6 replies to this topic

[ajay]

Heya guys, just checkin in again... Ive been pretty slack the last couple of years actually, work and study taking up 99% of my time. So I just shattered my ankle in 10 pieces, and as a result, ive got about 3months of sweet f^*k all to do, so I thought what better time to relight the flame and finish all these half tracks...

So cut to the chase, I've moved house and the room ive got, I cannot modify (the girlfriends place) and it has concrete floor, no carpet, no curtains, infact the only acoustic treatment in the whole room is a bed and me when Im sitting at the desk. My 1st thought was there is no way in hell ill be able to hold a mix together in such a terrible room, but I do have real nice set of Cans (beyer DT990's) that I used as reference, but never for complete recording, costruction and mixing.

Do you guys think the cans will be a reasonable option for monitoring? Ive struggled at the best of times with getting a mix right due to shit house rooms.

Is there some special things I should be aware of when mixing with cans?
Cheers

On a side note, am I able to put a lychee martini mix up? I realise the comp has finished, but I didnt get a chance to finish it off in the time frame and kinda forgot about it and id like to give it a go purely for critique.

[Megatroid]

I'm in a similar situation, mixing on cans (beyer DT250s). I think the trick is just to make sure you don't do the whole mix in cans without checking it out on some other sources. I switch back and forth between my hi-fi and the cans continuosly. I've listened to music for years through both of them, so that helps alot too.

One thing thats always gets me is reverb, its sounds long and detailed through the headphones, but as soon as you chuck it on some speakers it gets lost.

My mixes aren't that great though... haha. But I have have some killer mixes done entirely on headphones.

So yeah, just make do. Theres lots of bonuses to using headphones all the time.... ignoring people, getting lost in your own little world, hearing very small details etc...

[rhythmboy]

Having lived in flats for a while now one gets used to cans  :cans: in the interests of neighbourly harmony, esp at night...

Planning to get some Beyers soon, love them. Using Fostex T40's - great cans, a bit heavy on the head after a while but I always alternate with speakers when it comes to finishing something, or use the speakers during reasonable hours.

Just gotta be careful not to run em too loud  :-

Quote

One thing thats always gets me is reverb, its sounds long and detailed through the headphones, but as soon as you chuck it on some speakers it gets lost.

Often the room's own ambience and/or noise floor of analog signal path will mask the finer details and last tails of the reverb. If it's a problem then deadening the area around the speakers often helps, although there is argument for having a bit of ambience to replicate the 'average' listening space of a typical lounge room.

General rule of thumb for studios - if the control room is too ambient, your mixes come out with too much reverb; if the room is too dead you end up with too little. Reason? The room either masks too much or too little of the reverb, and you'll overcompensate. It's actually an area where alternating between cans and bins is good - to check how the verb is sitting in the different sonic spaces, and try to work out a good average.

[Megatroid]

^^^ Yeah I'm the same, living in a unit, so i'm not gonna bother investing in monitors for a while. The cans/hifi combo works alright.

Thats a great explanation of what I was trying to say about the reverb. And you are totally right about working out a good average. Even if you had your control room set up perfect and could hear the fine details of the reverb, thats not how the average person is going to hear it at home/in their car whatever. So you just gotta listen to it on a few systems and find a middle ground.

And very good point about running them too loud. I find running headphones too loud can be even more treacherous than blasting your speakers. Your ears go into 'shock' and everything sounds weak after a while, then you get stuck in a loop of boosting things too much, adding too much EQ and compression. I find my best mixes come out when I run them at a volume just below what I would usually comfortably listen to music with. Its much easier to find a good balance when its a little on the soft side.

[ajay]

Yeah, I always run my cans pretty low volume, makes me listen harder for the details - and doesnt damage your ears...

Some great tips so far guys, cheers

[TankF]

I got the 990's and they are feken sweet, could not live without them (living in a flat and most production is done past 12pm).

I think the general idea with mixing in headies is be careful with the subs and the time based fx. I found all my tunes had waaay to much sub/low bass when referencing on monitors.

Also don't be scared to pan a little wider, I've found that i don't pan even close to wide enough when mixing down in headies.

The trick is to keep cross referencing every time you get the chance and make note when you do so. When you do this regularly you will learn to compensate.

[v904]

Yeh i'm not happy with my speaker/room setup, so iv started jumping between my headphones as well... so far its been OK, but it doesnt feel... 'consistant'.

I just want an hour or two in a GOOD listening environment, so I can compare what I got with the 'ideal' environment... thinking of hiring out a mastering studio or something