Guitar solos should definately be in the center...they're the focus of attention when they come in to play. If there is constant solo's/melody lines in the whole song and then the main solo comes in then you automate the level so it comes into play more. If no other guitar parts it stays in the middle...unless it's some panning effect that plays between the left and right speakers. It really depends on the style..but mostly keep it in the center
Opus

I use both methods. Sometimes I center solos, sometimes I leave them where they are if the are part of track that plays through the song. I did a song today where the lead guitar was panned right and I added a mono reverb and panned it left. I worked for that mix, of course YMMV.

If the g solo is happening at the same time as the lead vocal, then I would tend to place the guitar anywhere besides on top of the vocal. Dead center is a zone I generally like to stay away except for kick, bass and lead vocals...there has to be a pretty compelling reason for me to put something else there.

In addtion to left-right auto-panning, it can be fun to try panned stereo echoes, harmonizing, chorusing, flanging, phasing...not necessarily panned full left and right...for example, maybe one full left and the other just a little bit left...or solo guitar verbs bright on the guitar side, dark on the other side...or the opposite...or filtered echoes fed to compressed, autopanned, EQed verbs...or grunging-down one side by running it through a distressor or an old digital fx unit...or through a moogerfooger or a digitech whammy or an envelope filter...there are many subtle and not-so-subtle things you can do to liven up the solo guitar in a mix. Just remember to check the result in mono.

Jon

Usually I'll put it in the center at the same level as the lead vocal as I tend to think of a solo as an extentsion of the melody. If there's a vocal at the same time I'll drop the solo under the vocal and maybe pan it out to 9 or 10 o'clock. Sometime's I'll try putting the guitar solo off to one side and maybe add a delay, flanger or other effect to the other side.

So if you pan the solo to 9 or 10 oclock and place an effect on the other side, do you bring up the effect so that the overall image is still in the center?

Jon Attack:
do you put the snare in the center?

Hi Hack,

Depends on the song, the style, the performer and the arrangement. Sometimes you want it to sound like an authentic performance, like a 'live on stage' thang...and sometimes you are looking for something beyond any semblance of reality.

Snare panning: I usually like to place the snare somewhere between *slightly* and *somewhat* off-center. Unless it's a Beatles/4-track revival, in which case the snare panning (and/or slap echo) can get pretty wide.

Again, context is everything.

Jon

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Hack:
[QB]So if you pan the solo to 9 or 10 oclock and place an effect on the other side, do you bring up the effect so that the overall image is still in the center? >>

It depends on the song but usually I'll have the delay or effect at the same position and I'll try for equal volume. That doesn't always work though.

Whoops, I ment opposiate position. So if the solo is at 9 the effect is at 3. I hope that makes sense.

It depends entirely if the guitar was recorded in stereo or mono. A stereo guitar panned hard left and right will give a center image. with mucho space, panned at 3 and 9 o'clock a tighter image. I seldom center pan anything but lead vocals and rack toms. It also depends on if the lead is double tracked. Someone mentioned center panning bass and kick. I get a better stereo image by panning them one notch to the left and one notch to the right so that they don't compete for the same space. Snare I'll often pan around 1 o'clock, rack toms at center and floor at 3, to reproduce a drum rollaround as if the drummer is right handed and behind you or left handed and in front of you. I get best results by not having any instrument that competes in the same frequency range as another, in the same pan trajectory. IOW using pan trajectories to spread the instruments throughout the stereo image, just like you would hear the band from the middle of the 10th row at a live concert.

Keep on Trackin'