u/lixermanredditman

I write and record rock songs at home, mostly guitar with some keyboards.

The arrangement and production/mixing process are pretty much one and the same for me. If I can't imagine how I will make the mix work, I make different choices for the arrangement.

One thing that is always a thorn in my side when planning the arrangement is how to prevent the eventual mix from being lop-sided when it comes to panning. I often find myself adding an additional guitar part just so I know the mix will be even.

Right now, for example I have a song which is acoustic guitar, with an electric playing the chords staccato over the top. I've doubled tracked the acoustic guitar and panned it left and right, but double tracking the staccato electric guitar chords in the same way as well feels silly - double tracking everything on the left and right feels a bit amateur sometimes. I've panned the electric guitar left, but it leaves a gaping hole on the right. I maybe want some lead guitar in certain sections, which balances it out during those sections, but then is still unbalanced when the lead guitar's not playing.

Am I the only one who is constantly thinking about this when deciding on their arrangements?