Panning - Boss BR-1180 User Manual

Panning

Any CD is a two track recording. One track represents the left channel and the other
track represents the right channel. For clarity, most music is mixed so that the listener
gets different sonic "images" from the left and right sides. We refer to this effect as a
stereo image. A stereo image is achieved through panning. Panning is a type of volume
control. When you pan a channel to the left you are increasing the volume being sent to
the left speaker while decreasing it in the right speaker and vice versa. If a channel is
panned to the center, the signal is getting equal distribution to both speakers. A well
mixed stereo recording will give the listener the perception that different sounds are
coming from different spaces in the stereo field. Typically a lead vocal or featured
instrument is panned center and other instruments fill in around it at various positions left
and right.
It's a very common mistake for someone that is new to recording to leave all tracks
panned to the center
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