The most important gear that we all have are our ears.
Maybe they don't lie to us, but they will misrepresent the truth. The longer we
listen to a particular mix, the worse our ears will distort the truth. What does
this mean? Well here is an example, and what we can do to achieve better mixes.
First, as we start to mix a song, we listen very close to
certain tracks, perhaps one or two at a time. As we bring in other tracks, we
tend to not "hear" the former tracks as much. Often times things will start to
come together, in our minds, when they are not together at all. Sometimes, when
we spend a great deal of time on a mix, and then bounce it down for listening in
another system, we stand in shock as it just sounds bad. How can this be?
Well, it is our ears playing tricks on us. The good
news is that this very thing happens to all of us, so you are not alone. The
great news is that we can help our mixes get better and better by simply doing a
few different things as we mix.
First of all, with the passing of time, we will learn our
monitors and headphones. Every system adds to or takes away from certain
frequencies. We should pay attention to the mix, as we play it back in our DAW's
and as we play it back on other systems. What is different? What is missing, and
what is too much, in frequencies, and volume too? Learning what our monitors and
headphones take away, or add too, a mix is very important. This comes with time.
Next, as much as you love to spend great lengths of time
mixing, take more breaks. I can't list the number of times that after taking a
quick break, I have heard a glaring issue that I had missed before the break! We
create an environment, an illusion, as we sit in our mixing environment, and
things just sound different in the rest of the world. So, get up from time to
time, stretch your legs, and rest your ears.
Next, as much as I had heard this next idea, over and
over, it wasn't until recently that I implemented it into my mixing routine.
Because of this next idea, massive changes have come to see the light of day.
Bring a reference track into your mix! This is as simple as importing a song,
that you know forward and backwards, and of the same genre as the song that you
are mixing, onto a stereo track, in your mix. I like to bring in a song that is
off a CD, and it has been mastered as well. Solo the reference track, and listen
to the EQ, the loudness of the bass and drums, and "re-set your ears". Then,
listen to your mix.
Wow, now your mix sounds completely different! What a way to
bring your mix to the next level. This step alone will save you so much time and
hassle, and you will soon forget all of those trips out to the car and back just to check
the mixes that you are constantly mixing again and again. Believe me, my
mistakes are here to save you time and frustration! Take advantage of this
stuff, please!
Lastly, mixing at a loud volume will cause you a lot of
trouble. There is a famous rule, called the Fletcher-Munson Curve, that deals with this
very issue. The issue is that the louder a mix, the more "volume" is applied to
certain frequencies. So, the louder a mix, the louder the bass, let's say. So,
you turn down the bass to make up for it, and then you make a bounce. When you
listen to the bounce elsewhere, the bass is gone. Turn down your mixes, and
listen critically.
These are not my ideas. I have not done the studies that
prove all of this stuff. I like to listen to people that know more than I do,
and learn from them. One person that has recently said most of this stuff is
Graham Cochrane, from "The
Simply Recording Podcast", and on the pages of "The
Recording Revolution" website. He does the podcast with Joe Gilder, and his
website, "Home Studio
Corner", is packed with great information too.
