I've started double tracking all my guitar tracks (like I should do according to everything I've read). They sound great and a big improvement over just a single guitar. I've actually played the 2nd guitar, not just cloned the first track, also as recommended.
 
So for the next step in mixing them I had a few questions..........
 
Here's what I've got....(using Amplitube for what it's worth):
 
2 tracks of clean open chords, playing a progression, on Amp A
2 tracks of distorted guitars playing the same progression but with bar chords, on Amp B
2 tracks of a riff playing along the with the above guitars, on Amp C
 
So how should these be panned in the mix? Do I keep each set of doubled tracks together (i.e 2 clean tracks) and pan hard to one side? Or should I separate each.....one clean and one distorted left, and one clean and one distorted right?
 
Then where do folks usually pan the riff? (Vox are center panned)
 
Any thoughts would greatly appreciated.
 
~Jeff

mmm... delicious can 'o' worms.
 
;-)
 
It really depends. I've been playing around with all sorts of combinations using similar setups.
 
The simplest for that scenario would be panning one of them to 100-90%, another to 70-60% and another (I'd say the riffs) 40-20%.
 
However maybe you want your chords on the left (or right) and the riffs opposite.
 
Or maybe you want your clean chords and dirty chords working as a unit (pan them closer to each other on one or both sides).
 
Or maybe you don't REALLY need doubles of everything and you can just bring the doubles in to reinforce certain parts where the guits are sounding thin or there are no vocals or you simply want things to build up and get more chaotic. In that scenario you have tons of source material to make it happen.
 
So it's more about deciding what effect you are going for. If you want all if it going at once on both sides but still have each part defined I'd go with the first option I mentioned and play around with where it all sits in the stereo field (making sure you pair things up opposite of each other or maybe switch the clean and distorted locations in the field).
 
I would also recommend looking into using different amp sounds/sims for the opposite partner or using "mirror" EQ. The former would just be using a complimentary amp sound (whether via sim or live input like a different amp or guitar) and the latter would be doing something like create precise EQ boosts and cuts that exactly opposite of it's partner track on the opposite side of the stereo field.
 
BUT... I am still experimenting with all this myself so take that with a grain of salt. It is however the type of thing I was questioning not so long ago and I've been getting some nice results using some of the principles listed above.
 
Every mix and song is different so remain flexible and experiment.
 
 
Cheers.

PANNING
is purely subjective.
 
ideally, depending entirely on the arrangement of the instruments and the song,
they should be 'complementary'
 
meaning, multitracking rhythm guitars just for the sake of multitracking, may be clownphuckery
 
i double track a lot...
listen to any of my tunes, and you'll probably hear two entirely unique rhythm parts panned left and right,
but whereas i used to go whole hog, 100% left and right,
i've found that the sound i like best today,
is where i bring them in just slightly..
maybe, 85% left/right...
 
hard panning may sound awesome in a huge room with killer speakers and uber-headroom power,
but most folks listen close, or with cans or ear buds, and 100% panning is just a bit too extreme.
 
classic rock,
say, deep purple's 'highway star'.....
LCR mixing mostly, it seems, guitar hard left, keys hard right...
 
they mix in a bit of reverb on both, but pan the reverb to the opposite side of the instrument,
makes it sound tied together mix wise, and still clear and separate.
 
there are so many options...
 
bottom line is, you don't want one side heavier than the other,
or have 'holes' in your soundstage while mixing,
unless it's specific to the song or arrangement.
 
listen to MASTODON, dual guitar players, see how they pan multitrack..
 
dream theatre...
 
joe satriani..
 
Queen, with all of may's multitracking...
there's lots to learn by just putting on a good set of headphones, and picking some classic mixes apart.

https://soundcloud.com/bats-brew/high-time
 
here's a good example of extreme and less extreme multitracked guitars.....
but acoustic.
LOL
 
still, it tells the story..
 
two of the rhythms, are hard panned.....
then two more, are panned at about 45% left and right...
then i have some solo guitars that are panned just left/right of center....
harmony vocals are double tracked, but not panned together....
 

Beepster
mmm... delicious can 'o' worms.
 
;-)
 
It really depends. I've been playing around with all sorts of combinations using similar setups.
 
The simplest for that scenario would be panning one of them to 100-90%, another to 70-60% and another (I'd say the riffs) 40-20%.
 
However maybe you want your chords on the left (or right) and the riffs opposite.
 
Or maybe you want your clean chords and dirty chords working as a unit (pan them closer to each other on one or both sides).
 
Or maybe you don't REALLY need doubles of everything and you can just bring the doubles in to reinforce certain parts where the guits are sounding thin or there are no vocals or you simply want things to build up and get more chaotic. In that scenario you have tons of source material to make it happen.
 
So it's more about deciding what effect you are going for. If you want all if it going at once on both sides but still have each part defined I'd go with the first option I mentioned and play around with where it all sits in the stereo field (making sure you pair things up opposite of each other or maybe switch the clean and distorted locations in the field).
 
I would also recommend looking into using different amp sounds/sims for the opposite partner or using "mirror" EQ. The former would just be using a complimentary amp sound (whether via sim or live input like a different amp or guitar) and the latter would be doing something like create precise EQ boosts and cuts that exactly opposite of it's partner track on the opposite side of the stereo field.
 
BUT... I am still experimenting with all this myself so take that with a grain of salt. It is however the type of thing I was questioning not so long ago and I've been getting some nice results using some of the principles listed above.
 
Every mix and song is different so remain flexible and experiment.
 
 
Cheers.

Thanks Beep and Brew. You each provided some great tips. I was thinking of the "mirror" EQ thing too. And the reverb trick Brew mentioned seems really cool too. And yes...I agree with Brew about not 100% panning guitars. I've been going between 85-75% lately and it does sound better to me.
 
This forum rules as always......
 
~Jeff

One thing to also be aware of is that for some material you really don't want a double. Like a solo but in you example maybe the "riffs". It can muddy things up unnecessarily.
 
On your tracks in Sonar (and most DAWs) you will have the option to have the track output as mono or stereo (the Interleave button). Most guitar sims output in stereo as do effects like stereo delays and reverbs.
 
So for something like double tracks I've panned left and right using a stereo out amp sim (which spreads the signal to both sides via the internal mixer) I'll switch the track (in Sonar) to output mono when panning. This requires messing with the sim if it's a bi amp set up or dual cab setup or whatever because they may not sum the way you want.
 
Basically you are keeping the signal mono from the track and then summing at the BUS in Sonar using your double on the other side to create the stereo image instead.
 
For a riff or solo though I might use the stereo output from the sim because there is NO doubled track. Then I can take advantage of the stereo output or bi amp features of the sim without the potential "mushiness" or phasing that can occur with an ultra tight solo/riff played twice can cause.
 
So essentially you leave the track as Stereo Output Interleave and keep it more to the middle (but you can still pan the track or within the sim).
 
Other times maybe you really want to focus that solo or riff though so switching to Mono Interleave can point it more directly or sum any stereo effects in the sim. That might make it cut more/keep it out of the way of the other guits/instruments in the mix.
 
So... ya see, there's just tons of stuff to consider and watch out for. It took me a while to realize that sims were outputting stereo and how to manipulate them to blend two amps to mono in a way I liked.
 
Also something to consider in those scenarios is "Mid Side" processing where you can force the output from the amp sim (or whatever) to the edges of the left/right channels but turn it down in the center to allow things like vox/kick/snare/bass/etc to cut up the middle.
 
Point is... learn your sims (if you are using them) and figure out what they are outputting to each side. There are usually quite a few complex ways to manage the stereo output from them.
 
Hopefully that makes sense. This post was mostly free form rambling.
 
lol
 
Have fun.

Talk about a can of worms.... with 10 people, you will get 100 opinions and all of them different but valid to one degree or another.    Doubling and panning are subject to the tastes and discretion of the person twirling the knobs. 
 
Yeah... I record 2 acoustic guitars and pan them 100% R /L.... I don't worry with getting everything perfect.... just close. The wider you pan the wider the sound stage will be. 
 
I think you can get carried away with doubling. Technically, you could double everything .... but use some common sense. Double things that really will improve the sound quality.  I like to double the acoustic guitars for a wide sound, and I will double electrics for thickening sometimes... I don't put them out quite so far.... vocals do well when doubled properly.... same thing with harmony vox, but you can easily end up with a bunch of vox tracks, so again, use some common sense....
 
Lead guitar would be a real PITA to double and do it right. I rarely if ever try to pull that one off..... I will do harmony guitars but not the same thing as doubling now...is it?  
 
Less is more.... well that's my motto..... do what needs to be done but don't over do it.

Experiment and go with what sounds good. Something that makes you smile.

All great tips guys.
 
Thanks so much!
 
~Jeff

I will reinforce your idea of complimentary EQ'ing the double tracks.  It will give the impression of a wider mix.  You can also track the doubled parts with different guitar/effects/amp combinations to get a wider sounding mix, too.  Obviously this won't work for everything so you'll have to experiment a little.
 
And my apologies if some else mentioned this above, there were a lot TL;DR posts.