Pan width for (club) pop/urban/dance?

[audiovisceral]

How do songs in clubs keep hard panned elements from only being expressed in one part of the room and not another?

At a typical top 40 club, I've never noticed this happen. On the other hand, though, sometimes I might be in a clothing store and hear the L and R speakers in such isolation all these weird subtle hyper-panned elements pop out.

My guess is that top40 club stuff IS in fact relatively panned (with many songs havin gelements up to 80-100% by my rough estimation), and thus the clubs must reduce the stereo field to mono or almost mono. But if they're simply doing this, why don't they get phase issues?

Panning is something I would definitely like to understand how it is best suited for a given track/environment.


Thanks.

[Kiwiburger]

I know what you mean - like in a large store where some idiot has placed the speakers at each end. So when you hear The Beatles, it's really wierd because you are only hearing one side of a hard-panned recording.

I believe many clubs use mono PA systems. People who make successful club mixes are careful about mono compatibility. You should be able to collapse any mix to mono, because it happens often in real life. That's not any anti-stereo comment at all. In fact, if you pay attention to mono-compatibility, your stereo mixes will sound wider and better.