Pro Tools Reference Guide786
3-Knob Panning
Pro Tools provides 3-Knob mode as an addi-
tional way to input pan moves.
3-Knob mode lets you:
• Pan in straight lines, moving the Pan Location
cursor using the Position rotary knobs with
full movement of front, rear, and front-rear
position.
– and –
• Pan discretely between pairs of speakers.
For example, when panning front-left to rear-
right in 3-Knob mode, audio will be heard from
just those two speakers (assuming full diver-
gence is in effect).
By comparison, in X/Y mode a diagonal pan
may result in audio being heard in some or all
channels.
The difference is that 3-Knob mode pans dis-
cretely between the front and rear position of
the panning trajectory, while X/Y mode panning
takes place in the full 360° Panning Grid. Diver-
gence and Center Percentage are variable in
both Panning modes.
To enable 3-Knob Panning mode:
â– Click on the Panning Mode button until the
3-Knob mode icon is displayed.
The panner trajectory line appears across the
Grid, extending from the front (X-axis) to the
rear (Y-axis).
To pan in 3-Knob mode:
1 Adjust the Front and Rear Position knobs to
set the trajectory line.
2 Rotate the Front/Rear Position knob to pan
along the trajectory. The Pan Location cursor is
constrained to the white trajectory line.
Panning and metering in 3-Knob mode
3-Knob trajectory
3-Knob mode
meters
Panning and metering in X/Y mode
Panner Mode button set to 3-Knob mode
X/Y pan position
meters
X/Y mode
3-Knob mode icon