Hi Brian,

From what I've read, when stereo was young, most people didn't really use it to its full potential. It was standard practice to place the vocals on one channel and the backing on the other. Since most people listened to radio and records in mono, this placement really didn't matter. Later on, people started being more discerning and stereo considerations became important.

In my mixing, I sometimes move the bass to one side by about 5% and drums to the other side by about 5%. I've found that this sometimes helps the vocals sound cleaner but still keeps the drums and bass pretty well centered. I always have vocals and solo instruments centered. To my mind, skilled use of the stereo field is important to mixing. It can really make music sound 3-dimensional. (I'm still working on this skill. Lot's of room for improvement, yet!)

All the best,
Noel

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