Alright, I know Panning can be used to make all the different elements of the track fit together and things like that, but I"m really not sure how to use it properly? For example, what should and shouldn't be panned? And by how much? Stereo sounds good but it can be annoying to produce in

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except for keeping beat & bassline in the middle to avoid hopping needles there are no rules.

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www.dezma.be

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/dezmamusic

some advice I once read - go to an audio store and make a note of how the drum kits are set up, and pan your drum kit accordingly.

Alternatively you can go for the entirely digital drum kit approach and pan each element as and where you see fit.

as DeZmA said, there are no rules... if it sounds good, go with it. Dont get too hung up on whether a sample should be X% left or right, make sure your idea is good and the rest will shape itself.

I pan my drums different each time so why would I bother panning them like some music shop does
One thing you have to make sure is that the channels are a bit balanced. Keep most things to subtle changes and you can't go wrong.
BUT a panning effect can be rather cool once in a while. (like I did in the climax of my latest song )

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www.dezma.be

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/dezmamusic

Like Dezma said, anything goes really. As a few general tips though:

-Always keep drums and bassline centre.
-Pan pretty much every percussive element by some amount.
-Pan your pads to the left and right; the stereo seperation will add to the fatness (if that's your desired effect anyways).

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