Hi All I am just trying to improve my mixes this year and I am wondering if you could help me understand keeping tracks in mono vs stereo? For instance BIAB drumkits ?How do you process them when it comes to panning and mono? Are their any special considerations to take into account when using realtracks vs home recorded tracks? Also are their general rules to follow with reverb on mono vs stereo tracks? I have been going LCR with the panning with most in Mono on the wings but have been a bit lost on when to keep a track in stereo and why. Or any other useful things that may help me in that area? thanks appreciated in advance urs Hugh
That is a huge question that can evoke a lot of opinions.
FWIW I always leave keys and drums stereo. I never pan drums and often increase the stereo image of them. I will slightly pan stereo key tracks or leave them, particularly pianos, centered ... all depending on what other tracks are present. For example if the left hand of the piano player doesn’t work with a rhythm guitar panned left then I will pan the guitar to the right, etc.
It’s very contextual. Any other stereo RTs, e.g., guitars I convert to mono. And again FWIW my objective is an open airy mix that sets up a soundstage like a small live band. Toward that end I spend a lot of time trying to get each track to have its place yet not sound isolated.
Panning, obviously, moves left and right while reverb tends to move the track more forward or something like that.
Bud
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! Our Videos
Hi Bud, I tried that with the drums and it worked very well.I also had a tamborine and shaker I panned them left and right and left the drum kit in the centre with a preset that had a imager ,H
I always export all tracks as mono. This gives me more control of where to pan them in the final mix.
My basic approach is drums, bass and vocals dead center and everything else full right or full left.
On simple songs with only vocals and a single guitar part I will dupe the guitar track and shift it a few milliseconds. Then put one guitar track full left and the other full right. It makes a lovely full mix with only two tracks!
I always export all tracks as mono. This gives me more control of where to pan them in the final mix.
My basic approach is drums, bass and vocals dead center and everything else full right or full left.
On simple songs with only vocals and a single guitar part I will dupe the guitar track and shift it a few milliseconds. Then put one guitar track full left and the other full right. It makes a lovely full mix with only two tracks!
The issue with duplicating a track and shifting it a few MS is that it introduces phase issues. This is much more apparent when mixed down to Mono (such as playing through your phone or a mono bluetooth speaker) but can still be apparent with stereo speakers especially if you shift your head a bit as you're listening. The only way to avoid these phase issues is to record a double track, which I do on probably literally every song I record.
Hi and thanks John , So I in the quest for making room for vocals went away from putting tracks in the centre but I can hear now that it didnt work and that it was ok to put more tracks in the centre like you have said,thanks h
Phase is hard to describe, but once you get it, you know it when you hear it. A given track just doesn't sound right or act right especially when effects are added that should make it 'better' in a mix but don't. or sounds start cancelling out other sounds (I doubled the vocals but now some words seem muffled or have a weird chorus sound) First test is, if you doubled it to another track and moved it, simply mute the doubled track .. does the problem go away? If so, likely a phase issue.
For panning, I try to visualize the stage. I almost always use a stereo mix of the drums, whether they are generated or recorded live with multiple mics, just seems to work better for me. On piano it depends; is the piano a central piece (needing more room/panning) or is it just a piano comping chords in the background? If it is meant as a background comping I will likely split it to two mono tracks and position them both to have a narrower field, ie put the piano a little left on stage but still give it 'some' spread. Like 60% left for right hand and 40% left for left hand. Then it's still not 'MONO' but it is spread into a much narrower range of the stage.
Like J&B mentioned, this will vary from project to project and even song to song when you are mixing.
Hope that helps; there is a difference between having total control of two MONO tracks and simply panning a stereo track. So for any given solution it will depend on the application. No absolute truths.
By using two MONO tracks in the end, you can have more control over 'where' the instrument/performer is in the sound stage (and still control the L/R mix). But recording it in Stereo (or multiple MONO) tracks originally is what opens this option.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome Make your sound your own!
Hi and thanks John , So I in the quest for making room for vocals went away from putting tracks in the centre but I can hear now that it didnt work and that it was ok to put more tracks in the centre like you have said,thanks h
It’s all up to what sounds good to you. Both stacking tracks in the middle mono style and slamming them full L and R are much 60’s things. FWIW not my idea of a soundstage but that’s me.
Bud
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! Our Videos
Hi and thanks John , So I in the quest for making room for vocals went away from putting tracks in the centre but I can hear now that it didnt work and that it was ok to put more tracks in the centre like you have said,thanks h
It’s all up to what sounds good to you. Both stacking tracks in the middle mono style and slamming them full L and R are much 60’s things. FWIW not my idea of a soundstage but that’s me.
Bud
Agree 100%. When stereo first came out in the 60's the only option was center or hard panned left or right. We have come a long way since then!
Hi As with all things it depends what you are trying to achieve.
Say the sound of a full orchestra then see pic below as positional guide and then adjust volumes to move them forward or back in the mix (don’t over do it)
So if we are dealing with a smaller set say jazz band or pop trio quartet etc, the try to visualise how the would be laid out at a live session.
Much also depends on how wide you want you sound stage and how wide the listeners stereo image is (how far apart are their speakers)
In the world of midi you can get some very nice KSP (keyboard stereo panned) pianos So that the low notes are on the pianist left and the high notes on the right in 88 steps. This is great but it would sound a bit odd with the speakers 10 feet apart, that’s some wide piano
So it is a matter of horses for courses at the end of the day. Have fun Mike
Mike, I looked at your image and found it to be different then the one I have. I googled orchestra instrument seating arrangement and looked at the images and discovered there is more than one way to set up an orchestra. Who knew? Not me! So I did learn something new already today.
I think my wife has started to show the first signs of dementia. She said she can't remember what she ever saw in me!
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
Yes, I’ve played in orchestras with different layouts, but Mike’s diagram is what I’ve normally seen.
After a browse, I don’t see any mention of what NOT to pan. You don’t pan the lead vocal. That’s in the center. And you don’t pan the bass, because bass is very difficult to locate and you want the maximum sonic energy.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
Hi Simon, I find phase a bit hard to understand and I cant seem to spot when I have a problem with it,thanks for the advice ,h
For example, if you shift one track by 1 millisecond, you'll have cancellation at 500hz, 1500hz, 2500hz, 3500hz etc basically acting as if you added an EQ reducing those frequencies. You can hear what happens in this video just before the 3 minute mark: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pJOkhPTpLo
As others have said, whatever sounds good is good, but phase issues are one of those things where it may sound "good" in very exact circumstances - your speakers, your room, your sitting position, your ears. Change any of those things and it'll sound terrible.
It's partly for this reason that when mixing I have a monitor controller that allows me to listen in Mono and with one speaker's polarity flipped, as it helps me hear certain phase issues more easily. I have a hardware monitor controller, but this can be done in software with plugins like the free Maat 2BusControl plugin.
Originally Posted By: Matt Finley
After a browse, I don’t see any mention of what NOT to pan. You don’t pan the lead vocal. That’s in the center. And you don’t pan the bass, because bass is very difficult to locate and you want the maximum sonic energy.
Agreed. I also don't always pan lead guitars or lead instruments in general, though it depends. For drums (when mixing separate stems for each drum) I don't pan the kick and usually don't pan snare (depending on the recording setup).
Last edited by Simon - PG Music; 03/10/2101:05 PM.
Yeah, as Simon said, don't pan kick drum at all, that would probably lead to problems.
I differ with Simon in that I am open to panning the snare, though usually slightly .. mainly to add some dimension to other drums. In many recording setups, the live snare is pretty prominent, and is usually picked up by other mics also. Like overheads, hihat, and even the ride on the other side of the kit. So the panning/EQ on all those tracks can affect the end result snare sound. In my opinion, drums are the most complicated tracks to mix, so you have to keep an open mind and try lots of stuff.
I've had moments where I EQ'd the crash cymbal mic and the snare suddenly had more (or less) presence in the mix. So I always start with bass drum center, but am OK with moving the snare a bit..
Mixing drums ain't easy
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome Make your sound your own!
It's worth noting that there are more than one ways to pan a stereo track. One way seems to raise the gain in the favored channel and reduce it in the less favored channel and leaves the L/R image intact. One way seems to move the full stereo image further left or right. The third (that I know of) seems to separate the channels and allow them to be moved independently. As a corollary to that, stereo widening (and narrowing) is another option. With those choices, I tend to leave stereo tracks stereo. There is often a reason why they are stereo beyond simply how they were recorded/mixed. Some effects even on solo instruments are stereo themselves and it seems best to try to preserve that.
I find panning useful for both rehearsal and performing live with backing tracks Lately I've been panning my tracks with bass hard left and the drums hard right.
if a drummer sits in (or shows up for rehearsal) i can pan the playback hard and drop the drum track out completely. I can also pan it slight down at rehearsal to give the drummer some idea of what my thoughts were when I created the arrangement. I also sometimes pan the drum volume slightly down and get the drummer to play percussion (congas, etc). I do the opposite if the bass player shows up. I mix any other instruments (usually a keyboard or other chording instrument) dead center and normally at a noticeably lower volume than bass and drums. This works great as a guitar trio sound with just the slightest comping from the keyboard. Keeps me (guitar) from having to play so much. Nothing worse than an guitar player overplaying.
Another option I used for a while was to pan both the bass and drums hard one side. This allowed me a quick and dirty eq capability when playing a boomy room. Not sophisticated but sometimes quite helpful. This was suggested by another member of this forum (i forget who to give the credit to) I found it useful back when gigs were more plentiful and I was playing everything from intimate restaraunts to outside tiki bar settings.
Hopefully we will soon have to once again deal with such problems.
biab2025(Mac) Latest Build Mac OS (Latest) Apple Mac Mini M2 pro 32GB Ram Logic Pro (latest or pretty close) Heddon Super Spook XT (Mullet)
As others have said, whatever sounds good is good, but phase issues are one of those things where it may sound "good" in very exact circumstances - your speakers, your room, your sitting position, your ears. Change any of those things and it'll sound terrible.
That is why you should listen to your mix on a variety of setups. And not just for phase problems!
Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Windows Special Offers End Tomorrow (January 15th, 2026) at 11:59 PM PST!
Time really is running out! Save up to 50% on Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® upgrades and receive a FREE Bonus PAK—only when you order by 11:59 PM PST on Thursday, January 15, 2026!
We've added many major new features and new content in a redesigned Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®!
Version 2026 introduces a modernized GUI redesign across the program, with updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, and a new Dark Mode option. There’s also a new side toolbar for quicker access to commonly used windows, and the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, making it easier to customize your workspace.
Another exciting new addition is the new AI-Notes feature, which can transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI. You can view the results in notation or play them back as MIDI, and choose whether to process an entire track or focus on specific parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®.
There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
Upgrade your Band-in-a-Box for Windows to save up to 50% on most Band-in-a-Box® 2026 upgrade packages!
Plus, when you order your Band-in-a-Box® 2026 upgrade during our special, you'll receive a Free Bonus PAK of exciting new add-ons.
If you need any help deciding which package is the best option for you, just let us know. We are here to help!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® Special Offers Extended Until January 15, 2026!
Good news! You still have time to upgrade to the latest version of Band-in-a-Box® for Windows® and save. Our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® special now runs through January 15, 2025!
We've packed Band-in-a-Box® 2026 with major new features, enhancements, and an incredible lineup of new content! The program now sports a sleek, modern GUI redesign across the entire interface, including updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, a new dark mode option, and more. The brand-new side toolbar provides quicker access to key windows, while the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, creating a flexible, clutter-free workspace. We have an amazing new “AI-Notes” feature. This transcribes polyphonic audio into MIDI so you can view it in notation or play it back as MIDI. You can process an entire track (all pitched instruments and drums) or focus on individual parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
There are over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®.
When you order purchase Band-in-a-Box® 2026 before 11:59 PM PST on January 15th, you'll also receive a Free Bonus PAK packed with exciting new add-ons.
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® today! Check out the Band-in-a-Box® packages page for all the purchase options available.
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: The Newly Designed Piano Roll Window
In this video, we explore the updated Piano Roll, complete with a modernized look and exciting new features. You’ll see new filtering options that make it easy to focus on specific note groups, smoother and more intuitive note entry and editing, and enhanced options for zooming, looping, and more.
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: AI Stems & Notes - split polyphonic audio into instruments and transcribe
This video demonstrates how to use the new AI-Notes feature together with the AI-Stems splitter, allowing you to select an audio file and have it separated into individual stems while transcribing each one to its own MIDI track. AI-Notes converts polyphonic audio—either full mixes or individual instruments—into MIDI that you can view in notation or play back instantly.
Bonus PAK and 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®
With your version 2026 for Windows Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons for FREE! Or upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for only $49 to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks!
These PAKs are loaded with additional add-ons to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box®!
This Free Bonus PAK includes:
The 2026 RealCombos Booster PAK:
-For Pro customers, this includes 27 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For MegaPAK customers, this includes 25 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For UltraPAK customers, this includes 12 new RealStyles.
MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
MIDI SuperTracks Set 46: Piano & Organ
Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
Playable RealTracks Set 5
RealDrums Stems Set 9: Cool Brushes
SynthMaster Sounds Set 1 (with audio demos)
Android Band-in-a-Box® App (included)
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyle.
FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
MIDI Styles Set 93: Look Ma! More MIDI 16: SynthMaster
MIDI SuperTracks Set 47: More SynthMaster
Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
Artist Performance Set 20: Songs with Vocals 10
RealDrums Stems Set 10: Groovin' Sticks
SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)
One of our representatives will be happy to help you over the phone. Our hours of operation are from
6:00AM to 6:00PM PST (GMT -8) Monday thru Friday, and 8:00AM to 4:00PM PST Saturday. We are closed Sunday. You can also send us your questions via email.
One of our representatives will be happy to help you on our Live Chat or by email. Our hours of operation are from
6:00AM to 6:00PM PST (GMT -8) Monday thru Friday; 8:00AM to 4:00PM PST (GMT -8) Saturday; Closed Sunday.
Dansk
Deutsch - Windows
Español
Français - Windows
Italiano - Windows
Nederlands
Polski
Português
Svenskt
русский
Japanese
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Korean