I just wanted everyones thoughts on panning Im a bit lost.I generally write stuff that has either a piano and strings or I'll write Jazz generally using acoustic bass/piano/drums/guitar.Im grateful for any ideas,techniques or tips.
 
Cheers
Justin

I go for performance authenticity.  So..I picture the instruments as if on a stage and I'm hearing  a live performance.  The panning speaks for itself in that respect (as far as orchestral instruments go).  You can basically put your instruments any way you want.  I'm sure there are engineers here who have ideas about the sonic experience as if it's separate from performance (e.g. bass in center, and other tidbits).  While that may work for edm,  I'm really not fond of acoustic ensembles that don't sound like they're authentic.  In jazz, the rhythm section is usually together on one side, whilst the horns are distributed on stage in a pretty conventional fashion.    It might not be *the correct way* but it's what I prefer. :D:D  

 i pan anything anywhere....
as long as it creates a balanced mix.
 
there are typical guidelines,
i'd start with those.
 
a lot of pan decisions are genre related.
and others, are not.
 
 

I agree that it's usually genre specific.
But do whatever works for you and your song.
 
Right now I'm listening to Wilson Pickett's Mini-Skirt Mini.  The drums, bass, guitars, and backing vocals are all panned hard right. The horns are panned hard left.  And the lead vocals are dead centre.  It sounds weird, but I love it!

I've been cloning each track then then say putting the piano 80 to the left on one and 80 to the right on the other,then the cello 30 to the left on  one and 30 to the right on the other.Do you think it would be more effective just to have one track of each and pan one left and one right?

bluearrows
I've been cloning each track then then say putting the piano 80 to the left on one and 80 to the right on the other,then the cello 30 to the left on  one and 30 to the right on the other.Do you think it would be more effective just to have one track of each and pan one left and one right?

 
Cloning tracks and panning them won't give you a stereo effect because if they're identical, the 2 tracks will collapse to centre. Better to record each part twice so there are some slight differences, then you'll get the stereo spread.

bluearrows
I've been cloning each track then then say putting the piano 80 to the left on one and 80 to the right on the other,then the cello 30 to the left on  one and 30 to the right on the other.Do you think it would be more effective just to have one track of each and pan one left and one right?

don't do that.
 

So if I copy and paste the piano trackand change a couple of notes would that be sufficient.Or do i just have one track pan it to the left and then the cello and pan it to the right ?

If you're going to duplicate a track like that it's probably best to put it through an aux track with slight delay (and some attendant eq), and pan that to somewhere on the opposite side of the image. This fattens up the sound and gives some depth. But it depends on the effect you're after. 

bluearrows
So if I copy and paste the piano trackand change a couple of notes would that be sufficient.Or do i just have one track pan it to the left and then the cello and pan it to the right ?

 
There aren't any hard and fast rules about what goes where in the stereo field, but cloning tracks probably isn't going to give you what you're after. If the cello seems to balance up the piano, then do that. It's a case of whatever works for you.
 
Have a close listen to a reference track which has similar instrumentation to yours, and note where things are placed.