Using Pan/Balance

 

OUTPUT

 

The final Main output of the

LEFT

RIGHT

MIXPAD is stereo—that is, there

BALANCED

 

+4dBu

 

 

are two discrete output jacks,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

labeled “left” and “right,” which

 

 

 

 

will normally be routed to a

 

 

 

 

stereo power amplifier and two

 

 

 

 

discrete speakers.* Because of

 

 

 

 

this, you will usually be working

 

 

with a stereo field that ranges from hard left to

 

 

hard right. The Pan control in monophonic

 

 

channels (and the Balance control in MIXPAD 12

L

R

and MIXPAD 9 stereo channels, when only the

upper input is connected) allows you to place

PAN

 

 

each individual sound at any point within this

 

 

left-right field, while keeping the overall level

 

 

constant.

 

L

R

You can use stereo panning creatively in a variety

of ways: For example, you might want to have

BALANCE

 

 

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). By turning a Pan knob while a signal is present, the sound appears to move in space (a process known as dynamic panning)—this can be particularly effective when applied to sound effects.

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 MIXPAD monophonically—simply route the same signal to both the left and right outputs.

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Samson MIXPAD manual Using Pan/Balance