Whether you like panning your drums from an audience or drummer's perspective, just make it sound good already. It's all that matters at the end of the day. Now, for some of y'all who ain't familiar with audience or drummer perspective mixing, I'll give you a quick synopsis of what it entails in simple terms.
For example, I am essentially saying:
For example, if you are working on songs with only a kick, snare closed hi-hat, and open hi-hat, you may not want both of your open and closed hi-hat cymbals panned beyond 33% left or right so that the overall sound isn't disjointed but cohesive.
If the frequencies of a closed hi-hat collide with a snare drum, you can always filter them out, allowing your side drum to shine through with airy brilliance and watery punchiness.
Audience perspective panning:
This means you grab your trackball mouse, touchscreen, whatever, and move the panning knobs of every single drum sample in a mix towards the direction of how you'd hear these sounds if a drummer were playing in front of you.Drummer's perspective panning:
This means you kinda imagine yourself as a drum player sitting on your throne, then proceed to pan your percussion instruments like how you'd hear them while jamming.For example, I am essentially saying:
| Drum instrument | Drummer's perspective | Audience perspective |
|---|---|---|
| Generic kick or bass drum | 0% center (or mono) | 0% center (or mono) |
| 808 kick or bass drum | 0% center (or mono) | 0% center (or mono) |
| Snare or side drum | 0% center (or mono) | 0% center (or mono) |
| Ghost snare or side drum | 0%, 11% or 22% left | 0% or 22% right |
| Real or electronic clap sample | 0% center | 0% center |
| Closed hi-hat cymbal | 0%, 11%, 22%, or 34% left | 0%, 22%, or 34% right |
| Open hi-hat cymbal | 0%, 11%, 22%, or 34% right | 0%, 22%, or 34% left |
| Splash or crash cymbal | 34%, 63%, 75% left (or center) | 34% or 63%, 75% right (or center) |
| Ride cymbal | 34%, 52%, 63%, 75% right | 34%, 52%, or 63%, 75% left |
| China cymbal | 34%, 52%, 63%, 75% right | 34%, 52%, or 63%, 75% left |
| Floor or low tom drum | 34%, 52%, 63%, 75% right | 34%, 52%, or 63%, 75% left |
| Mid tom drum | 34%, 52% right | 34%, 52% left |
| High tom drum | 22% or 34% right or left | 22% or 34% right or left |
Summary
If a music project includes a few drum samples, it makes more sense to narrow down the degree of panning.For example, if you are working on songs with only a kick, snare closed hi-hat, and open hi-hat, you may not want both of your open and closed hi-hat cymbals panned beyond 33% left or right so that the overall sound isn't disjointed but cohesive.
If the frequencies of a closed hi-hat collide with a snare drum, you can always filter them out, allowing your side drum to shine through with airy brilliance and watery punchiness.
