Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Friday Tip - Panning Laws: Why They Matter

05/07/2019

Spoiler alert: We'll get into some rocket science stuff here, which probably doesn't affect your projects much anyway so if you prefer something with a more musical vibe, come back next week. But to dispel some of the confusion regarding an oft-misunderstood concept, keep reading.

You pan a mono signal from left to right. Simple, right? Actually, no. In the center, there's a 3 dB RMS volume buildup because the same signal is in both channels. Ideally, you want the signal's average level-its power-to have the same perceived volume, whether the sound is panned left, right, or center. Dropping the level when centered by 3 dB RMS accomplishes this. As a result, traditional hardware mixers tapered the response as you turned a panpot to create this 3 dB dip.

However, there are other panning protocols. (Before your head explodes, please note you don't need to learn all this stuff-it's just to give you an idea of the complexity of pan laws, because all we really need to do is understand how things work in Studio One.) For example, some engineers preferred more of a drop in the center, so that audio panned to the sides would pop more due to the higher level, and open up more space in the center for vocals, kick, and bass. You could accomplish the same result by adjusting the channel level and pan, but the additional drop was sort of like having a preference you didn't need to think about. To complicate matters further, some mixers lowered the center signal compared to the sides, while others raised the side signals compared to the center. If a DAW does the latter, when you import a normalized file and pan it hard left or hard right, it will go above 0 and clip.

But wait! There's more. Some engineers didn't want equal power over the panpot's entire travel, but a slightly different curve. Others wanted a linear change that didn't dip the signal at all.

Fortunately, Studio One has a rational approach to pan laws, namely

The panpots in Studio Once's channels default to the traditional 3 dB dip, so there's perceived constant level as you pan a mono signal from left to right. For stereo, they act as a balance control.

Although most programs set the pan law as a global preference, Studio One includes the Dual Pan plug-in, which offers five different pan laws. This lets different channels follow different pan laws.

THE WHAT-THE-HECK-DO-PAN-LAWS-DO TEST SETUP

To see how the different panning laws affect signal levels, I created a test setup (Fig. 1) with a mono track fed by the Tone Generator set to a sine wave. Two pre-fader sends went to two buses, each with a Dual Pan inserted and linked for mono. That way, one bus's Dual Pan could be set for hard pan and the other bus's Dual Pan for center, to compare what happens to the signal level.

Figure 1: Test setup to determine how different pan laws affect signal levels.

In all the following test result images, Track 1 shows the mono sine wave at 0 dB, Bus 1 shows the result of panning the Dual Pan full left, and Bus 2 shows the result of panning the Dual Pan to center.

Fig. 2 uses the -3dB Constant Power Sin/Cos setting for the Dual Pans. Note that the centered version in Bus 2 is 3 dB below the same signal panned full left. This is the same setting as the default for the channel panpots. However, if you collapse the output signal to mono, you'll get a 3 dB center-channel buildup. (A fine point: setting the Main bus mode to mono affects signals leaving the main bus; the meters still show the incoming signal. To see what's happening when you collapse the Main out to mono, you need to insert a Dual Pan in the Main bus, click on Link, and set all controls to center.)

Figure 2: -3dB Constant Power Sin/Cos pan law.

Fig. 3 uses the -6 dB linear curve. Here, the centered signal is -6 dB below the signal panned hard left. Use this curve if the signal is going to be collapsed to mono after the main bus, because it keeps the gain constant when you collapse stereo to mono by eliminating the +3 dB increase that would happen otherwise.

Figure 3: The -6 dB linear curve is often preferable if you're mixing in stereo, but also anticipate that the final result will end up being collapsed to mono.

Fig. 4 shows the resulting signal from the 0dB Balanced Sin/Cos setting. There's no bump or decrease compared to the centered signal, so this acts like a balance control with a constant amount of gain as you pan from left to right.

Figure 4: 0dB Balanced Sin/Cos acts like a balance control.

Sharp-eyed readers who haven't dozed off yet may have noticed we haven't covered two variations on the curves described so far. -3dB Constant Power Sqrt (Fig. 5; Sqrt stands for Square Root) is like the 3 dB Constant Power Sin/Cos, but the curve is subtly different.

Figure 5: -3dB Constant Power Sqrt bends the curve shape slightly compared to the other Constant Power curve.

In this example, the panpot is set to 75% left instead of full left. Bus 1 shows what happens with -3dB Constant Power Sin/Cos, while Bus 2 is the Sqrt version. The Sqrt version is in less of a hurry to attenuate the right channel as you pan toward the left. Some engineers feel this more closely the situation in a space that's not acoustically treated, so there's a natural acoustic center buildup.

Finally, Fig. 6 compares the 0 dB Balance variations, sin/cos and linear.

Figure 6: Comparing the two 0 dB Balance pan law options.

The difference is similar to the Constant Power examples, in that the basic idea is the same, but again, the linear version doesn't attenuate the right channel as rapidly when you pan left.

I HAVEN'T FALLEN ASLEEP YET, SO PLEASE, JUST TELL ME WHAT I SHOULD USE!

The bottom line is when using the channel panpot with a mono track, if you live in a stereo mixdown world the above is
LINK: https://blog.presonus.com/index.php/2019/07/05/friday-tip-panning-laws...
See more stories from presonus

Most recent headlines

06/10/2025

France Tlvisions Wins Prestigious 2025 EBU Technology & Innovation Award in Groundbreaking Collaboration with Dalet

France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...

04/09/2025

Monumental Sports & Entertainment and Dalet Win Prestigious 2025 NAB Show Project of the Year Award

Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...

15/06/2025

Music Production for Women free in-person workshops

July 2025 in Dublin, Berlin, Amsterdam & London Photo: Thea Martre Music Production for Women (MPW) have announced that they will be running a series of fo...

15/06/2025

Jason's Piano & API Drums instruments from Sulcata Sound

Composer/producer launches free virtual instruments Sulcata Sound is the latest venture of Jason Graves, a two-time British Academy Award-winnning composer,...

14/06/2025

Pluto TV Adds All Womens Sports Network's FAST Channel

NEW YORK Pluto TV and the All Womens Sports Network have launched a free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) AWSN channel in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and the Nor...

14/06/2025

Scripps Inks Multiyear Agreement for WNBA Games on Ion

NEW YORK and CINCINNATI E.W. Scripps has announced a new, multiyear agreement with the WNBA that will continue Ions regular-season coverage of the league on Fri...

14/06/2025

NAB Highlights Hidden Importance of Spectrum in Major Sports Broadcasting

WASHINGTON The National Association of Broadcasters highlighted the hidden importance of spectrum in the production of major sporting events and described wha...

14/06/2025

1.0 Sunset, BPS and NextGen Broadcast's Potential Dominate ATSC Meeting

WASHINGTON Sunsetting ATSC 1.0, expanding business opportunities for NextGen Broadcast and increasing international adoption of the ATSC 3.0 standard were top o...

14/06/2025

Samba TV and Acxiom Announce Massive 40-market Global Expansion

SAN FRANCISCO Samba TV and Acxiom have announced that they will dramatically expand their longstanding relationship....

14/06/2025

MPW announce free in-person workshops

July 2025 in Dublin, Berlin, Amsterdam & London Photo: Thea Martre Music Production for Women (MPW) have announced that they will be running a series of fo...

14/06/2025

San Francisco State University's School of Cinema Uses Blackmagic Design

San Francisco State University's School of Cinema Uses Blackmagic Design Brie Clayton June 13, 2025 0 Comments More than 40 Blackmagic Design came...

14/06/2025

Boris FX Mocha Pro Adds New AI Tools To Tackle VFX Tasks Fast

Boris FX Mocha Pro Adds New AI Tools To Tackle VFX Tasks Fast Jessie Electa Petrov June 13, 2025 0 Comments The 2025.5 release helps artists work more...

14/06/2025

AJA Debuts DRM2-Plus Mini-Converter Frame at InfoComm 2025

AJA Debuts DRM2-Plus Mini-Converter Frame at InfoComm 2025 Brie Clayton June 13, 2025 0 Comments Next-gen frame addresses diverse rackmount needs wit...

13/06/2025

Prime Minister: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at a Leader Who Champions Kindness

(L-R) Lindsay Utz, Michelle Walshe, and The Right Honourable Dame Jacinda Ardern attend the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Prime Minister at Eccles T...

13/06/2025

Materialists' Director Celine Song Reveals the Inspirations Behind the Film's Soundtrack

Photo credit: Atsushi Nishijima If you're a true lover of rom-coms, chances...

13/06/2025

Pure Drama and Fierce Rivalries set to dominate the world's most iconic sporting event

Pure Drama and Fierce Rivalries set to dominate the world's most iconic spor...

13/06/2025

Press Release: NFVF Opens Call for Public Film Screenings on GBV Awareness as South Africa Confronts Ongoing Femicide Crisis

Johannesburg, 12 June 2025 - The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an a...

13/06/2025

Central Texas Storm Knocks out KTXS Tower, Severely Damages Building

ABILENE. Texas A severe storm knocked down the tower and severely damaged the news studio and main facility of Sinclair-owned KTXS here on Sunday, June 8....

13/06/2025

Berklee's Music Business/Management Department Recognized by the Music Biz Association

Berklee's Music Business/Management Department Recognized by the Music Biz A...

13/06/2025

ATSC Honors Aldo Cugnini, Clarence Hau

WASHINGTON The ATSC, the Broadcast Standards Association, honored veteran technologist Aldo Cugnini and Clarence Hau, Senior Vice President of Standards, Policy...

13/06/2025

ESPN Doubles Down on Immersive Fan Experience for UFL Championship

(Editor's note: The 2025 UFL Championship Game between the D.C. Defenders and Michigan Panthers kicks off Saturday, June 14, at 8 p.m. Eastern. The game wil...

13/06/2025

Soulyft Audio release Chime

New iPad/iPhone synth App announced Following on from last year's release of Gradient Synth - which reached #6 on the App Store's Paid Music charts ...

13/06/2025

HBO Max Plans July Launches in 12 New Markets

LONDON Warner Bros. Discovery has announced that HBO Max will launch direct-to-consumer in multiple new countries this July as the streamer becomes available in...

13/06/2025

Verbit Launches Speaker Identification for Live ASR Broadcast Captions

AI voice transcription and captioning platform Verbit has added a new feature to its Captivate ASR solution the ability to identify specific features in automat...

13/06/2025

FCC's Anna Gomez Meets with TV Networks, Studio Execs and Unions

WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission member Anna Gomez has wrapped up two weeks in California visiting broadcasters, television studio executives, enter...

13/06/2025

House Passes Rescission Package That Would Claw Back CPB Funding

WASHINGTON The U.S. House of Representatives voted mostly along party lines to approve a rescission package that would cancel $9.4 billion in previously approve...

13/06/2025

AJA Debuts DRM2-Plus Mini-Converter Frame at InfoComm 202...

At InfoComm 2025, AJA Video Systems announced DRM2-Plus, an intuitive, high-capacity 3RU frame that can neatly house up to 24 AJA Mini-Converters. Tailored to s...

13/06/2025

National CineMedia Selects Operatives Suite of AI-Based C...

Cinema advertising leader to leverage AOS and suite of AI-enabled solutions to optimize forecasting, yield management, and streamlined ad sales and operations a...

13/06/2025

Manfrotto Unveils Unique New Tripod System for Mirrorless...

Manfrotto has launched the ONE Hybrid Tripod, a new support system designed specifically for professional content creators working with mirrorless cameras acros...

13/06/2025

Synamedia unveils security enhancements to its Media Edge...

Leading video software provider, Synamedia, today announced that its Media Edge Gateway (MEG), an ATSC 3.0 software-based IRD, now supports Device Security requ...

13/06/2025

LiveU Strengthens Presence in DACH Region with Strategic...

LiveU, the global leader in live IP-video contribution, production and distribution solutions, is deepening its commitment to the German-speaking market with th...

13/06/2025

Chaos Adds AI Tools Faster Animation Renders and More Sty...

Chaos, the leader in architectural visualisation software, today announces Chaos Corona 13, giving archviz designers new ways to add eye-catching style and flai...

13/06/2025

PALI's Nena Music Video Shot with Blackmagic Design

PALI's Nena Music Video Shot with Blackmagic Design Brie Clayton June 12, 2025 0 Comments Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K and DaVinci Resolve Studio b...

13/06/2025

OddBeast Powers Up iRobot's Newest Roombas with Suite of CGI Launch Assets

OddBeast Powers Up iRobot's Newest Roombas with Suite of CGI Launch Assets Brie Clayton June 12, 2025 0 Comments The motion design and production ...

13/06/2025

On Chick Coreas Birthday, a Newly Uncovered Archival Release

On Chick Coreas Birthday, a Newly Uncovered Archival Release The Visitors, composed by Corea and performed by vibraphonist Gary Burton and pianist Kirill Gers...

13/06/2025

RT Seeks Expressions of Interest for on-air presenting roles on RT Radio 1 and RT News & Current Affairs Output

In fulfilment of a recommendation by the Government's Expert Advisory Commit...

13/06/2025

SVG Sit-Down: Backblaze's Gleb Budman Talks Products, Partnerships, and the Growth in Cloud Storage

SVG Sit-Down: Backblaze's Gleb Budman Talks Products, Partnerships, and the ...

13/06/2025

SVG Sit-Down: DAZN's Walker Jacobs Calls Streaming the FIFA Club World Cup The Most Ambitious Thing We've Ever Done in the U.S.'

SVG Sit-Down: DAZN's Walker Jacobs Calls Streaming the FIFA Club World Cup ...

13/06/2025

New Sponsor Spotlight: Vecima Networks' Paul Strickland on How Improving QoE for Sports Fans Can Deliver Real ROI

New Sponsor Spotlight: Vecima Networks' Paul Strickland on How Improving QoE...

13/06/2025

Pitch Perspective: Where's Next for Specialty Cameras in Soccer?

Pitch Perspective: Where's Next for Specialty Cameras in Soccer? Leaders from Sky Austria and ACS discuss the possibilities of camera placement pitchside B...

13/06/2025

Premiership Rugby Final 2025: Vintage Clash Between Bath and Leicester Gets Full TNT Sports Treatment with AR, RefCam 3.0 and Player Mic

Premiership Rugby Final 2025: Vintage clash between Bath and Leicester gets full...

13/06/2025

Premiership Rugby Final 2025: TNT Sports Gears Up for Bath vs Leicester Battle with Huge Uptick in Season Audience Views

Premiership Rugby Final 2025: TNT Sports gears up for Bath vs Leicester battle w...

13/06/2025

NCAA Men's College World Series: ESPN Adds Two-Point SupraCam, Invests in Nearly 100 Mics to Enhance Audio

NCAA Men's College World Series: ESPN Adds Two-Point SupraCam, Invests in Ne...

13/06/2025

New FSWX signal and spectrum analyzer with novel architecture overcomes limits of todays analysis methods

New FSWX signal and spectrum analyzer with novel architecture overcomes limits o...

13/06/2025

2025-05-28

Apple today announced the addition of iPad to Self Service Repair, providing iPad owners with access to repair manuals, genuine Apple parts, Apple Diagnostics t...

13/06/2025

2025-06-09

CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today previewed iOS 26, a major update that brings a beautiful new design, intelligent experiences, and improvements to the apps use...

13/06/2025

2025-06-10

At Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple unveiled Apple Games, an all-new destination designed to help players jump back into the games they...

13/06/2025

NVIDIA and Deutsche Telekom Partner to Advance Germany's Sovereign AI

Industrial AI isn't slowing down. Germany is ready. Following London Tech Week and GTC Paris at VivaTech, NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang's Europea...

12/06/2025

Spotify's Heart & Soul Initiative Brings Mental Health Support to Artists and Creators Worldwide

In 2018, Spotify launched Heart & Soul, a mental health initiative developed to ...

12/06/2025

50 Years Strong: SBS and NITV Supercharge NAIDOC Week 2025 in a joint 50th celebration

50 Years Strong: SBS and NITV Supercharge NAIDOC Week 2025 in a joint 50th celeb...