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Thread: The conundrum

  1. #1
    Forum Member Fedora's Avatar
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    The conundrum

    So what do you all mix for......
    It seems if I mix for a good sound on my home stereo, and then load it onto the ipod, it sounds real light on bass. It sounds kind of weak.
    If I mix for something that sounds magical on the headphones, on everything else it loses most of it's dynamics. I can see why they say not to mix using headphones.
    I'm new at this game and boy, is it demanding!!!
    Do we eventually have to stop?
    I must have listened to this one song 500 times, stripped every plug-in off the tracks, started over......and this song only has 6 tracks *_*
    A separate mix for the earbud listeners? But that would be impractical.
    A little advice?
    I didn't become famous again today either!

  2. #2
    Forum Member Kap'n's Avatar
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    Re: The conundrum

    I usually mix on a crappy set of "hi fi" speakers I have on my computer, A/Bing with a set of relatively decent headphones. I then listen to it on everything else I have, throw away the original mix, and redo it. Usually I only have to do it twice, and then I end up with something that sounds relatively decent on many different devices.
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  3. #3
    Forum Member chuckocaster's Avatar
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    Re: The conundrum

    Seems like you need more accurate monitors. Mixing is about finding the middle ground. Has to sound good on everything! Short answer, keep it up, Rome wasn't built in a day.
    "don't worry, i'm a professional!"

  4. #4
    Forum Member refin's Avatar
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    Re: The conundrum

    I had to learn how to listen to flat.....I've got a pair of Spirit Absolute Zero monitors that seem to do a good job.
    "My flesh and my heart fail...but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."
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  5. #5
    Forum Member buckaroo's Avatar
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    Re: The conundrum

    Quote Originally Posted by Kap'n View Post
    I usually mix on a crappy set of "hi fi" speakers I have on my computer, A/Bing with a set of relatively decent headphones. I then listen to it on everything else I have, throw away the original mix, and redo it. Usually I only have to do it twice, and then I end up with something that sounds relatively decent on many different devices.

    I do the same but I do include a flat pair of monitors to listen on as well. Also, I listen to albums I have listened to for years (and know well) on all the same speakers as the mix. Because I know what those albums are supposed to sound like, they become a sonic reference. That helps in making decisions about the mix.

  6. #6
    Forum Member Fedora's Avatar
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    Re: The conundrum

    The monitor thing maybe part of it. My setup is more like Kap'n describes. I think listening to reference material makes sense. That and time. No better teacher than experience.
    How about the mastering process? What could I expect to gain from that exercise. From my understanding it's little more than boosting the overall gain and fine tuning the compression and EQ.
    AH! so much to learn. I'll soon lay myself bare and post one of my songs here.
    I didn't become famous again today either!

  7. #7
    Gravity Jim
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    Re: The conundrum

    I mix for TV and radio, so I always check mixes on a medium-bad sounding pair of powered speakers. I use a pair of M-Audio Studiophile AV-40's for this purpose, and chose them because they had exactly the right combination of features for my set-up, the most important being a sound that builds up quickly in the low-mids.

    By checking the mix between them and the larger and more accurate (there's no such thing as a flat transducer) Event 20/20's, I can get the bass drum and bass guitar locked up together, find where to cut and boost to give the bass high-end presence without losing the low-end energy, get panning right, make sure the vocal isn't too far front or back, etc. The Events reveal, the M-Audio's conceal... by mixing until they sound pretty well balanced on both sets, a mix almost always translates well to TVs and car radios.
    Last edited by Gravity Jim; 04-13-2012 at 02:46 PM.

  8. #8
    Forum Member Fripperton's Avatar
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    Re: The conundrum

    I'll just leave this here.

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  9. #9
    Forum Member Fedora's Avatar
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    Re: The conundrum

    I needed a little break from mixing. I'd read about using a single mono speaker as a reference, so we'll see if this brings anything to the party. Kind of an Auratone clone. I'll say one thing, it sure is a dull sounding little bugger. Not 100 percent sure what it's supposed to tell me. But I like building stuff....so what the heck...
    I didn't become famous again today either!

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