Samson MPL 1204 - Manual (Page 20)

20
Using 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 monophonically—simply route the
same signal to both the left and right outputs.
R
PAN
L