Panning Techniques. Are Asymmetrical Mixes Weird?

When mixing a song there are an infinite number of ways to put together the stereo field or the left to right image across the speakers.  When I am working with mixing clients, or training others to do mixing, one of the topics that often comes up is the idea of symmetry or left-right balance. If there is a guitar panned to one side, is there another guitar on the other side of the mix so it does not feel lopsided? This always leads to the question of whether or not left-right balance is something important that we should strive for. “Won’t it sound weird if we have something on one side without something to balance it on the other side?”

The answer to this is not as straightforward as it might seem. If we look at mixes from some of the great mixers, we will find that many do have almost perfect balance between the left and right side in terms of both arrangement as well as spectral balance. What I mean by “spectral balance” is that they seem to have an equal amount of each frequency range on the left and right side of the mix. Check out this Green Day mix as a near perfect example of this. Except for the fact that the hi-hat is panned to the left side, the general sound of the left and right side are virtually identical.

But as we start to listen to a wider range of mixes we will also find the complete opposite. Check out this mix for U2 in which most of the song has a single guitar hard panned to the left side with absolutely nothing to “balance it” on the right side.

In the last few decades the norm has been to pan the bass, kick drum, snare and main vocals straight up the middle, but what happens with the other elements is all over the map. We can find examples of very balanced symmetrical mixes as well as completely lopsided mixes. What can we take away from this?

You may have a strong feeling that mixes should have a strong left-right balance, but music fans do not care at all!

It is all just a matter of mood and personal preference. I tend to do both fairly often. Sometimes it is just letting the muse dictate where things should go, but often if I am making a mix asymmetrical it is because I want a particular instrument to stand out or have more presence in a mix. When a guitar (or any other instrument) sits alone on one side of a mix without a “complimentary” instrument on the other side it will generally have more personality and connect with the listener in a more direct way. Instruments with left-right counterparts will tend to blend in as part of the ensemble. Another positive aspect of this is that when a primary instrument is set off to one side without an opposite counterpart, it will often compete less with the main vocal in the middle. While one is not better than the other, it is pretty obvious that both are completely valid.

One of the great tools we have available to us in mixing is to experiment with panning and see how it affects the overall feel of the mix, and even experiment with muting parts that have multiple versions of the same instrument/part to feature the part more. Regardless of what you do, the important thing is to mix in a way that you feel is best for the music because music lovers do not really care about anything else.

Here are a few more examples of some great lopsided mixes.

The entirety of Van Halen I

One fairly common mixing technique you will find is a trick where the mix will be fairly balanced in one section and then completely asymmetrical in another. This helps build a sense of dynamics even in very compressed recordings. Check out this John Mayer tune as an example.

Here is Lenny Kravitz doing the same thing

Have Fun!!