Wow that doesnt sound the same!

[Andreas_R]

That + auratone cubes

[Endlosregler]

@Jeanne

@Suspect_Frequency

All of my work now starts and ends on a average quality Bluetooth speaker.

This!

On Headphones, everything always sounds awesome and crunchy. And that’s one of the reasons the Yamaha NS-10 monitors - which originally weren’t intended as studio monitors - are legendary.

(Still, good headphones are necessary to find mistakes and hear the fleas cough.)

Funny… this just showed up on instagram

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CjfLqRJAWo9/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

[djst]

@Phillip

This happening to me for years is what drove me to learning mixing and ultimately working as an audio engineer. It fucking sucked that things sounded great in my studio but playing next to professionally mixed records everything fell apart. It is a crumbling feeling. I do not enjoy it.

What are your best tips from your experience?

[Phillip]

Besides the obvious of learning your headphones/monitors insideand out, learning as many mixing tehniques you can, taking courses and learning from a professional… using properly mixed material within the style you’re producing on for referencing is extremely important. But it only helps if you already tackled the obvious ones which build your listening skills and allows you to effectively reach a goal using the tools at your disposal.

[Jeanne]

@Endlosregler

Funny… this just showed up on instagram

… perhaps a good time to delete your instagram account

[Endlosregler]

@Jeanne

@Endlosregler

Funny… this just showed up on instagram

… perhaps a good time to delete your instagram account

Maybe

[thermionic]

@DaveMech

this is the problem with mixing on headphones. You tend to either push sub or bass too loud depending on the headphones frequency response. Bass is also perceived different as its pressure rather than real vibrations.

Thank you for the reminder! I have monitors but you use the setup that’s most convenient and productive sometimes and forget to A/B regularly.

[williohm]

I only listen to music either with some type of headphones/ear buds or in the car alone while driving. Because nobody around me shares my tastes and I politely spare them. So when I’m making music I make sure it sounds ok in either of those situations and make adjustments for anything that bothers me. This method hasn’t really failed me yet. And yes, time does initially alter my perceptions so I try to be patient and do a few test listenings before saying it’s finished. This advice is really meant for people like me who can’t afford studio monitors but who’s significant other gifted them $100 headphones for their birthday. I forgot the brand.

Disclaimer - I totally passed an audio engineering course at a community college like 20 years ago so I’m basically a pro 🥸

[badbass]

The solution for me is to always work in Mono. Reduces so many variables

[Sternenlicht]

I use gain staging everywhere, there is also an automatic gain staging max for live effect. I mostly level everything down to minus 12 and then boost plus 12 on the master. That gives more range for the faders to work with. Also mixing with faders and closed eyes can help. I do also mostly mono mixes (extta audio out to bluetooth box), and i try to have not too much elements at the same time.

[thermionic]

@badbass

The solution for me is to always work in Mono. Reduces so many variables

So do you do in the end? Mix in mono and have the mastering engineer mid/side process everything?

[percussionboy]

This is a good thread and I wanted to revive it.

I am still a baby engineer (with grey hair), trying to check mixes across different brands of headphone and small speakers in an acoustically sinful room (boxy, untreated). Just trying to find some acceptable mix that would work when posting music to the forum, without the bass disappearing or the highs driving icepicks into the listener’s head. The references of professional music I use, and even some of other posters’ work here, are so goddam good, across different speakers/phones … it’s like voodoo, must I sacrifice a child at the full moon? (Unlike some here, I don’t even make club music, … so can say screw the sub—bass.)

So … no useful information here. Just commiserating. It’s a weary battle, but enjoyable to try to mix better.

[percussionboy]

An actual question: Does anyone else try to compensate for a poor speaker situation (no speakers, or weak ones in a bad room) by switching back and forth between different headphones?

I’m floating between Sonys, Audiotechnicas, Sennheisers, and earbuds. My Beyer 880 pros just died, waiting on some Shures (srh1840 iirc). And little JBL 305 nearfield monitors.

[Jacob]

I think it can’t hurt but at the end of the day stuff just sounds different out loud. Maybe find a friend who has good home speakers or even rent a studio for a couple hours just to mix. Of course the “car test” is also a tried and true method;)

Because I don’t play out (just a basement/YouTube warrior) I do the best I can with shitty sound. If your goal is to play out, I definitely recommend finding a place to mix once you have a set ready.

[percussionboy]

No intention to play out with electronic music here.

I like your advice, thanx

[diswest]

I switched to Slate VSX.
Even if emulations it don’t sound like original studios, the headphones are really helpful for mixing. I really hear low end. Different rooms and speakers sound different and reveals different issues.
As a result, with VSX I can achieve far better mix translation than with monitors in a non-treated room.
But like any other monitoring solution you have to spend hours listening commercial mixes you know to get your ears used to the headphones.

[reeloy]

…common thing…for the oldest rules in the whole game…

whatever, whenever, where ever, how ever u hear music…half of what u hear is the room…
if u got no room but direct in ear translation, there’s always a “little” and sometimes not so little difference in overall appearance…damn physics…

even if u got top notch reference headphones, if u don’t know them very very very good, u’ll end up surprised in one way or the other…

always cross check ur mixes…at least two different rooms on two different speakers, once in a car and of course, if ur in for the masses, cheap earbuds and a phone…

but gaining experience get’s u closer and closer to proper final judgement…
reference tracks are a great shortcut…

[MartinH]

@percussionboy

An actual question: Does anyone else try to compensate for a poor speaker situation (no speakers, or weak ones in a bad room) by switching back and forth between different headphones?

I use

• Shure SE535 inears for jamming and arranging because I know them best using them all day in trains.

• Stax SRS 2050 set for precise effect settings (filters, reverb, positioning) and interpretation of air band and very deep rumble in microphone recordings.

• AKG K171 for long sessions not to get tired and as a medium quality reference.

[MaxB]

for me it’s different. I make WAY better mixes/ sounddesign choices on headphones. my speakers are not too bad (vocal alpha 65), the room is not treated other than some acoustic panels behind the speakers.
I use headphones to create, and then I use my monitors, some Teufel BT speakers and maybe the hifi system in my dads house to check if it sounds good everywhere.

[electricthing]

This is about mixing your own music. My first step (and second and so on) is to try to improve the production.
Which is hard enough in itself.
Listen to a professional track and check the EQ ranges and what sort of sounds live there. If your mix lacks those; does your track have sounds that can bring those frequencies?
Is the snare bright enough? Layer some noise into it? If you want a warmer sound, does your track have warm sounds?
You also have to have a plan with the production. Light vs dark, dynamics in between songparts, narrow vs wide.
And make sure the timing is good on all parts.
But also here you have to draw the line somewhere.
And I can only do this when some time passed after the recording.
And I realise how many pros worked on my favourite tracks and since it’s my hobby and my fascination I’m o.k. with progress.

Reference, reference, reference.

I have periods in which I’m not in the right, analytical, state of mind.
I’m not a producer and not a pro.
Mostly a curious musician.