Using Pan
L 
R
PAN
The final Main output of the MPL 1204 is stereo— that is, there are two discrete Main output jacks (and two discrete Control Room output jacks), labeled “left” and “right,” which will normally be routed to two discrete speakers.* Because of this, you will usually be working with a stereo field that ranges from hard left to hard right. The MPL 1204 provides twelve monophonic input channels, each with its own dedicated Pan control. The Pan circuitry in the MPL 1204 always keeps the overall level constant, regardless of pan position. Here’s how it works: When the Pan knob is placed at its center (detented) position, signal is sent equally to both left and right outputs of the selected bus (depending upon the setting of the channel’s Mute 3/4 switch, as described in #5 on page x). When moved left of center, less signal is sent to the right output and more signal is sent to the left output (making the sound appear left of center) and when moved right of center, less signal is sent to the left output and more signal is sent to the right output (making the sound appear right of center). To route a signal hard left or right, place the pan knob either fully counterclockwise or fully clockwise.
You can use stereo panning creatively in a variety of ways: For example, you might want to have guitars coming from one speaker and keyboards from another, or you might use panning to “spread” the signal from a piano miked with two microphones— one over the bass notes (panned left) and the other over the treble notes (panned right). In live performance, you may want to resist the temptation to pan anything completely hard left or right, since some members of the audience not seated in the center of the venue may miss some signal altogether. In these circumstances, you’re best to use modest panning, with signals routed no further than the 9 o’clock and 3 o’clock positions.
*You can, of course, also use the MPL 1204
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