Do you pro-guys check your mixes on sh*tty speakers?

[RockStarNick]

I must admit, in the past 2-3 weeks alone, I've learned SO much about recording, mixing, and eqiupment, just from checking in here at the Recording corner of TGP... so thanks to you all so far who have helped me out! :AOK

So after all the EQing, and pitch problems, and other nonsense that I've compained about...

My problem, as of late, is that I listen to my mixes in my basement, on my GOOD speakers/monitors, and then take it in the car, and it sounds dull, flat, lifeless, can't hear the kick drum, the bass is muddy...

Do you pro guys check your mixes on sh*tty speakers, to make sure that your tunes will sound OK on on average car stereo or boombox... something outside of a hifi listening environment.

[kludge]

I'm not "pro", but I sure as heck do! I check all my mixes in my car and on headphones. If the mix is final or close to it, I make sure to check on stock iPod headphones... LOTS of people will hear it that way!

Many pro studios have "Auratone" monitors, which are designed to sound, well, bad. No bass, no treble, weird lumpy midrange, just like real-world crap speakers. I have some old Radio Shack Minimus speakers in my studio, which are better-sounding but serve the same purpose.

[RockStarNick]

I guess my thing is, yes, I DO check them in the car, but my studio isn't at my current residence. It's, uh, yeah... in my parents basement! :o

So, driving back and forth is a hassle. I'd like to have some sort of crap-speaker system that I can check it on, and have somewhat of an idea what it's gonna sound like before I step into my car and make the hour long journey home.

[loudboy]

I used to spend as much time on the Radio Shack Minimus 7's as I would on the Dynaudios, when mixing.

[moody07747]

I currently mix on Grado Labs SR80 phones because I dnot have a budget for monitors but am looking for KRKs some time soon.

I do check my mixes in the car, on my 5.1/PS3 speakers, and on a few headphones including those cruddy iPod ones which lack so much low end...

[Cyclophenia]

I reference it on everything i can..the home computers crap multimedia speakers, the pristine 5.1 home theater set up, the stock minivan stereo set up, the wife's beefy car stereo, the cd player.. god i almost typed walkman, hah.

One of these days, I'll get me a newfangled ipod too, once they come in terabyte flavors. I have several pairs of headphones too, ranging from flat response to "phat bass" so i can isolate things that pop out at me.

If i can get it to sound good on most of that, I stop tinkering with it for a couple weeks ;)

[elambo]

Always. Yamaha NS-10s and Aurotones. Stereo and mono. Sometimes TV speakers also.

[splatt]

always.
i use 2 sets of monitors in the studio
--- tetras w/edge amp, & medium genelecs ---
and 2 sets of "review monitors":
a) some crappy computer-desktop monitors
(w/a sub-!) that we bought for $79. at Beast Buy, and
b) the bose-system in my wife's car (to make sure
my mixes aren't exploding from 30-80 cycles).
always.

in a pinch, i'll also check mixes in beyer-770 headphones,
and/or use analysis tools (ITB) if i think
something's really, really funky,
in terms of phase, average levels, EQ-balance.

and, like elambo,
i constantly toggle between stereo/mono
throughout the course of each & every mix.

dt / spltrcl

[Sunbreak Music]

b) the bose-system in my wife's car (to make sure
my mixes aren't exploding from 30-80 cycles).
always.

I have a Bose system in my vehicle. I think it's around +6dB at 50Hz--it will get your attention! :crazy

[elambo]

I have a Bose system in my vehicle. I think it's around +6dB at 50Hz--it will get your attention! :crazy

Great for hip hop...

[splatt]

I have a Bose system in my vehicle. I think it's around +6dB at 50Hz--it will get your attention! :crazy
i know; crazy, right?
first, i
a) EQ the bose for björk / homogenic &
massive attack / mezzanine, then
b) check one of my more problematic film-mixes.

ya know, solving my problems that lie
in the region between fundamental 'bass'-tones
& 'sub'-tones has been a key & long-ish path,
for me..... it really didn't even begin getting
solved
--- 'cuz i couldn't figure out the "whys"+"hows" of monitoring ---
until i got the Tetra monitors / Edge amp;
then, finally,
i began to clearly hear what had been going wrong,
which allowed for me to start to
"open up" my mixes.....
when it seemed to be the right thing to do.
makes me wanna re-mix the "splattercell" discs,
one day.....
..... even though ken lee did a great job
doctoring those mixes.....
the better the source, the more satisfying the
final listening experience can become, eh?
dt / spltrcl

[Bryan T]

i know; crazy, right?
first, i
a) EQ the bose for björk / homogenic &
massive attack / mezzanine, then
b) check one of my more problematic film-mixes.

Two of my favorite albums, those.

i began to clearly hear what had been going wrong,
which allowed for me to start to
"open up" my mixes.....
when it seemed to be the right thing to do.
makes me wanna re-mix the "splattercell" discs,
one day.....


Interesting that you'd say that. "Hedewa" slams . . . in a very good way.

Bryan

[Sunbreak Music]

ya know, solving my problems that lie
in the region between fundamental 'bass'-tones
& 'sub'-tones has been a key & long-ish path,
for me.....

That was a tough one to get my head (and ears) around as well.

Things started to click when I worked with a classical engineer and watched his use of low shelf filters to address the "problem areas" of around 40-80Hz, but to still maintain the sub-bass region for those systems that could actually reproduce it.

The days of "rolling everything off" at blah blah frequency were over for me. :drink

[LSchefman]

I even check mine on laptop speakers, since that's how my clients listen to them to decide if they like them.

Weird as that sounds, it's also true.

[splatt]

Great for hip hop...
i blew a woofer, testing the final mixes
(not the final masters)
of my splattercell ::: OAH cd;
my wife was not happy!
:(
ah, well;
i learnt from my mistake(s),
back in those days.
dt / spltrcl

[splatt]

Interesting that you'd say that. "Hedewa" slams . . . in a very good way.

thanks, b!
thanks directed, that is, towards ken lee;
see my blowing-up-wifey's-car-stereo-story,
above.....
ha!
dt / spltrcl

[elambo]

i blew a woofer, testing the final mixes
(not the final masters)
of my splattercell ::: OAH cd;

Be careful of that volume knob... I've blown a tweeter before, never a woofer. I think that would take a lot of force. Or unexpectedly low, unexpectedly loud sub-bass.

[SBRocket]

It can be confusing to switch speakers while mixing. So I finish the mix on my mains, then check the mixes on auratones, my car, and my home stereo. When checking on different playback systems, I find it helpful to take detailed notes about everything I hear that I might want to change, but ultimately if it is a choice I will usually err on the side of the best playback system I have.

I also always take a pass with the sub cranked a bit to make sure I have no low frequency crap like piano sustain pedal thumps or singers footsteps that I don't want.

I mix a lot of film too and theaters have wildly different playback systems and acoustics so I've learned that my mixes will likely never sound as good as they do in my studio.

Steve

[splatt]

Be careful of that volume knob... I've blown a tweeter before, never a woofer. I think that would take a lot of force. Or unexpectedly low, unexpectedly loud sub-bass.
ha!
thanks.
that was back in 1998 or 1999;
i learnt my lesson, there,
and learnt it well.
dt / spltrcl

[rob2001]

I've learned that my mixes will likely never sound as good as they do in my studio.
Steve

Thats been a tough one for me to get my head around. I'm slowly learning I can't pump everything up for MAXIMUM fidelity on my systems, only to varorize on a computer or a boombox! On the other hand, I don't want to strip the mix of character just to have it sound good on crap systems. I'm still learning.

[the_Chris]

I think it's important to test your product on every reference you (realistically) can. You certainly want to make sure it can translate well everywhere from cars to computers.

[street]

Same here, testing on any speakers that will have me.

[splatt]

It can be confusing to switch speakers while mixing.
maybe so;
but, knowing what each set of speakers
is offering to me,
i've done my best mixes
--- unquestionably, for me ---
by methodically,
discriminatingly toggling between
different pairs of monitors during the
course of a mix.

dt / spltrcl

[Wheels]

Always. Yamaha NS-10s and Aurotones. Stereo and mono. Sometimes TV speakers also.

+1 on TV speakers...CHEAP TV speakers.

Wheels

[loudboy]

It can be confusing to switch speakers while mixing.

My judge for when a mix was done, was when it was hard to tell whether the Dyns or the Rat Shacks were on.

I would set them up so they were in the same plane (triangle) w/my ears and A/B at lower volumes.

If the mix was really happening, it would be very hard to tell which monitors were on, and that was when I'd stop.

[KCWM]

i use some cheap labtec headphones, iphone headphones (which are like the stock headphones that come with the 5.5gen ipods and up), and then with a set of logitech 2.1 speakers with a subwoofer, which are my primary computer speakers.

[Judson]

My car speakers are blown right now as I type because I like to take rides after working on tracks : ]


Flying Lotus was one of the first 'pro' guys I heard of talking about riding around listening to tracks. I love it, and it is totally a part of my creative process.

[RockStarNick]

Ugh. It happened again to me lastnight. Got a great mix going in my studio. Added a little 5K to the kick for definition. Got rid of some of the mid scoop on the guitars.

Took it in my car, and the guitars were SO SO SO loud, and the kick sounded like freakin' lars ulrich.

It's incrediblw how changing something on the guitars, like taking a midrange cut at like 1.5khz from -3db to -1.5db cab TOTALLY throw off my final "master" after compression. wow. It's insane. And it's driving ME insane.

I really, really, REALLY need to find a way to check my mixes BEFORE I get into the car to drive an hour home.

[lannyhall]

That's why record companies released singles for radio stations back in the day with mono on one side (for AM,) and stereo on the other. Remember that radio stations usually EQ their signal to make it sound the way they think their listens will like it.

So, if you are expecting radio play, remember that they are going to be boosting lows and highs themselves.

[RockStarNick]

I always AB against my mixes against my favorite engineer of all time, Brendan Obrien. Albums like STP purple, Chili Peppers BSSM, newer Incubus stuff, etc.

Not that I'd ever reach the level of sonic awesomeness that he does, but I like my mixes to at least RESEMBLE his, in the way the kick and bass really drive the song, the snare has a great room sound to it, and there's lots of good space in the mix. Keeping it really organic sounding.

Right now, my mix sounds more like a metal album, in regards to the kick and guitar sounds, and I don't like it.

[Sunbreak Music]

Ugh. It happened again to me lastnight. Got a great mix going in my studio. Added a little 5K to the kick for definition. Got rid of some of the mid scoop on the guitars.

Took it in my car, and the guitars were SO SO SO loud, and the kick sounded like freakin' lars ulrich.

It's incrediblw how changing something on the guitars, like taking a midrange cut at like 1.5khz from -3db to -1.5db cab TOTALLY throw off my final "master" after compression. wow. It's insane. And it's driving ME insane.

I really, really, REALLY need to find a way to check my mixes BEFORE I get into the car to drive an hour home.

I think most of the time people are worrying about monitors when they should be working on treating their room for "accurate" response. Have you been down that road yet?

[RockStarNick]

I'm mixing in a room that's relatively dead... lots of sound absorbing materials on the walls. Perhaps TOO much...