# Orchestral panning



## fustrun (Dec 12, 2015)

So most orchestral libraries out there have the strings recorded in stages and halls which makes the strings sit in their corresponding positions ... does that make panning obsolete? because it wrecks the sound of the room .. doesn't it?


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## muk (Dec 13, 2015)

Yes and yes. Panning is not directly linked to reverb though. If I'm not mistaken 8dio, for example, records in a church (i. e. with reverb), but not in position. All sections are seated centrally, meaning you can/have to pan the sounds. Others, like OT or Spitfire or Eastwest, recorded in Scoring Stages with the sections seated in the positions they normally take in the orchestra. These sounds are already panned naturally, and you shouldn't screw with that if you don't absolutely have to.


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## AlexanderSchiborr (Dec 13, 2015)

fustrun said:


> So most orchestral libraries out there have the strings recorded in stages and halls which makes the strings sit in their corresponding positions ... does that make panning obsolete? because it wrecks the sound of the room .. doesn't it?


That applies not only to the Strings also to Brass and Wind, percussion libaries, like from Eastwest, OT and so on. But like Muk sais it depends on the library. So maybe you are referring to a specific product? Because in general it is then hard to answer because of so many different design philosophies in available libraries.


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## RiffWraith (Dec 13, 2015)

Yes and no.

If an instr was recorded in place, and you pan the entire patch, you are panning not only the instr itself, but the room ambience. Which can screw with the stereo placement, and the overall sound. You can however, pan some of the mic positions a little and get away with it.

You can using close mics, and pan those a good deal. Using other mics with a decent amount of ambience, or adding verb as a send that will remain panned center (l/r), is helpful here.

Another ex is using the tree and amb and/or or mics, and pan the tree a bit. Doing that with only the tree mics and no added verb can yield unwanted results, but doing so with the other mics in the picture can actually give you good results.

You can also pan the tree a bit, and add verb as a send that will remain panned center. If done properly, that can yield desirable results.

Cheers.


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## Andrajas (Dec 13, 2015)

A newbie question, but could someone just tell some libraries that is recorded "in place" or where can I find this info if I don't own the library?


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## mickeyl (Dec 13, 2015)

Andrajas said:


> A newbie question, but could someone just tell some libraries that is recorded "in place" or where can I find this info if I don't own the library?



All that Spitfire Audio records in AIR, e.g.


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## almound (Dec 16, 2015)

With sample libraries that are not recorded in place I use the inexpensive VST called Virtual Sound Stage 2.0 (http://www.parallax-audio.com/). There are better and more expensive solutions available, but VSS 2 works for what I need.

Why do I need it? A trick that I learned from Peter Alexander's course "Visual Orchestration 3 - DOING The Basic Virtual Orchestral Mix" (http://www.alexanderpublishing.com/Products/Visual-Orchestration-3--DOING-The-Basic-Virtual-Orchestral-Mix__Spec-VizOrch-03-Dwnld.aspx) is to improve spatial separation in my mock up between the two violin sections by using European seating; putting the second violins on the right, the violas more left of center, and the basses behind the cellos.


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