The #1 Logic Pro Mistake When Panning Stereo Tracks

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Stereo Panning is not as it seems in Logic Pro. At first glance you might think that pan knob of your Stereo Tracks and Channel Strips is moving your signal from left to right. But in fact, by default that knob is a “Balance” knob. Don’t make this Stereo Panning mistake!
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[@StuartMealor]

Like many others, I missed this very basic setting - how crazy - thanks Chris! Someone should log the option to change the default behaviour between Balance and Pan as a feature request with the Logic Pro dev team. I imagine 90% of people would prefer Pan as the default?

[@rustywhite2174]

Brilliant presentation. Now I understand. I now see the source of years of frustration. 😢😊

[@wicky4473]

The best channel for learning Logic, and the easiest to understand and follow. Thanks very much.

[@redlester]

Is there no way to change the default setting for new channels to Pan instead of Balance?

[@urbanimplosion8306]

It is inexplicable that the “pan” default is to “balance.” It took awhile to wire this to my brain so as to make the necessary adjustment on each panned track on each project.

[@johnnyb5984]

Why do they have it set to balanced in the first place then if people mostly use stereo pan ?

[@bluebird1954]

Who knows 🧐

[@rafbass]

Came via newsletter. Your content is actually the only internet content that I choose one to pick and follow. Your consistency makes you an awesome educator and mentor. Expect more interaction from me, as I'm going to buy the course pretty much soon and send you a song to critique (sorry! haha). Keep up the good work man, you rock! Thanks a lot!!!

[@rafbass]

Nice detail, I think I'm gonna add that to my master template recording file!

[@Lighthouse_Electrodelic]

Thanks for the tip Chris. Very important info. I guess I should be right clicking things more often to find all this hidden stuff!

[@DaleBoyce2012]

I had no idea. Thank you so much for this.

[@FLH3official]

And when you create a stereo track in Logic (audio or virtual instrument) the pan is set by default... to balance. I've never understood that.

[@jaimomo65]

I had never realized this important detail, thank you very much for this video!

[@Firetuna1]

this is also important for stereo sounds that sound different in the right and left speaker. the Balance knob will kill half the sound if you pan it.

[@winsucks]

You, man, amazing! Such a brilliant drops of information!

[@roogrey]

I've been using Logic for 15 years and I didn't know this! However, I do tend to automate my panning, so does that sidestep the need to select it as a function? Either way, this shows how easy it is to miss the basics. Thank you, Chris!

[@averythebright]

Best Logic channel on KZbin - thanks as always Chris!

[@786Muzik]

Thank You sooo much for explaining this PERFECTLY!!! Rock on

[@swisschaletsauce]

been using logic for over 15 years and never knew this. i'm both amazed and angry right now

[@thaddeuscorea]

OMG. love this. I have been wanting that functionality and using plugins to get there. This is MUCH better!

[@andrew6889-p5c]

I’ve always wondered about the when it comes to mono tracks with stereo effects (such as chorus). I “think” the balance control just shuts down half of what it is doing. Also, isn’t a balance knob really just a volume fader for each side? It never turns a side up, but it can turn it down. If stuff only lives on one side, you turn it down.

[@sourcefor]

Wow thank you didn’t even think about this til now!

[@iliravdyli4109]

We need the logic pro ipad mixer gui in logic pro for mac

[@ricardoleon7877]

Hi! Is there a way to add aftertouch to Logic Pro X stock sounds, Native Instruments's and EastWest's? (like vibrato or pitch bend, among others). Thanks... !

[@turtlefeet7722]

Thanks.

[@MrRichard1280]

Learnt something new

[@muziekkamer]

yesss 💯The best channel for learning Logic

[@cone-stone]

Muchas gracias; algo así tras años en Logic y desconocido para mi! Genial.

[@callenclarke371]

Fantastic info, as always. Thank you for this.

[@wheelhouseproduction1699]

Awesome stuff Chris this is a real important message

[@renaldsunset]

HELP please ! When I click while holding "ctrl" nothing happens. Also, is this the equivalent of spherical panning in "binaural" ?

[@tonyvincentproductions]

Does anyone know why Logic (still) doesn't have even panning to both extremes? (Left goes to -64, Right goes to 63?) This has been the situation for as long as I can remember... (pre-Apple)

[@JourdanHines]

It's a MIDI thing. Most digital components have a backbone coded to MIDI so that it can be controlled w/ a keyboard, digital rotary knob, fader etc. MIDI parameters have a total of 128 values which technically starts at 0 so it goes to 127 (btw zero is considered a value and therefore worth 1). So the math is 0(which is actually a value of 1) +127=128. Back to panning... since panning has a center position considered 0 (which is an even amount of the L and R channels) that means that one side has to have 64 and the other 63 to work out to 128. So the math is as follows: 64+0(which is actually value of 1)+63=128. I hope that helps.

[@tonyvincentproductions]

Totally appreciate that mate... That's in credibly informative @@JourdanHines! (still, visually, it should "appear" equal... I don't recall if PT shows "MIDI'd Panning numbers"... Do you know JH?)

[@tomlewis4748]

I've never understood why Apple never made that the default setting (once it became available-In Logic 3?). Seems like a no-brainer. Literally. There is one other issue here, which is when you have a track of a single instrument (or an effect aux, like for reverb) that has a lot of stereo width inherent already, and where certain aspects (usually certain harmonics) are more to the left and others are more to the right, which is central to what makes a wide stereo instrument or effect sound wide, if you adjust that with the balance knob, that means you are increasing certain dynamics in favor of other dynamics, which means you are changing the timbre (or the envelope) of that sound. That is likely not what anyone would ever have in mind. We have other methods to accomplish a timbre or envelope change which are much more effective. But if you adjust with the pan knob, all aspects remain at the original strength, the sound does not change in envelope or timbre, only in pan position (of course the farther you pan the less width there is to that track). Of course for mono instruments on separate tracks (not bussed to a stereo bus) it won't matter whether you use balance or pan, but since this has been available, the very first thing I do when creating a template is change all balance to pan, and whenever I add a MIDI instrument, I change it there as well. This is one of the reasons to keep a tranche of pre-set instruments available with specific settings, is that you don't have to be annoyed by having to change from the default (balance) to pan, constantly. When this changed Logic Pro (formerly Logic Pro X at the time), it was a significant improvement. Why Apple didn't make pan the default then (or anytime in the years after) just boggles the mind.

[@guitar.knackshack2210]

Hey Chris, thanks for the great vid. Does this stereo pan behave different than the Direct Mixer? Thank you.

[@hanzives4552]

Great stuff as always!!

[@callenclarke371]

Logic is a deep ocean of functionality.

[@dreadtoby]

Useful. Thank you.

[@telemachia]

Appreciate you Chris!

[@roger_rivas]

AWESOME Video!!

[@lince4824]

Thank you!

[@theartist124]

I'm sure they had a reason for doing this but it sure would have been helpful if the would have made the default way, the way we all expect it work!

[@weschilton]

It would be nice if the tool tip on the nob said "balance" when its in stereo balance mode. Thats what is confusing to me.

[@catojrgensen8912]

Dude. You're a legend.

[@johnviera3884]

they should make it to where if you hold option and command and click the knob you flip the phase of the track and it turns red

[@ScottSmithMusic]

Cool. Now I get it. I appreciate that.✨

[@steveweilhart2359]

I think you forgot to add that on a mono track/channel the stereo pan cannot be activated only on stereo tracks -

[@ianfullerpercussion]

I’m here to say that it did not run out of desert power at the end.

[@michaeldeleglise2671]

👍👍👍👍👍

[@jasoncruizer]

Nothing is getting panned, its an illusion ;) You have 2 speakers in a stereo set up, use the balance knob and the illusion will be either the left or right alone is getting stronger at the expense of the opposite. Use the stereo pan and you will just be diminishing the opposite speaker but feeding some of it into its opposing speaker, Left into right or right into left. Nothing is really getting panned its a mind trick, using volume gain in either speaker. Similar to stereo wideners, you cant widen a track, you create an illusion if you use a mid/side eq and increase the volume of the sides, you create an illusion of width, if you diminish the sides you create an illusion of narrowness/monoisation. Nothing is really widening or narrowing, just volume level changes. Audio engineering is smoke n mirrors, the best engineers are magicians, they know the bulls**t trickery to fool a listener, but understand whats really going on. If you look at hard panning, 100% left or 100% right, it makes your ears believe something is to the left or right, in reality we have just diminished the opposite sides volume, we focus more on where the sound is still audible than where its been reduced, tricking us into believing the audio has panned somewhere.

[@GaryCunninghamyouareenough]

🤟🙏🏻