Panning of choir + strings

Without audio examples this is impossible to know

I don't know if you are using a reverb but you might have a look at Berlin Studios Reverb. It allows you to "place" instrumental and choral sections within the IR space of Teldex in Berlin. Just a thought.

Try panning choir and strings as normal, but then adjust the stereo spread of the choir and strings separately until you get the right balance.

Ron Newman said:

b) to pan all the strings to one side and all the voices to the other?

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Depending on the arrangement this would probably sound very unbalanced and disconnected. Assuming that we are talking about a large choir and a full-blown strings ensemble I would spread them both out from left to right, the choir behind the strings.

A quick example:

Its worth noting that most sample libraries are recorded stereo and seated in their proper positions as they would be in a live session. This is where utilizing multiple mic positions comes into play. The stereo tree and room mics in your libraries are already in stereo format, so panning them in the DAW is going to sound a bit unnatural as it will shift the natural reverb of the room and will make your mix sound especially disconnected when using different libraries, if you are trying to get them to sit nicely as if they were in the same room. You would want to mix in the close mics inside the mixer for the library itself (if you have them) and pan them there. This helps to solidify and expand your stereo field since you are getting the natural room sound of the strings and choir playing in their natural positions, and you are getting the clarity and definition from the close mics.