues because of vastly different acoustics. Having individual tracks go into their own channel would be ideal and it can be done but it's expensive and complicated. My simple two track panning worked well enough.
Bob raises a good point. I sometimes perform to a backing track I create and am stuck with the house mono PA. So, I have a Mono button on my Presonus Central Station (speaker controller) to test my mix in mono. If you do the wrong thing in mixing, it's possible to have a signal on the left and right cancel each other and disappear in mono. You would never know it by testing the mix with regular stereo monitors or especially headphones.
BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Along with version 2026, we've released an incredible lineup of new content! There's 202 new RealTracks, brand-new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two new RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
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