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mixing only in headphones
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| phyrrus |
| is there some specific reason not to do this? I've begun working on a new mix but I've just moved to Brasil for studies and I am without a studio, so I'm doing it all in headphones. are monitors a necessity? |
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| Eric J |
| Yes, headphones tend to hype certain frequencies, especially in the low end. This s primarily because the cones are so close to your ears. Even with great headphones, you're still going to miss out on the sound of the room. Its OK if you want to compose your track on them, but I'd save the mixing for the studio. |
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| Kthought |
Your understanding of the stereo field will be complete rubbish.
unless you instinctively pan and image correctly through experience. Then, and if you did, I would then be concerned about you asking this.
Write/Produce/Arrange, Sure.
Mix, Sound Design, Nah. |
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| Subtle |
| Often i start making a track in headphones at night and when i wake up and play it on the monitors it sounds like . |
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| Kysora |
It's what I do but I tend to get mixed responses about the production quality of my tracks... especially the people that don't like uplifting trance to begin with, they usually say the production is , but people who like the style seem to think it's okay.
Wiley seems to like my tracks so I must be doing something at least marginally correct. |
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| DigiNut |
When you play sound out of monitors/speakers, the sound waves are big and have to travel to get to your ears. They bounce off of walls, floors, furniture, even you; they echo and mix with each other and their reflections. They warp and change subtly in frequency and amplitude. By the time you actually hear anything, you're hearing a lot more than the sound that came out of one speaker at one exact instant in time.
Wearing headphones, you get none of this. Everything sounds perfectly isolated and clear. Great for listening, but not so great for producing. "Cleaning up" a mix so it sounds clear and crisp and still "warm" in the non-isolated environment above is hard work, and when you mix with headphones you get a false impression that the work is already done, or doesn't need to be done.
And as others have mentioned, specific headphones will also have specific artifacts such as an uneven bass spectrum and no sub-bass at all (since you tend to "feel" those frequencies more than "hear" them), which also factor in to the quality of your mix (or lack thereof).
Simply put, if a mix sounds good on higher-end monitors then it is likely to sound good on most headphones too. However, the reverse is not true at all - if a mix sounds good on cans, it is anyone's guess what it will sound like on an actual sound system. The mix may even have serious problems like phase cancellation and you wouldn't know it.
It's good to A/B on your cans once in a while, make sure that your monitors aren't hiding anything from you, but mixing exclusively on them is just not a good idea. |
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| phyrrus |
| hmm this is a problem indeed. I've been working interminably on this mix and it's nearing completion but I'm concerned about what I'm not hearing. would anybody with decent monitors mind listening to this excerpt and identifying where it falls short? thanks |
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| -FSP- |
| Is it possible to get the feel of studio monitors with headphones by mixing while your headphones are around your neck instead of on your ears? |
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| tehlord |
I have to agree.
Decent monitors and a good room are preferable but you can get a 90% there mix on headphones if you know them. I tend to A/B with a reference track and often check the mix as I go on a set of media speakers.
That Youtube link doesn't do that mix justice btw. It's a lot better than that in reality.
/alonzo fanboy mode off |
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