The default stereo panner distributes 2 inputs to 2 outputs. Its behaviour is controlled by two parameters, width and position. The default settings for the stereo panner are width=100%, position=center (L=50%, R=50%). This panner assumes that you have 2 uncorrelated, independent signals that you wish to distribute to two outputs.
With the default values it is not possible to alter the position, since the width is already spread entirely across both outputs. To alter the position, you must first reduce the width.
The panner user interface consists of 3 elements, divided between the top and bottom half. Click and/or drag in the top half to control position; click and/or drag in the bottom half to control width (see below for details).
In the top half is the position indicator, which shows where the center of the stereo image is relative to the left and right edges. When this is the middle of the panner, the stereo image is centered between the left and right outputs. When it all the way to the left, the stereo image collapses to just the left speaker.
In the bottom half are two signal indicators, one marked "L" and the other "R". The distance between these two shows the width of the stereo image. If the width is reduced to zero, there will only be a single signal indicator marked "M" (for mono), and whose color will change to indicate the special state.
It is possible to invert the outputs (see below) so that whatever would have gone to the right channel goes to the left and vice versa. When this happens, the entire movable part of the panner changes color to indicate clearly that this is the case.
Although the implementation of the panner uses the "position" parameter, when the user interface displays it numerically, it shows a pair of numbers that will be familiar to most audio engineers.
| Position | L/R | English |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | L=50% R=50% | signal image is midway between left and right speakers |
| -1 | L=100% R=0% | signal image is entirely at the left speaker |
| 1 | L=0% R=100% | signal image is entirely at the right speaker |
One way to remember this sort of convention is that the middle of the USA is not Kansas, but "Los Angeles: 50% New York: 50%".
| Appearance | Settings |
|---|---|
| Width=100%, L=50 R=50 |
| Width=0%, L=50 R=50 |
| Width=-100%, Position = 0 (center) |
| Width=36%, L=44 R=56 |
| Width=0%, L=0 R=100 |
Mouse operations in the upper half of the panner adjust the position parameter, constrained by the current width setting.
Mouse operations in the lower half of the panner adjust the width parameter, constrained by the current position setting.
To change the position smoothly, press the right button and drag within the top half of the panner, then release. The position will be limited by the current width setting. Note: you do not need to grab the position indicator in order to drag
To change the width smoothly, press the right button and drag within the lower half of the panner, then release. The width will be limited by the current position setting.Note: you do not need to grab the L/R indicators in order to drag
When the pointer is within a stereo panner user interface, the following keybindings are available to operate on that panner:
When the pointer is within a stereo panner user interface, the scroll wheel may be used as follows: