I agree! One of the cleanest mixes I ever done was when I was on the road, I done most of it on headphones and plugged my laptop into a car for the final mixdown. It translated so well!
This is also the tip a musician family friend of mine told me a few years ago, although there sure is enough variance in different cars' audio systems that mixing in reference to the car of your choice might still skew the EQ towards a particular curve that might or might not work as well on other listening scenarios. But perhaps the enclosed listening experience of the car, whatever car, helps single out problematic elements in the mix regardless of the particular audio system so it could be used more to iron things out than to completely overhaul the EQ.
@@beastwolf7 cardi b album was fully mixed in a car by leslie brathwait. Alo some david guetta songs too. Cars are acoustically treated. Its just unconfortable
I'd rather deal with some of the drawbacks of headphones than spend thousands of dollars on acoustic treatment and STILL not get it right. I use a couple pairs of headphones I know incredibly well. Then at the end, I play the mix on my laptop speakers. I haven't had any translation problems. I have a lot of problems with decision making and getting a good mix to begin with. But it's sounds exactly like what I expected. It sounds equally bad everywhere, lol.
That’s a good method because it doesn’t rely on acoustic treatment. But there are some advantages to using studio monitors, too. Check out this video: ruclips.net/video/ecbUTrx41zU/видео.html
tip #3 has definitely helped me the most and has become part of my mixing checklist! to anyone reading this, i recommend making a playlist of very well mixed music & then listen to that for a while before starting a long mixing session :D
Good tips. I'd like to add one TOTALLY FREE improvement: speaker and listener positions. For typical rooms - the "home" studio (aka bedroom/office), generally rectangular 10-12 x 13-20 rooms - align the monitors and listening position along the long axis of the room. Then placing the monitors near the wall behind your mix desk, and getting the ears at about that standard 38% distance from the front wall along the length of the long axis, (as a starting point) gives you at least a running start at maximizing your listening accuracy. This is a widely recommended set up for spaces of this general dimension. A little experimentation, moving the monitors and listening position a few inches at a time, will lead to the clearest sound picture with your gear. It's still a long way from "flat", but is a simple, cost-free step in the right direction.
Optional: instead of moving the speakers around, put them in your rough mixing position and then you move around the room and listen for hot spots or nodes that are an issue. Much easier then moving the speakers.
@@jzilla_grudgegang Not a waste of time at all - we have to maximize the tools we have. It's always a game of incremental improvements, and speaker placement is but one link in a long chain of factors.
Another tip.Put a speaker in the corner, listen to some bass heavy bass music, move around the axis of the room at listening height.The place where you have more Definition in the bass notes is your listening position.The 38% rule is not always the best position.
Before I send my songs off into the World I first listen to the final mix on headphones 🎧 then a pair of AirPods and lastly my car. Most people will be listening to your music on AirPods or in their vehicles, so those 2 are very important. 😉 🎶
There is one topic which is, for some reason, eluded or never spoken of when talking about mixing or mastering. Granted that Spotify has taken over and the majority of people listen to either their own phone's speakers or cheap chinese earbuds, you MUST be sure that your mix sounds good on those devices. I generally start adjusting the mix in very little steps because there's a threshold where the "main mix" (the one made on monitor speakers and which generally sounds good as well on my home hi-fi system) will start to suffer and sound worse and worse, while it will obviously keep improving as you move further and further away on low end devices. So the 1 billion dollar question is: how far do you go compromising your "main mix" to make it sound "good" on low end devices, since 90% of your listeners will be using those, a 9% with decent headphones and maybe a 1% on actually good audio system?
One INCREDIBILY important thing you forgot to mention is almost all laptops and computers these days come with built in "audio enhancement" software which is on by default which do things like widen the sound, add a small amount of reverb, and boost bass and highs. Always check all your audio settings and sound card settings and make sure none of these effects are applied and that any EQs are either turned off or flat. It also wouldn't hurt to Google if your computer has any third-party "audio enhancement" software pre-installed that isn't directly accessed through the audio settings. On gaming laptops in particular, there are often audio settings hidden in the performance apps such as Alienware Command Center. I only found this out when I noticed a pure sine wave sounded distorted even through it wasn't clipping and found my computer had a built in bass boost, low frequency saturation, boosted high shelf, and stereo widening running by default which were absolutely ruining the sound.
I used to focus on soundproofing, but now I've gotten some decent headphones and run them with Sonarworks. I got better results than with studio monitors.
You want extra SOUND advice and I mean this will change your LIFE if you don't already do this. Set an EQ on the master with hp and lp filters from around 250hz to 4-5k Put everything in mono I do this at the final stages of my mixes once I have my overal sound and everything panned correctly. What this will do is help you focus on the most important area of the mix that will be most prominant on most devices including the car. I LOVE putting a multiband compressor on the master and only compressing the mids to give it a heavy place in the mix. I usually do this after a VCA compressor but you can do it before. Also, I like to have a parallel send from my Sub Mix/Pre Master and use tricks like saturation in the mids or an EQ for the mids and dial it into the mix to give it more energy in the center. BIGGEST TAKE FROM THIS TIP: If you mix with a happy face approach (Bass boosted and trebble boosted) I PROMISE you your mixes will feel weak and hollow in a vehicle and you will wonder why it was louder in headphones but weak in the car. You can capture brightness and body with harmonics and other tricks. No need to go crazy boosting bass and boosting highs. Most the pros have bass sounding incredibly low and it's not even registering much below 30 hz. Same with highs, they use harmonics to fill the space. Of course you use EQs for this but think about sidechaining an exciter plugin and boosting it with lets say a vocal before you add 6 db of 9k for that sizzle and brightness. Might only need 2-3db of gain and a little harmonics to do the rest. This will help things sit and sit HEAVY. Hope this helps.
I have a pair of Adam’s and avantones cubes. I hear the mix back through my monitors, but I only mix with my seinheisser 680 open back headphones. It’s a hell of a lot cheaper to get a set of headphones than great studio monitors and acoustic treatment.
wow! that last bit on the vowel sounds was absolutely amazing...I've been in the pro audio industry for 30 years and can't believe I've never seen that before! I'm running FOH next weekend for a big music festival and definitely gonna keep this in mind to see if it changes my mixes at all!
I like a mono plugin on the master out for balancing (when things collapse to mono the true volume is revealed since left and right stack on top of each other). It’s also pretty useful to have a mid focus EQ on the master out to check the tonal balance of the midrange when equalizing. They say the magic is in the midrange and they’re not wrong. Having multiple different speakers is key (personally I use AirPods, Genelec 8030s, and sennheiser hd 650 headphones). You can use anything tho you just have to know your speakers really well. Listening to reference tracks is also really helpful. Look on RUclips for your favorite records and search “drums only”, “bass only”, “guitar only” etc. Compare your instrumentation to theirs and see what you might be missing. Lastly you shouldn’t blast the volume. I’m not saying listen at a whisper quiet volume level, but just don’t blast the volume like you’re listening recreationally. That’s a great way to lose objectivity fast. Only blast if you’re checking for harsh frequencies that keep you from being able to turn things up loud (like around 4k for guitars) and even then, don’t blast it for long.
Hi I have a question? I’m using Logitech Z5500 in my home studio, should I listen the mix on 5.1 surround or better just switch to stereo ? Thank 🙂🙃🙂🙃🙂🤔
I’ve been mixing since 1991. I’m here to tell you that the only fool proof way is to know how to use professional VU meters the right way. It is 100% accurate no matter what your monitors say. In 30 years, it has mislead me exactly ZERO times
This is why current music sound terrible. You are killing it with digital overprocessing so people on phone speakers can hear it well. Let me explain to you something; if you listen on crap system it should sound like crap so there is motivation to buy better system instead of dragging everybody down with your terrible mix and mastering.
Umm yeah...the population size of people that can afford and/or care to own a $5,000 and above HiFi system is less that a fraction of a percent. So as much as I appreciate and admire the audiophile community....their numbers just dont dictate dedicating the entire mix to just them. Like you pointed out....an OVERWHELMING majority of listeners are in their car...on crappy earbuds attached to their phones...or listen on a bluetooth speaker. I produce EDM so i tend to tailor my mixes to clubs with a decent PA system including subs...but I don't go so heavy that it sounds like crap on a set of moderately priced earbuds and car systems. We can't make everyone happy...nor can we mix to make a song sound amazing on every device. I tend to do the final mix for the intended audience and what that population listens to music on...while making it sound "decent enough" on anything. Producing is all a collection of compromises.....hey and in the end, there's nothing stopping us from making an additional "hifi" mix...with the internet we have that power now 😁 Great video sir..keep up the good work!
Never had this problem, don’t understand why there are so many videos on the concept. You gotta really screw the pooch in order for you mix to not sound good in a car 😂
No way. I want to learn how to code but I got confused in my learning. I wish I had a resource to ask in person or some help in learning how to code. I’m an engineer myself
@@randomrandy3059 He's right though, it is more complicated. Coding is mathematical and strategic, whereas mixing and mastering is more technical and intuitive. Each source material is to be treated differently. If I mix for a rock song, it doesn't mean I'll have the same template and approach for the next rock song, as everything is different.
Using reference has been my go to method for mixing with the worst equipment and I have to say its been the most helpful one. Every sound is translated exactly how its supposed to without owning the top most quality stuff in the market. What a great video👏
Tip #2 is absolutely solid advice. Listen to the music on the devices that normal people will be using. I don't think a music producer should bother catering their music to audiophiles. In my experience, audiophiles tend to spend all of their money on equipment and then do nothing to treat the room itself. The results they get are often a total roll of the dice, and they put too much faith in their $10k+ sound system to magically solve all of the problems. I also tend to notice that they will spend a lot of time and effort trying to tweak the EQ of their favorite albums to suit their own tastes, so it doesn't really matter what you give them in the end anyway. Best to focus on mixing your tracks so that they sound good on the kinds of devices you find in the general public. The only place where you _really_ need to dial in professional mixes for professional equipment is in cinema. But that's an entirely different business.
In the cinema?? WTF? And many ‘audio files’ are crazy. The best mixes are what we do in the studio. You ain’t gonna be able to improve on that. If you are making great mixes of great musicians.
@@AudioUniversityIt would be awesome to see your take on the AI tools on this channel. For example, a comparison of a manual mix vs an automated mix, and how they sound in different environments.
Also, I can't understand why anyone would listen to music on a smart phone when a decent pair of headphones or a bluetooth speaker is so cheap. Call me a snob, but you might as well not even listen at that point. Still, I find that as long as you make sure to put a decent amount of midrange content in your bass guitar and a decent amount of "click" in your kick drum, it will be heard everywhere. You mentioned saturation, and I definitely agree. But even just an EQ boost at 800 hz can do wonders for bass guitar. That's a magic frequency for bass. It helps it cut through without sounding too "clanky." And it's a frequency where you're not stepping on the toes of other instruments. Guitars usually have their presence from 1.5k to 3.5k. Vocals are usually around 2k to 4k. Drums are often scooped out in that 800 hz area as well.
Thanks for the helpful comment, do you have a reference I could look up to learn more about the relevant frequency ranges and how the 800 Hz trick works?
oooo the 'audiophile' hi-fi community will be outside with pitchforks after that comment "cables don't make much difference to sound quality" they're all still paying £150 for a mains cables remember!🤣🤣🤣
I'm so glad I subscribed to this channel. I don't work in audio but I do produce my own music and I'm interested in doing the best job I can on a budget. The ear training aspects of this topic have always been something I struggle with, and I was amazed by your simple tip for relating frequencies to vowel sounds. I'm definitely going to start practising that. Thank you!
Another great video! You really have a knack for educating at the proper pace, and using clear, simple language to get the main points across. Bravo! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 There are real health benefits to checking my basement-studio mix in my car, too. I easily exceed the 10-flight daily stair-climbing target on those days … 😏
there are very cheap ways to acoustically treat a room. ALSO I do find that mixing with just a laptop - what most people listen out of, or somewhat decent speakers gives you the most accurate sound. If my mix is coming through great on my computer, phone it will likely sound even better on excellent speakers, and in the car. You don't want to mix on super expensive speakers that are blasting out the track. It will effect your ability to hear certain things anyways. So i feel like mixing in a more natural environment with less equipment may help. Just my personal experience though
The biggest mistake most make is a poorly treated room. You can have the best monitors in the world but you do not stand a chance if your signal is bouncing off all over the place. Spare no expense and get that right. You will be amazed
Exactly! To exaggerate for example’s sake, super expensive monitors will still be a complete nightmare in a bathroom. The importance of the room acoustics is often extremely underated, I’d argue that one is better of having decent monitors in a decent (treated) room than having great monitors in a terrible room.
You have to make sure your signal flow is right, so that the output balance is correct. And you should uniform your mixes so that you learn what FX chain isn't problematic given your speakers/headphones. When you have a bad FX chain, you'll hear it right away.
Spectral analyzers help, but I wouldn’t recommend them as the ONLY tool that’s needed! Skill and listening are must-haves. Check out this video: ruclips.net/video/6tHueAmHsqQ/видео.html
I use a cheap pair of harman kardon pc speakers to mix and they allow me to hear how everything sounds for most of the listeners, basically I only switch to monitors for bass and to get rid of annoying frequencies.
No matter how much you spend you can never get 100% accurate sound so its pointless trying, every headphone, speaker, room, and amplifier is different, best you can do is an average to what it sounds like on other equipment and not to worry about it. all car stereos have built in EQs exactly for this purpose, but phones? come on man who cares about those for listening to music your missing out on 80% of the sound. 35 years has taught me this lesson.
Love this channel.One thing that I see often overlooked is the monitoring level, to take into account the Fletcher Munson curves.If your speakers and room are the flattest possible, but your listening at a level where your ears are not flat then you see where it goes. Monitoring must be done at specific level to make good decisions.
Sick now I see why when I did 4 tracks cassette recordings I could hear the same mix on all things it a sound the same then 100 percent daw I had problems.
It’s not pointless, but you will need to work around issues like those I point out in this video. Ideally, you will add acoustic treatment over time. But there is still value in monitors that headphones cannot provide. Check out this video: ruclips.net/video/ecbUTrx41zU/видео.html
The thing about studio monitors is even if you get some, you are at the beginning of the learning curve for those speakers. And it is a marriage. Take your time and choose carefully. You're gonna fall in and out of love with em over time. So make sure you choose ones that you really understand. You might not necessarily "like" them butas long as you understand what they do and where in the spectrum you can begin to trust your work.
My mixes always sound THE WORST on my work PC speakers, so I typically make little notes on my phone while I listen at work then come home and make those adjustments. Basically, find the speakers that your mix sounds the worst on (not because the speakers are trash) and make notes/adjustments to fit it. Do a save as first! Lol
Blah, blah, blah. By a pair of aura tone cubes. If your mix sounds good through them you’re probably in good shape. Back in the late 70s I mixed songs on auratones. When the company went out of business, there really were no good substitutes and that’s when people switched to the NS-10s for reference monitoring. personally, I preferred the Generlac S30 reference monitors with ribbon tweeters. my advice to young recording, engineers, and studio owners is to do your best with what you’ve got. When the time is right to upgrade your equipment, the music will tell you.
I don't know if I should take sound advice from a channel that, although quite comprehensive, fails to EQ out the 20>50hz from their talking head microphone recording. It's just so annoying watching a video on your main entertainment system and hearing the subwoofer rumble with every pop of your mouth.
Used to mix in an untreated room and my mixes were not very good. Too much bass, not enough vocal presence and nothing really seemed glued together ever. Ever since working in a treated room my mixes are better, louder, and much cleaner.
With streaming platforms able to have a variety of different versions of the same song, maybe they can have different target mixes? That way, people get to choose which version of a mix they listen to. I'd opt for flat repsonse, no saturation, and wide dynamic range, as this sounds the best on my hi-fi, headphones and car (many mordern cars have sound systems better than 95% of people's home systems). Happy to pay extra to the streaming service for this. Tidal already offer various quality levels, so how about some targeted mixes as well.
This video sounded great on my Vizio sound bar. I love when someone teaches something and they do what they say-hope that makes sense?! Excellent video!!
just out of curiosity can I find one source having the entire spectrum with all the corresponding "spells" like EE or AH or A and so one... its kind of real helpful and intuitive.
Just get a decent pair of speakers and learn what they sound like. Dont fuck around listening in cars or on phone speakers, who cares. You can't make a mix sound amazing on everything. You can make it sound alright on everything.
To make your mix sound good everywhere, you need shit-control monitors which is an ordinary average shitty speaker you can get. If mix sounds good through average not so hi-fi speakers, it will sound good everywhere.
5000 iq move: make an eq preset to match your headphones frequency response while mixing then turn it off when you export (I know this is kind of scuffed but it is better than nothing for all the bedroom producers out there)
I make music in FL studio mobile and it sounds amazing in phone speaker, monitor, headphones, and even a near broken Bluetooth speaker that my dad found in the park, but I never heard my mix in the car. Since many do the car test does this mean my mix is also sound bad even though it sounds good in all other systems?
To be honest, I think people really overcomplicate this. I’m convinced 90% of mixing is just mixing on something you’re used to the sound of, provided that it’s reasonably good quality.
the thumbnail is misleading though - how many people listen to music through car speakers as opposed to a home studio that costs upwards of 500 dollars? hmm
To do them same thing for live sound mixing, walk the room. You might be surprised to hear how different it can sound on one side of the room compared to the other side.
You can saturate a signal with drive or a compressor. When you “chop off” the top of a waveform, it creates higher frequencies. Check out this video: ruclips.net/video/7q1PeGsmhn8/видео.html
A real expert! Do the mixing and mastering engineers really test their mixes for cars, iPhones, mono radios etc.? I think I‘m not able to apply these changes to my studio mix! So I shouldn’t release my songs?
The great audio engineers struggled in the beginning, just like you and me. It takes a lot of practice, so keep trying if you’re passionate about making music!
Really great content. I think that there are myths out there that lead to people changing their mix by listening in their car. Some of the myth comes from old articles where a producer will state how they listen to the recordings on the way home and/or on their way to the studio. But in my experience that the reason for the quick cassettes of a session in the past, was more about arrangement and instrument placement etc. and not really about a mix. In the many years in the nineteen eighties, I had never seen an engineer or a producer leave a mixing session and check it out in their car. In fact I heard a really well known producer say after a musician had made a comment about a mix in his car, that if we can get everyone in the world to only listen to your music in your car, then we would be mixing in your car. I'm now involved in post production for video and the same problems arise where people have a myth that since everyone is using displays that aren't calibrated that they should make decisions on an uncalibrated display. Much like audio - and as you explained, the target still needs to be established - and on a display that is uncalibrated, we have no idea what the actual target is. So looking at the display if my monitor is a little bit blue, I add yellow - but if the next persons monitor is already too yellow - my push of yellow is then multiplied onto that too yellow screen and the image looks like urine. Newton's law applies here and it applies in audio - for every action (force) in nature there is an equal and opposite reaction. As described in your excellent video here - adding bottom to compensate for the phone - what is that going to do to the home stereo that already has over compensated low end ( bass )? In the 1980s when I used work in the recording studios - the NS10m by Yamaha was pretty much on the back of every console. I could record in Vancouver ( where I live ) and walk into a studio in New York and except for some room sound - the mix would be identical. I think that time is the only time in history where we came close to having a standard when it came to reference. So I am a believer in calibration in video displays and in audio. Take the room out of the equation by knowing it is tuned. Thank you for this video. I have bookmarked it, and when this topic comes up again - I am going to link to your video as a reference ( and a referral )
ahaha that in denial 😂 watched myself tired on these kinda videos, but when I saw it was you I sure was gonna give it a chance😎 nice & professional info as always. TY!
get 1000$ headphones start listen to music and learn everything again from the start stop thinking start nonforced hearing when this is done u mix right by ur own nature
I’ve heard terrible mixes that were mixed on VERY expensive systems! Learning to listen to $150 headphones can be just as powerful. You just need to know what you’re hearing and how to use the tools available to you.
@@AudioUniversity its about understanding the audio picture (painting) so when u can see correct... guessing ends next step isknow and understand ur tools to create ur painting or whould u paint with stained glasses?
@rcrco yea its just about seeing unbiased i dont get people buy 1500$ screens but"how dare u" ur hedphones are 700 bugs btw 1000bugs cans = 30K speaker room
My mixes sound commercial, competitive with everything else I listen to as far as major artist. The issue... the only place they sound bad is through the little speaker on my phone or a little bluetooth speaker. The master sounds crushed. I've decided to just dismiss that, though.
I am working on a song and I installed Goyo an AI Vocal VST. On Beyers it sounded well fitting. After rendering it as an MP3 and heard it on my JBLs via smartphone and it was barely hearable. So I quickly figured out, it gotta be the Plugin, but also the lack of capability in the frequency spectrum. And no, my room I work in is not even treated, furthermore I only work via my Beyers. Your videos are very helpful. 🎉
Just to help ... (maybe), I often use a free app spectral frec analyser on my phone ( like spectroid) singing the U, O, A..etc..that I don't feel happy with when listening to the music. Then I observe on the screen of my phone app what is that frequencie I'm "singing" ( or amulating) to fix it on the mix. ( very use full in live music too). (whistling a feed back works very well too, to know quickly what you must fix). hope this help... Great channel !!!
As a listener, these tips are in the right direction, but not that effective. A mix that sound good everywhere, will not sound amazing anywhere. I like it when a song is made with a specific target feel and target audience in mind. Also realize that even on premium hardware, good songs sound dead until I at least put a U shape EQ on them, not to mention a dynamics shaper on my master to deal with the stupidly loud and quiet parts of classical music. And that not even scratching my itch that I like a specific power spectrum with punchy bass(all the way down to 30Hz), 1k-4k nuked and all sort of fun critters at 14k+. The best thing you can do really is match the song to similar songs for your target audience so that I don't have to change my sound settings all day.
The car is always the final boss . If it sounds good in the car, it is good
I agree! One of the cleanest mixes I ever done was when I was on the road, I done most of it on headphones and plugged my laptop into a car for the final mixdown. It translated so well!
This is also the tip a musician family friend of mine told me a few years ago, although there sure is enough variance in different cars' audio systems that mixing in reference to the car of your choice might still skew the EQ towards a particular curve that might or might not work as well on other listening scenarios. But perhaps the enclosed listening experience of the car, whatever car, helps single out problematic elements in the mix regardless of the particular audio system so it could be used more to iron things out than to completely overhaul the EQ.
I've often thought of mixing the song in the damn car. But then it'd probably sound terrible everywhere else
@@beastwolf7 cardi b album was fully mixed in a car by leslie brathwait. Alo some david guetta songs too. Cars are acoustically treated. Its just unconfortable
my car is my studio. its all i got to compare
Love your format: no annoying clickbait. no annoying RUclipsr cliches, concise, to the point, no snarkiness, no cringe jokes. Fantastic video
@HugoArgentina I completely agree!
I completely agree.
I'm glad too that there aren't any SHOCKING TRUTHS about mixing
I'd rather deal with some of the drawbacks of headphones than spend thousands of dollars on acoustic treatment and STILL not get it right. I use a couple pairs of headphones I know incredibly well. Then at the end, I play the mix on my laptop speakers. I haven't had any translation problems. I have a lot of problems with decision making and getting a good mix to begin with. But it's sounds exactly like what I expected. It sounds equally bad everywhere, lol.
That’s a good method because it doesn’t rely on acoustic treatment. But there are some advantages to using studio monitors, too. Check out this video: ruclips.net/video/ecbUTrx41zU/видео.html
@@AudioUniversity I
Slate VSX
That's a very good point.How come is so easy to make equally bad but not equally good ?
tip #3 has definitely helped me the most and has become part of my mixing checklist!
to anyone reading this, i recommend making a playlist of very well mixed music & then listen to that for a while before starting a long mixing session :D
Pro trick! 👍🏼
YES! I call these ear calibration sessions. Actually makes a huge difference
Good tips. I'd like to add one TOTALLY FREE improvement: speaker and listener positions. For typical rooms - the "home" studio (aka bedroom/office), generally rectangular 10-12 x 13-20 rooms - align the monitors and listening position along the long axis of the room. Then placing the monitors near the wall behind your mix desk, and getting the ears at about that standard 38% distance from the front wall along the length of the long axis, (as a starting point) gives you at least a running start at maximizing your listening accuracy. This is a widely recommended set up for spaces of this general dimension. A little experimentation, moving the monitors and listening position a few inches at a time, will lead to the clearest sound picture with your gear. It's still a long way from "flat", but is a simple, cost-free step in the right direction.
Optional: instead of moving the speakers around, put them in your rough mixing position and then you move around the room and listen for hot spots or nodes that are an issue. Much easier then moving the speakers.
Waist of time worrying about your monitor placement if the room sucks and you don’t have a full system too replicate what a commercial studio can do
@@jzilla_grudgegang Not a waste of time at all - we have to maximize the tools we have. It's always a game of incremental improvements, and speaker placement is but one link in a long chain of factors.
Another tip.Put a speaker in the corner, listen to some bass heavy bass music, move around the axis of the room at listening height.The place where you have more Definition in the bass notes is your listening position.The 38% rule is not always the best position.
@@DubFreakuencies I think I see your point, but just keep in mind "more" bass doesn't equate to a balanced mix.
Before I send my songs off into the World I first listen to the final mix on headphones 🎧 then a pair of AirPods and lastly my car. Most people will be listening to your music on AirPods or in their vehicles, so those 2 are very important. 😉 🎶
There is one topic which is, for some reason, eluded or never spoken of when talking about mixing or mastering.
Granted that Spotify has taken over and the majority of people listen to either their own phone's speakers or cheap chinese earbuds, you MUST be sure that your mix sounds good on those devices.
I generally start adjusting the mix in very little steps because there's a threshold where the "main mix" (the one made on monitor speakers and which generally sounds good as well on my home hi-fi system) will start to suffer and sound worse and worse, while it will obviously keep improving as you move further and further away on low end devices.
So the 1 billion dollar question is: how far do you go compromising your "main mix" to make it sound "good" on low end devices, since 90% of your listeners will be using those, a 9% with decent headphones and maybe a 1% on actually good audio system?
One INCREDIBILY important thing you forgot to mention is almost all laptops and computers these days come with built in "audio enhancement" software which is on by default which do things like widen the sound, add a small amount of reverb, and boost bass and highs.
Always check all your audio settings and sound card settings and make sure none of these effects are applied and that any EQs are either turned off or flat. It also wouldn't hurt to Google if your computer has any third-party "audio enhancement" software pre-installed that isn't directly accessed through the audio settings. On gaming laptops in particular, there are often audio settings hidden in the performance apps such as Alienware Command Center.
I only found this out when I noticed a pure sine wave sounded distorted even through it wasn't clipping and found my computer had a built in bass boost, low frequency saturation, boosted high shelf, and stereo widening running by default which were absolutely ruining the sound.
Had to learn that the hard way
I used to focus on soundproofing, but now I've gotten some decent headphones and run them with Sonarworks. I got better results than with studio monitors.
Thanks for sharing! I agree - headphones are a good way to get accurate sound without acoustic treatment.
You want extra SOUND advice and I mean this will change your LIFE if you don't already do this.
Set an EQ on the master with hp and lp filters from around 250hz to 4-5k
Put everything in mono
I do this at the final stages of my mixes once I have my overal sound and everything panned correctly.
What this will do is help you focus on the most important area of the mix that will be most prominant on most devices including the car.
I LOVE putting a multiband compressor on the master and only compressing the mids to give it a heavy place in the mix.
I usually do this after a VCA compressor but you can do it before.
Also, I like to have a parallel send from my Sub Mix/Pre Master and use tricks like saturation in the mids or an EQ for the mids and dial it into the mix to give it more energy in the center.
BIGGEST TAKE FROM THIS TIP:
If you mix with a happy face approach (Bass boosted and trebble boosted) I PROMISE you your mixes will feel weak and hollow in a vehicle and you will wonder why it was louder in headphones but weak in the car. You can capture brightness and body with harmonics and other tricks. No need to go crazy boosting bass and boosting highs. Most the pros have bass sounding incredibly low and it's not even registering much below 30 hz. Same with highs, they use harmonics to fill the space. Of course you use EQs for this but think about sidechaining an exciter plugin and boosting it with lets say a vocal before you add 6 db of 9k for that sizzle and brightness. Might only need 2-3db of gain and a little harmonics to do the rest. This will help things sit and sit HEAVY.
Hope this helps.
❤
Do you have lessons?
I have a pair of Adam’s and avantones cubes. I hear the mix back through my monitors, but I only mix with my seinheisser 680 open back headphones. It’s a hell of a lot cheaper to get a set of headphones than great studio monitors and acoustic treatment.
Thanks for sharing, Martin! This is a good way to double-check what you’re hearing. Great strategy!
wow! that last bit on the vowel sounds was absolutely amazing...I've been in the pro audio industry for 30 years and can't believe I've never seen that before! I'm running FOH next weekend for a big music festival and definitely gonna keep this in mind to see if it changes my mixes at all!
Hope it helps!
Hey brother your vocal texture (vocal module) is so professional.
Thanks!
I like a mono plugin on the master out for balancing (when things collapse to mono the true volume is revealed since left and right stack on top of each other).
It’s also pretty useful to have a mid focus EQ on the master out to check the tonal balance of the midrange when equalizing. They say the magic is in the midrange and they’re not wrong.
Having multiple different speakers is key (personally I use AirPods, Genelec 8030s, and sennheiser hd 650 headphones). You can use anything tho you just have to know your speakers really well.
Listening to reference tracks is also really helpful. Look on RUclips for your favorite records and search “drums only”, “bass only”, “guitar only” etc. Compare your instrumentation to theirs and see what you might be missing.
Lastly you shouldn’t blast the volume. I’m not saying listen at a whisper quiet volume level, but just don’t blast the volume like you’re listening recreationally. That’s a great way to lose objectivity fast. Only blast if you’re checking for harsh frequencies that keep you from being able to turn things up loud (like around 4k for guitars) and even then, don’t blast it for long.
Hi I have a question?
I’m using Logitech Z5500 in my home studio, should I listen the mix on 5.1 surround or better just switch to stereo ? Thank 🙂🙃🙂🙃🙂🤔
I’ve been mixing since 1991. I’m here to tell you that the only fool proof way is to know how to use professional VU meters the right way. It is 100% accurate no matter what your monitors say. In 30 years, it has mislead me exactly ZERO times
That's very interesting. Can you please elaborate and also tell me what VU meter you use? Thank you.
This is why current music sound terrible. You are killing it with digital overprocessing so people on phone speakers can hear it well. Let me explain to you something; if you listen on crap system it should sound like crap so there is motivation to buy better system instead of dragging everybody down with your terrible mix and mastering.
Umm yeah...the population size of people that can afford and/or care to own a $5,000 and above HiFi system is less that a fraction of a percent. So as much as I appreciate and admire the audiophile community....their numbers just dont dictate dedicating the entire mix to just them. Like you pointed out....an OVERWHELMING majority of listeners are in their car...on crappy earbuds attached to their phones...or listen on a bluetooth speaker. I produce EDM so i tend to tailor my mixes to clubs with a decent PA system including subs...but I don't go so heavy that it sounds like crap on a set of moderately priced earbuds and car systems. We can't make everyone happy...nor can we mix to make a song sound amazing on every device. I tend to do the final mix for the intended audience and what that population listens to music on...while making it sound "decent enough" on anything. Producing is all a collection of compromises.....hey and in the end, there's nothing stopping us from making an additional "hifi" mix...with the internet we have that power now 😁 Great video sir..keep up the good work!
Thanks! Well said!
Never had this problem, don’t understand why there are so many videos on the concept.
You gotta really screw the pooch in order for you mix to not sound good in a car 😂
I want to be an audio engineer, but it turns out that it's more complicated than being a coder
No way. I want to learn how to code but I got confused in my learning. I wish I had a resource to ask in person or some help in learning how to code.
I’m an engineer myself
@@randomrandy3059 He's right though, it is more complicated. Coding is mathematical and strategic, whereas mixing and mastering is more technical and intuitive. Each source material is to be treated differently. If I mix for a rock song, it doesn't mean I'll have the same template and approach for the next rock song, as everything is different.
Using reference has been my go to method for mixing with the worst equipment and I have to say its been the most helpful one. Every sound is translated exactly how its supposed to without owning the top most quality stuff in the market. What a great video👏
Very helpful video as always. I especially liked the saturation tip, I've seen it mentioned before but your explanation clarified everything.
Thanks, TC. Glad you found this one helpful!
Tip #2 is absolutely solid advice. Listen to the music on the devices that normal people will be using. I don't think a music producer should bother catering their music to audiophiles. In my experience, audiophiles tend to spend all of their money on equipment and then do nothing to treat the room itself. The results they get are often a total roll of the dice, and they put too much faith in their $10k+ sound system to magically solve all of the problems. I also tend to notice that they will spend a lot of time and effort trying to tweak the EQ of their favorite albums to suit their own tastes, so it doesn't really matter what you give them in the end anyway. Best to focus on mixing your tracks so that they sound good on the kinds of devices you find in the general public.
The only place where you _really_ need to dial in professional mixes for professional equipment is in cinema. But that's an entirely different business.
Good point, Pjrojf! Thanks for watching!
In the cinema?? WTF?
And many ‘audio files’ are crazy. The best mixes are what we do in the studio. You ain’t gonna be able to improve on that. If you are making great mixes of great musicians.
Do you think this is an area where AI can automate the process?
It already has friend.
There are some AI-powered tools available already! I expect they will continue to help engineers do their work faster and more thoroughly.
@@AudioUniversityIt would be awesome to see your take on the AI tools on this channel. For example, a comparison of a manual mix vs an automated mix, and how they sound in different environments.
Also, I can't understand why anyone would listen to music on a smart phone when a decent pair of headphones or a bluetooth speaker is so cheap. Call me a snob, but you might as well not even listen at that point. Still, I find that as long as you make sure to put a decent amount of midrange content in your bass guitar and a decent amount of "click" in your kick drum, it will be heard everywhere.
You mentioned saturation, and I definitely agree. But even just an EQ boost at 800 hz can do wonders for bass guitar. That's a magic frequency for bass. It helps it cut through without sounding too "clanky." And it's a frequency where you're not stepping on the toes of other instruments. Guitars usually have their presence from 1.5k to 3.5k. Vocals are usually around 2k to 4k. Drums are often scooped out in that 800 hz area as well.
Thanks for watching and offering these tips!
Thanks for the helpful comment, do you have a reference I could look up to learn more about the relevant frequency ranges and how the 800 Hz trick works?
oooo the 'audiophile' hi-fi community will be outside with pitchforks after that comment "cables don't make much difference to sound quality" they're all still paying £150 for a mains cables remember!🤣🤣🤣
I'm so glad I subscribed to this channel. I don't work in audio but I do produce my own music and I'm interested in doing the best job I can on a budget. The ear training aspects of this topic have always been something I struggle with, and I was amazed by your simple tip for relating frequencies to vowel sounds. I'm definitely going to start practising that. Thank you!
Another great video! You really have a knack for educating at the proper pace, and using clear, simple language to get the main points across. Bravo! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
There are real health benefits to checking my basement-studio mix in my car, too. I easily exceed the 10-flight daily stair-climbing target on those days … 😏
Haha! True - who needs cardio when you’re mixing music!?
Thanks for the kind comment!
Thoughts on PMC speakers please....thanks.
there are very cheap ways to acoustically treat a room. ALSO I do find that mixing with just a laptop - what most people listen out of, or somewhat decent speakers gives you the most accurate sound. If my mix is coming through great on my computer, phone it will likely sound even better on excellent speakers, and in the car. You don't want to mix on super expensive speakers that are blasting out the track. It will effect your ability to hear certain things anyways. So i feel like mixing in a more natural environment with less equipment may help. Just my personal experience though
This channel is fantastic. Straight explanation, very easy to understand. Great
Thanks! Glad to help!
“Back in the day” we used to have different speakers in the studio.
Even a crappy, mono speaker. If it sounded decent in that, it sounded decent.
Just started watching. Already liked when I saw the "in denial" clip show up. Just because I can relate at such a personal level.
We’ve all been there! Thanks for watching.
The biggest mistake most make is a poorly treated room. You can have the best monitors in the world but you do not stand a chance if your signal is bouncing off all over the place. Spare no expense and get that right. You will be amazed
Exactly! To exaggerate for example’s sake, super expensive monitors will still be a complete nightmare in a bathroom. The importance of the room acoustics is often extremely underated, I’d argue that one is better of having decent monitors in a decent (treated) room than having great monitors in a terrible room.
You have to make sure your signal flow is right, so that the output balance is correct. And you should uniform your mixes so that you learn what FX chain isn't problematic given your speakers/headphones. When you have a bad FX chain, you'll hear it right away.
I don't worry about any of this stuff. More importantly, become an expert at reading a spectral analyzer. That's raw data that never lies.
Spectrum analysers are a very useful tool. But they are no substitute for good ears and musical taste.
@@davidhiggen3029 Right, but we're talking about technical tools here.
@@PeterSavad No argument. They can sometimes show up problems we hadn't immediately noticed by ear, and then we say: oh, yes, that's better.
Spectral analyzers help, but I wouldn’t recommend them as the ONLY tool that’s needed! Skill and listening are must-haves. Check out this video: ruclips.net/video/6tHueAmHsqQ/видео.html
I use a cheap pair of harman kardon pc speakers to mix and they allow me to hear how everything sounds for most of the listeners, basically I only switch to monitors for bass and to get rid of annoying frequencies.
No matter how much you spend you can never get 100% accurate sound so its pointless trying, every headphone, speaker, room, and amplifier is different, best you can do is an average to what it sounds like on other equipment and not to worry about it. all car stereos have built in EQs exactly for this purpose, but phones? come on man who cares about those for listening to music your missing out on 80% of the sound. 35 years has taught me this lesson.
Love this channel.One thing that I see often overlooked is the monitoring level, to take into account the Fletcher Munson curves.If your speakers and room are the flattest possible, but your listening at a level where your ears are not flat then you see where it goes.
Monitoring must be done at specific level to make good decisions.
Sick now I see why when I did 4 tracks cassette recordings I could hear the same mix on all things it a sound the same then 100 percent daw I had problems.
GREAT VIDEO!👍 Please can you tell me, is it pointless having monitor speakers in a room that is untreated? Thank you!
It’s not pointless, but you will need to work around issues like those I point out in this video. Ideally, you will add acoustic treatment over time. But there is still value in monitors that headphones cannot provide. Check out this video: ruclips.net/video/ecbUTrx41zU/видео.html
Great tip about using saturation to boost harmonics. Thank you!
Thanks! You make great videos. High quality content, well scripted and nice edited. Cheers!
Thanks, Bert!
An ad. Oh great.
The thing about studio monitors is even if you get some, you are at the beginning of the learning curve for those speakers. And it is a marriage. Take your time and choose carefully. You're gonna fall in and out of love with em over time. So make sure you choose ones that you really understand. You might not necessarily "like" them butas long as you understand what they do and where in the spectrum you can begin to trust your work.
Yeah unfortunately it’s a costly road 😅
My mixes always sound THE WORST on my work PC speakers, so I typically make little notes on my phone while I listen at work then come home and make those adjustments. Basically, find the speakers that your mix sounds the worst on (not because the speakers are trash) and make notes/adjustments to fit it. Do a save as first! Lol
Can you please make this video 10 years ago?
Blah, blah, blah. By a pair of aura tone cubes. If your mix sounds good through them you’re probably in good shape. Back in the late 70s I mixed songs on auratones. When the company went out of business, there really were no good substitutes and that’s when people switched to the NS-10s for reference monitoring. personally, I preferred the Generlac S30 reference monitors with ribbon tweeters. my advice to young recording, engineers, and studio owners is to do your best with what you’ve got. When the time is right to upgrade your equipment, the music will tell you.
I don't know if I should take sound advice from a channel that, although quite comprehensive, fails to EQ out the 20>50hz from their talking head microphone recording. It's just so annoying watching a video on your main entertainment system and hearing the subwoofer rumble with every pop of your mouth.
Used to mix in an untreated room and my mixes were not very good. Too much bass, not enough vocal presence and nothing really seemed glued together ever. Ever since working in a treated room my mixes are better, louder, and much cleaner.
high end monitors will help 10%, treatment 20%, room correction software 30%, experience 30%, car test 20%
With streaming platforms able to have a variety of different versions of the same song, maybe they can have different target mixes?
That way, people get to choose which version of a mix they listen to.
I'd opt for flat repsonse, no saturation, and wide dynamic range, as this sounds the best on my hi-fi, headphones and car (many mordern cars have sound systems better than 95% of people's home systems). Happy to pay extra to the streaming service for this. Tidal already offer various quality levels, so how about some targeted mixes as well.
Learn how to mix properly and just get the VSX headsets by Steven Slate. Don’t over complicate it
This video sounded great on my Vizio sound bar. I love when someone teaches something and they do what they say-hope that makes sense?! Excellent video!!
just out of curiosity can I find one source having the entire spectrum with all the corresponding "spells" like EE or AH or A and so one... its kind of real helpful and intuitive.
Just get a decent pair of speakers and learn what they sound like. Dont fuck around listening in cars or on phone speakers, who cares. You can't make a mix sound amazing on everything. You can make it sound alright on everything.
To make your mix sound good everywhere, you need shit-control monitors which is an ordinary average shitty speaker you can get. If mix sounds good through average not so hi-fi speakers, it will sound good everywhere.
5000 iq move: make an eq preset to match your headphones frequency response while mixing then turn it off when you export (I know this is kind of scuffed but it is better than nothing for all the bedroom producers out there)
I make music in FL studio mobile and it sounds amazing in phone speaker, monitor, headphones, and even a near broken Bluetooth speaker that my dad found in the park, but I never heard my mix in the car. Since many do the car test does this mean my mix is also sound bad even though it sounds good in all other systems?
Heh. I doubt anyone listening to my music has a hi-fi system. Optimizing only for hi-fi would be silly for me.
Secret No 1: Dont try to make good Mixes on crap like the the Krk Rockit shown on the video picture. Makes no sense, get real Monitors first.
My mix sounds way lower in my car. I mean normal apple music sounds are like 25 on my stereo, but my own, I need to crank it to like 45!
thanks..What model is the sound card shown in the video? can you please write.
There were two shown, I think. RME Fireface UCX II and Focusrite Scarlett 2i2
@@AudioUniversity RMEUCX II.. THANK YOU VERY MUCH..
To be honest, I think people really overcomplicate this. I’m convinced 90% of mixing is just mixing on something you’re used to the sound of, provided that it’s reasonably good quality.
the thumbnail is misleading though - how many people listen to music through car speakers as opposed to a home studio that costs upwards of 500 dollars? hmm
Mix on earpods, if it sounds good on your phone then it sounds good in your car, home cinema etc
To do them same thing for live sound mixing, walk the room. You might be surprised to hear how different it can sound on one side of the room compared to the other side.
By "saturation", do you meaning EQing(increasing) higher frequencies or adding bass-like melodies that are octaves higher?
You can saturate a signal with drive or a compressor. When you “chop off” the top of a waveform, it creates higher frequencies.
Check out this video: ruclips.net/video/7q1PeGsmhn8/видео.html
I use Steve Slate VSX and it is very good, my room sucks so no matter the monitors, it will never sound great.
I think my bed, the mess and the piles of clothes in my room are enough acoustic treatment
The commitments soundtrack sounds incredible on any speakers.
personally i would just mix for airpods bc everyone uses them
I would also add you can save a lot of money with diy accustic treatment and also in most cases get better absorbers
Isn't background noise really bad if ur recording vocals?
How to get a good mix. "Buy more shit"... oh thanks... great advise.
это что за капитан очевидность сейчас был мною просмотрен? ))
book cases are great for accoustis bye putting the books back to front at the end of the room to where your recording
A real expert! Do the mixing and mastering engineers really test their mixes for cars, iPhones, mono radios etc.? I think I‘m not able to apply these changes to my studio mix! So I shouldn’t release my songs?
The great audio engineers struggled in the beginning, just like you and me. It takes a lot of practice, so keep trying if you’re passionate about making music!
this thing in 250 500 1k 2k 4k 8k is totally gem 🤯💎
I listen to a band I like and set my speaker eq to that. Car is always the final test.
Really great content. I think that there are myths out there that lead to people changing their mix by listening in their car. Some of the myth comes from old articles where a producer will state how they listen to the recordings on the way home and/or on their way to the studio. But in my experience that the reason for the quick cassettes of a session in the past, was more about arrangement and instrument placement etc. and not really about a mix. In the many years in the nineteen eighties, I had never seen an engineer or a producer leave a mixing session and check it out in their car. In fact I heard a really well known producer say after a musician had made a comment about a mix in his car, that if we can get everyone in the world to only listen to your music in your car, then we would be mixing in your car.
I'm now involved in post production for video and the same problems arise where people have a myth that since everyone is using displays that aren't calibrated that they should make decisions on an uncalibrated display. Much like audio - and as you explained, the target still needs to be established - and on a display that is uncalibrated, we have no idea what the actual target is.
So looking at the display if my monitor is a little bit blue, I add yellow - but if the next persons monitor is already too yellow - my push of yellow is then multiplied onto that too yellow screen and the image looks like urine.
Newton's law applies here and it applies in audio - for every action (force) in nature there is an equal and opposite reaction. As described in your excellent video here - adding bottom to compensate for the phone - what is that going to do to the home stereo that already has over compensated low end ( bass )?
In the 1980s when I used work in the recording studios - the NS10m by Yamaha was pretty much on the back of every console. I could record in Vancouver ( where I live ) and walk into a studio in New York and except for some room sound - the mix would be identical. I think that time is the only time in history where we came close to having a standard when it came to reference. So I am a believer in calibration in video displays and in audio. Take the room out of the equation by knowing it is tuned.
Thank you for this video. I have bookmarked it, and when this topic comes up again - I am going to link to your video as a reference ( and a referral )
ahaha that in denial 😂
watched myself tired on these kinda videos, but when I saw it was you I sure was gonna give it a chance😎 nice & professional info as always. TY!
Thanks for watching!
get 1000$ headphones
start listen to music and learn everything again from the start
stop thinking start nonforced hearing
when this is done u mix right by ur own nature
I’ve heard terrible mixes that were mixed on VERY expensive systems! Learning to listen to $150 headphones can be just as powerful. You just need to know what you’re hearing and how to use the tools available to you.
@@AudioUniversity its about understanding the audio picture (painting)
so when u can see correct... guessing ends
next step isknow and understand ur tools to create ur painting
or whould u paint with stained glasses?
@rcrco yea its just about seeing unbiased
i dont get people buy 1500$ screens but"how dare u" ur hedphones are 700 bugs
btw 1000bugs cans = 30K speaker room
Your cable's make a big difference especially when micing different sources!!!!!! There's a huge difference between 20$ cable's vs 100$ cable's.
I have some snake oil you would love
$100 a jar
If i ever get my mixes to sound good everywhere ill transcend
How about mixing and mastering at car speaker? 😂
HOLY SHEEEEET that O / A / EE / AHH. comparison is WILD ! ! !
My mixes sound commercial, competitive with everything else I listen to as far as major artist. The issue... the only place they sound bad is through the little speaker on my phone or a little bluetooth speaker. The master sounds crushed. I've decided to just dismiss that, though.
So they don't really compete with major artist, because their mixes also translate well to phones and small speakers
Listened to this in my car and almost crashed at 500 hz an hour
#1 I only mix with my ear and now with graph.
Now, my mix sound balanced everywhere
Having a good ear you can rely on is definitely the best asset. Thanks for watching!
Cool video, very thorough and complete overview. I loved the recommendation on using saturation for hearing base on a smartphone.
Good and important information. Thanks.
Thanks for watching!
Thanks
dont let this man fool you, cables are a huge deal!
I am working on a song and I installed Goyo an AI Vocal VST. On Beyers it sounded well fitting.
After rendering it as an MP3 and heard it on my JBLs via smartphone and it was barely hearable. So I quickly figured out, it gotta be the Plugin, but also the lack of capability in the frequency spectrum.
And no, my room I work in is not even treated, furthermore I only work via my Beyers.
Your videos are very helpful. 🎉
I love that screen set up! 8:23
What monitors are those or what stand are you using?
Great video as always.
Thanks, Angie! I’m using 27” Dell monitors with this mount: amzn.to/3oiRQb9
Just to help ... (maybe), I often use a free app spectral frec analyser on my phone ( like spectroid) singing the U, O, A..etc..that I don't feel happy with when listening to the music. Then I observe on the screen of my phone app what is that frequencie I'm "singing" ( or amulating) to fix it on the mix. ( very use full in live music too). (whistling a feed back works very well too, to know quickly what you must fix).
hope this help... Great channel !!!
Another excellent tutorial. Very informative and appreciated!
As a listener, these tips are in the right direction, but not that effective.
A mix that sound good everywhere, will not sound amazing anywhere.
I like it when a song is made with a specific target feel and target audience in mind.
Also realize that even on premium hardware, good songs sound dead until I at least put a U shape EQ on them, not to mention a dynamics shaper on my master to deal with the stupidly loud and quiet parts of classical music.
And that not even scratching my itch that I like a specific power spectrum with punchy bass(all the way down to 30Hz), 1k-4k nuked and all sort of fun critters at 14k+.
The best thing you can do really is match the song to similar songs for your target audience so that I don't have to change my sound settings all day.
Number one has always been my hill to get over.