"You think you're listening to your speakers but you're actually listening to your room" Good advice, Switched my speakers off and now my mix sounds better than ever!
Dead rooms (with no reflections) are fun for mixing but live rooms (with some echo) are fun for performing and creating. I’ve found no happy medium. Two workspaces are needed.
Lol... gonna admit... I saw the title of your video and thought you were going to try and tell people they should be using headphones to mix and I was immediately judging you. :P Glad when i finally watched you were talking sense.
"Today we'll make a scene that's very happy. A beautiful little scene with lots of colour. Very easy that you can do. There we go. Let's put a happy little synth pad right there. Something about like that. Now let's bring in a bunch of happy little vocals. A nice choir right there. House of Kush the Land of Happy Little Mixes."
There is something in the way you deliver your tutorial, like no-one else seems to do. Most people sound like they are talking to a damn classroom, with their introductory "Hi guys" and their "some of you", "most of you", "any of you"... You speak like you are speaking to me (whoever "me" is), and that is very much appreciated. I'm sitting in my studio, not a lecture hall. And that is how you deliver. Thank you :D
So many other channels make me feel like I have to follow along, but not in The House of Kush. Here, I can sit back, listen and absorb the information.
Acoustics what material do you recommend for panels? That is safe for health...been seeing praise for Rockwool for sound improvement but also lots of hazard breathing in it....
Better than Sonicscoop, I feel. Better camera framing with less forced close-up shots, popping in and out of the zoom on the camera. Literally makes me nauseous and feel distracted.
Watched this yesterday and impulsively decided to rearrange my entire studio. The difference was honestly shocking. It feels as if the stereo space is more realistic and it doesn’t sound as “exciting” like you said but I 100% feel like I’m going to make more informed mixing decisions! Was even able to make the usefulness of the room still somewhat work! Thank you so much for making content like this! Can’t wait to see the next
This guy man... my entire pathway of self taught mixing makes so much more sense now, I've got opinions for days on the taste, it's just listening properly, and learning how to get what you're after.
I just came back to say that I pulled my desk a bit farther from the wall and positioned myself farther back as well and wow, I could instantly hear how empty my last mix was. My latest mix was night and day after the switch, even sounded good in the car right off the back!
I feel like I like your videos before I even watch them at this point. every single video I have seen from you, which to the best of my knowledge is all of them on RUclips, has given me some knowledge that I didn't have before. I don't know if I can thank you enough for that. Please keep these videos coming, and I will keep learning from you in any way that I can.
So right on! I build broadband absorbers and bass traps as a side biz. When I visit a home studio to talk about products, the first step is always repositioning their rig. It's amazing what a difference that simple effort makes. Then it's largely a matter of budget, but a lot can be ameliorated with just a few well-placed 1st reflection panels and corner traps. Thanks for the great posts!
Man. Every single one of your videos is a real eye-/ear opener. Such great advice that you just don't find anywhere else. It's funny, because you BASICALLY aren't saying anything completely new. But your approach to everything - as opposed to other videos amd forum posts - just absolutely makes me THINK and TRY OUT. And that's how you learn! That's how you learn languages, that's how you learn math, that's how you learn... friggin gymnastics or skate boarding - everything needs to be tried out. I googled how to set up my monitors, found a bunch of infographics and I set them up the way other people in other rooms with other ears than mine told me to and I thought that was it. And here you come and tell me "dude, try to move them and see what gets you the best results and start to actively listen to this stuff" and I'm like "whooaAAAAATT???" 🤯 Hahaha I feel stupid saying this but on the other hand I absolutely don't because I know most amateur musicians are that way and that is exactly why you made this video. And I thank you for that!
Best RUclips mixing and mastering channel by a mile. As a newbie in my 60’s coming back to music as art after a lifetime of practicing medicine, I’m learning and hearing new things in tracks I’ve listened to for decades. It’s a wonderful feeling. I can now “ play” with a compressor like an instrument ! Thank you so much for sharing these aesthetic insights. Any advice on dealing with very high frequencies when you can’t hear them ( 😂) greatly appreciated. I can’t get an answer from anyone else.
As per your PDF, I checked and, uh oh, found my woofers were exactly halfway between floor and ceiling. Flipped them upside down and raised them and cannot believe how much clearer the bass is. It's astounding. Thank you Gregory!
@@pixel_seph I think so. And it makes sense... Think of the lows bouncing off the floor and the ceiling and meeting back in the middle, where they originated… it creates a standing wave, cancellation, comb filtering. Others will explain it better.
Son: I've just discovered your channel, and have listened to only a few of your presentations but this one reflects a paramount degree of insight and knowledge that I believe transcends what would predict given your age (without any familiarity regarding your training, years of experience, and background with technologies of the past prior to plugins). I can't help but point out the "take away" remark you emphasized at the 4:00 minute mark in this upload regarding listening to the room as opposed to your monitors/system. Today's audio for the masses, with few exceptions will never be reproduced using anything even close to equipment that was considered middle of the road consumer set ups (never mind audiophile systems) from times gone by. Steering clear of the digital versus analog debate, yes convenience and the quick and dirty is "arm chair production" yet as an admitted old school studio owner, Audiologist and Engineer it disheartens me that todays serious, gifted engineers know that the meticulous mixes and performances captured are likely destined to be reproduced via ear buds, head phones, computer speakers rendered from an MP3 file. Your efforts on this channel likely contribute to some degree of reorientation to aspiring music techs. One addition I respectfully submit, regarding one's endeavor to mix and master even the best of tracks, even in an accurate control room setting is the following. Of equal significance you are not just listening to your room or system. One is perceiving, analyzing, and making subtle acoustical decisions based upon your aural capacities. Auditory fatigue, knowledge of one's own frequency by frequency levels of intactness, and a basic knowledge of how the auditory system responds differentially to varying sound decibel levels is worth even a hobbyist engineer's research.
What a difference! I had to move about 18 inches back from the monitors and everything opened up, the imaging, the convergence, it just all worked. Thank you!
I’ve always been ahead on the curb when it comes to what I hear in a song But When I 1st started mixing I thought I was lying to myself Gregory you literally helped almost in every way to become mixing and how to use my ears There is literally no other RUclips that has what u do. It’s all gear and other things that help out as much as a sales man does for a carpenters apprentice So thank you from the bottom of my heart
I built floor to ceiling rockwool bass traps and then built panels for a floating cloud and to treat first and second reflections, and set my speakers up in a setup similar to the diagram a couple of years ago. It cost me a couple hundred for all this rockwool and wood, etc. I have never been so happy with spending money, as the first time I sat down and listened to well mixed music it was amazing. My girlfriend walked in the room while I was listening to Sara by Fleetwood Mac and she sat down and said "where is the center speaker?" it turns out because she heard the stereo imaging so clearly (and she is not trained at all) she was confused by the true center of Stevie Nicks vocal and thought there had to have been a separate monitor in the room. Your previous video tutorial of flipping to mono and doing work there was also very helpful (even though my stereo image is much better now). I've done an album at CRC in Chicago which sounds so good, and it was the only time my home environment after 20+ years of having a home "studio" actually seemed in the realm of that room. It's certainly not as good, but I have been able to adjust over the last two years and learn so much more and improve my skills thanks to hearing better, and to great tutorials online like yours... like not staring at the EQ frequencies and listening instead (which softube console1 has helped me with, having dedicated knobs where I can just listen and not stare at a VST)
Excellent tips. Like you say, it's free to implement. I'll do so this weekend. I got a really strange form of acoustic treatment that I don't recommend to a soul: when my youngest son passed away from a rare brain tumor 28 days before his 4th birthday in December '19, we eventually had to put all his clothes in vacuum seal bags and put them in the back of the room my studio is in. They absorb sound pretty well, but man do I miss my boy. He used to come sit on my lap and help me record my old synth sequences, and he was a real sweetie. He had a lovely voice and was just the best kid you could ever ask for. He was more thoughtful and considerate at two and a half than almost every adult I've ever met, certainly including myself. He was also very supportive of me and his other family members in everything we did. Sorry to go off on a rant about my son. We just had a beautiful baby girl and I've been thinking about how they'll never get to meet. It's a shame because they would have adored each other. If it weren't for her and our big boy, age 7 1/2, I seriously doubt my wife and I would still be here. These videos give me a lot of resolve to pick things back up in my home studio (I got the bulk of the equipment for it two months before my son's diagnosis, so it wasn't a priority for quite some time). This video, especially, is great advice. As you point out, acting on this advice is free and can have massive benefits. I'm very grateful to you for sharing your expertise and experience with us like this.
Your attitude is spot on. I even encourage people to close their eyes. It’s a pity it takes decades of experiences, lots of trial and error to get to a point you can lay out the simplicity of what needs to be done.
Bang on the money Gregory! About 15 years ago i realized i was listening to the room first and monitor's second! Since appropriate room treatment and correct monitor set-up i have never looked back and "Was the game changer" suddenly subjective became more objective!
I totally agree. Everyone has to work with the room they have, but the triangle concept works along with flat monitors, and the right acoustic treatment.
saw this video yesterday, instantly changed my monitor setup, now sitting about 1,5 meters away from the speakers (got a large room, some room treatment) and i couldn't be happier. my mixes translate better and i hear way more details and the transients sound way less compressed, easier to spot hard transients. thank you so much!
This is awesome advice. As per usual. I hope you're shown a lot of gratitude. I try to tell my friends this because they do the monitor/headphone thing. This is a concise video I can send them without me having to get grouchy. lol
@tee vee tried that before and its just not the same. It's a LOT better having a dedicated single speaker for that especially a single driver one with no crossover points. You also don't get that weird "fake mono" effect by running mono into two speakers.
Unlike many people, I came to home studio already knowing and believing in the concept of proper listening environment. It's self-evident, and I was curious about it and worked to make the studio an accurate and reliable listening position for me. It doesn't take much consideration or space, really, either for most rooms....just a few tweaks, and some basic dampening and bass control.
I realised the "headphone effect" of my bad listening position just the day before this video. Synchronicity! This is such important information and really useful. I was hearing everything wrong - the balance of the instruments in the middle vs those panned left and right was all out and I couldn't work out why - until I realised I was sitting in the wrong place in relation to my monitors. It's still not right and this is sooooo useful. Going to get the tape measure out. Greg always comes at things from a different angle and tells you things others don't. All his videos are GOLD! Thanks Greg.
This is 100% correct, once I got my room & monitoring right my mixes instantly improved and translated to multiple systems. All the gear in the world isn’t worth a shit if you can’t hear what’s actually going on in your mix...... great vid!!!!
Well said, my friend. The only reason I haven't purchased some MM26's is that my room is not set up to justify the price of the monitors. The money would be much better spend on controlling room acoustics.
Scott, you are a GREAT teacher: you have the gift. So much said in layers with depth and yet not too many words and all of them well chosen and presented in an inviting manner. Like a good mix. I butchered my room; sacrificed the massive oak hutch battle desk that could hold oh so much crap - got some monitor stands - a complete re-do. I feel like that dude in the bible: I can hear! For the first time! Thank You!.
I mix on a set of pretty nice APS nearfields set too close because I simply don't have the space to set them up properly right now and it's always a struggle and not very pleasant to listen to. All my listening is in the living room on a pair of beat up AR2ax that a neighbor was throwing out years ago, about 10 feet from the listening position, and it sound fantastic. Having a room big enough to get my monitoring in order and still have space to actually work is kind of the dream.
1. Speaker placement (measure, listen. In the end, trust your EARS.) 2. Eliminate primary reflections (rockwool) 3. Isolate big low-end issues (you will have them, bass traps, rattles, etc.) 4. Shut up and listen now, use refrence tracks. 5. Fix some little shit, now the rest is up to your perception. 6. Did you shut up and listen? Like really? Do it again with a different mindset. 7. STOP OVER THINKING IT. You can get shit done now, tweak as you go! Don't wait to go while you tweak. The only way to dive into the void is headfirst.
Tried moving further back from the monitors. This made a huge difference, but it could be associated with a node as well. However I cannot have the monitors as wide as the triangle describes. The sound simply becomes unfocused. I blame my room for that. But having the monitors closer together and me further back gives me the best sound I've ever had, so thanks for the tip!
An equilateral triangle is exactly what you should have. The room doesn't affect how those first sound waves hits your ears, it affects the reflections, which could create standing waves. Definitely treat the first reflection points and make sure the distance between the cones is the distance from each cone to each respective ear. ✌
I like how you shift the perspective from a architectual setup to a setup that supports the work and the heart of what we doing. We get lost too quick in details and finetuning small aspects and forget about the big picture. Thanks again for remining 🌻
I dont even have the slightest clue about music production, but here I am, listening to you. A treat to the ears, partly because of your voice, wording, but damn, its actually quite interesting too, regardless of whether or not I ever attempt to make anything music-related. Thanks for quality content, if anything, you talking will be what I am going to listen to when going to sleep, haha!
I'm convinced that Gregory is the best audio engineering teacher out there. The guy has such a mellow way, and makes things simple and easy to understand. Love this guy!
Hi Gregory. RUclips recommended your channel to me. I just watched this video and I'm totally impressed. After years of study, suffering while trying to produce in my bedroom, I decided to build a home studio (underground, like a basement to prevent external noise and give me isolation) based on information such as "Bonello's Criterion" with the proportional measures of what could be the best geometry of the room. In addition, I did all acoustic treatment with ample Bass Trap, foams, reflectors, etc. Finally, I installed my monitors similar to your diagram (my sweet spot is in the 75% of the room, according to what I studied). In short, the result is simply fantastic. I can literally see each audio sample, muuuch better for mixing (btw i follow and recommend The Art of Mixing by David Gibson). I mean, I confirm and reinforce all the explanations you gave in this video. Now you won a subscriber. Greetings from Brazil.
Not sure what the reasoning is about those transients need space to "come together", what you need is that the signal from both monitors hit you hear at the same time (i.e. that they are in phase), but that depends on the relative distance of the two monitors (thus the equilateral triangle), not on the absolute one.
That’s what the equilateral triangle gives you, Time for those waves to come together. You’re right, absolute distance doesn’t matter, I didn’t mean to imply that it does. I was referring to situations where people have the monitor is (e.g.) twice as far from each other as they have them from their head, I think that’s actually the most common home studio set up.
Was just gearing up to make a vid about this for my followers. This is everything. The most essential ‘plug-in’ there is.. I’ve achieved that balance of placement/treatment and it’s by far the biggest factor in critical listening..
Your voice chills my dog out so much - she is napping comfortably on my lap haha! Thanks for another cracking video Gregory, getting the tape measure out now!!!
It never ceases to amaze me when discussing loudspeakers how most don't have a clue about how room acoustics play into the overall audio experience. I have a friend that showed me his pair of $15,000 loudspeakers. I suggested that he took some serious time to rearrange his setup and spend some time and money on room acoustics. He just gave me look like he was exempt from such as these.loudspeakers are used.at Abbey Road recording studios and many popular mastering houses. You are correct in suggesting that people should definitely spend lots of time getting proper speaker placement correct. I bought a new pair of studio monitors and spent some time getting the placement right. Once settling on placement, I could clearly hear (3) errors previously undetected. This was a very successful commercial recording that was multi-platinum. Never under-estimate the importance of taking time to do things right. Thanks Gregory!
Thank you Gregory! I thought it was just me. I sent this as a question to UBK Happy Funtime Hour before Christmas. I'm so happy you did a video on this. Midfield wins! Yes!
Agree man. Every time I learn something it’s like I already knew that information naturally but when I hear it from some one else it just reassures myself what I already naturally knew. This is how much I use my ears. My ears have shown me more than my eyes have seen. It’s a weird thing.
Greater distance means that you are listening to the room more than the speakers. That is why nearfield monitors became popular and studio monitors fell out of favor. Freelance engineers/producers could work in any studio and know that the sound would translate. Personally, I use headphones for mixing. I can work anywhere and know what I am going to get sonically.
Just listening, i would have sworn your claim is bold, but in deed your results are fantastic. My audio setup is quite sensitive regarding all sorts of sonic crimes amplifying whatever error is made.
Mr Kush... Idk if youre gonna see this. But I've been developing an ever deepening appreciation for the knowledge that you put out on youtube; extensive, pertinent and profound. Thank you.... And so, I stumbled upon your music with Sneaky Little Devil, and bro.. I'm fucking shook. Holy fucking shit bro. It's 1 in the morning rn and it's been such an intense spiritual ride. Know that your work know means so so much more to me than it did an hour ago. Your whole discography on repeat. Nearly broke down while listening to Wicked Lullaby. My friend, how did you get that synth sound towards the end? So viscerally textured. Feels like I could feel it tingling everywhere. You're good bro. You're fucking good and your love for this shit shows; it's inspiring :) I sincerely hope you're healthy and happy
I see this, and I’m super grateful for the kind words. And I’m glad what I’m doing is getting out there and touching people, I feel like I’ve been living in a cafe a bit too long!
@@TheHouseofKushTV I'm glad.. We do what we can bro, nothings ever perfect and its a forever balancing act. You have any new releases planned? Or are these youtube videos your primary focus atm?
What’s your opinion on mixing with headphones, Greg? Really want to hear from you about this. For guys like me, we don’t have a good room environment to set up a pair of good speakers. Thanks.
Yeah yeah, great suggestion for an ep! Here's my take in a nutshell, and this is all very much in my personal experience: having at least one set of speakers --- ANY speakers, no matter how small and crappy they may be --- is infinitely better than no speakers. I've never been able to make it work mixing exclusively thru headphones. That may be just me. But speakers-in-a-room and -headphones-on-the-ear are two different universes, giving uniquely different sets of information and perspective not on the mix, but on "sound" in general. Different physics, different pictures. And to be clear I absolutely need the headphone universe as well, for low frequency safety checks, sharpness control, fx levels... lots of good info in there. So even if all you do is have a cheap bluetooth speaker off to the side, and all you ever listen at is low volumes, that will still help you tremendously IME. That way you can get at the truth a little more even in a crappy room and/or an apartment with thin walls and cranky neighbors. I'm truly going to do an episode on this, and share a couple of cheap bluetooth speakers I think are quite helpful for mixing 😊
Great question. I was going to ask the same. I'm in a flat (apartment), stuck in a corner of my living room so the headphones are the best option for me as well. I do however have small computer speakers on the desk and a pair of Monitor Audio speakers in the room and I jump from one to another to check how it all sounds when I know it won't cause a riot from my neighbours. :D
Go for a drive, and turn off the subs for at least a little while so you know how the poor people will hear it. While you're in there, play it off your phone, just so you know how that sounds too. Because the car is an excellent quiet place, you can hear all sorts of frequencies you normally wouldn't. Having multiple points of reference can help reveal things you would never hear otherwise.
For a long time I mixed mostly on headphones because I've never been able to get a mix that translates well in a nearfield monitor situation with speakers right near my head. It took spending some time in my friends acoustically treated studio with a midfield speaker arrangement and sitting about 8-10 ft away before I started to understand the benefits of mixing on speakers. The mixes we did in his space seemed to translate (mostly) to all other speaker setups. Speaker placement, where you sit, and room acoustics mean way more than the cost of the monitors you own. Great video!
Because no driver is perfect, speaker enclosures have multiple drivers to handle different parts of the frequency spectrum. If you sit too close, you may subconsciously notice the sound coming from these different sources.
From the PDF: "Avoid, at all costs, putting a monitor's woofer at 50% of room height"....Yeah, guess where my woofers are. Woof. And here I was all happy because I put the things on IsoAcoustics Stands. (proceeds to flip the monitors upside down...)
The more i listen to you the more i appreciate reading a book that explained speakers/environment first. Thanks for passing on your experience. Btw my desk was “in spec” luckily. LOL! Also, I’ve always heard more anomalies when walking around or passively listening.
Great question. I can only mix on headphones for right now, so I’ve been using the Waves Nx plugin. It’s seems to help a whole lot. My mixes got approximately a million times better after I started using it. But I can’t wait to get the speakers plugged in again. It feels like just a decent short-term solution.
Guys, you have no idea how small an amateur mixing room may be in my country. It's the equivalent of a closet in the U.S. bedroom. No wonder nobody is able to tame transients or shape reverbs even with ADAMs or Genelecs.
Your point about transient information is so so so important. I had an “aha!” moment about a month and a half ago where I realized mixing is really just situating transients together to make a compelling, unified rhythmic “envelope”, and everything clicked in my mixes. I’ve completely extinguished doubt from my approach/decision making, and it’s made mixing even more fun, and it’s also made my approach to production so much more efficient because I basically define the role of each instrument / element as I compose / record it in that broader context, and by the time I’m finished with the production/composition (which for me are deeply intertwined) the mix is 90% done. I even can apply this when mixing for others because I do that same sort of transient landscaping and am technical enough to be able to manipulate the audio to fit it. Anyway, yeah, speaker set up and transients. This is the secret.
How about using a good headphone with a crossfeed plugin to improve the stereo image and a frequency correcting plugin like sonarworks? Just to take out the room. My room is small and I can't get all that space. Is this a good option?
I can't make it work with just headphones, but that may just be me. "All that space" is relative, it's percent based, so everyone has it. If your room is a 4' deep closet, you sit 38% of 4' back 😊
This answers so much regarding why my mixing has suffered every sense I switched from mixing on my little Bose SoundLink Mini Bluetooth speaker to my Kali Audio LP6 monitors. I’m practically right on top of them as they sit on my study desk in my bedroom. I guess it’s time to invest into monitor stands, and move my desk away from the wall if I expect to be able to here the transients properly.
I absolutely appreciate what youre saying. But we should always be listening to the nearfield of our speakers. Meaning that we are hearing a greater percentage of the direct sound from our speaker than reflected sound. Some speakers have spec to sit 3feet away (meaning that this is the correct point at which all the drivers from the speaker combine together), whereas other speakers like ATC SCM300ASL need like, 10 feet or something like that in order for the tweeters mid driver and sub driver to meet together. Listening at 3feet away to the first small speaker, is equivalent to listening 10 feet away for the big ATC speaker, in the sense that you are in the nearfield of each speaker, respectively. The caveat is that with a speaker that requires you to listen to it 10 feet away (the speaker's nearfield), you need an exceptional room, otherwise you will hear more reflection than direct sound. Whereas yes if you sat 1 foot away from the big ATC speaker, yes youd hear exceptionally less room reflections and more direct sound, but that direct sound would be innacurate because the speaker wasnt MADE to be listened to from a foot away (meaning the drivers wouldnt meet together at 1 foot distance). Thats where now you would want to have a much smaller speaker that IS intented to be listened to from a shorter distance, so youd hear more direct sound, AND that direct sound would be ACCURATE (per specs of the speakers required listening distance). This is all beneath the fact that, assuming you dont have a deliberately built room, youd first need to find the spot/region in your *already existing* room/area that is the "low-end" sweet spot. Meaning: the spot at which all room modes balance out the MOST, which is something that cannot be changed/fixed with treatment, unless said treatment is thick in order of 10+feet (which for most people, would eat up an entire basement or room of the house etc), or you use diaphragmatic absorbers which can be a pain also - having to tune them to the room and spot etc etc. Note that placing a subwoofer does not change the location of room modes (standing wave pattern), rather it can either dampen/null them out, or pump more energy into them. Not change their location. (Note this is why software like amroc or something doesnt require to know where your speakers/sub is set up to know where the room modes will be). So in reality, it all depends on what speakers you have, if your low end sweet spot is close to a wall (at which point your best option is to put the speakers as close to the wall as possible so you can still sit in the low end sweet spot) or if the low end sweet spot is substantially far enough from the walls that (depending on the speaker's specifications on how far you should listen to the speaker) you can actually place the speakers far enough from the wall to have SBIR in such low frequencies that it becomes irrelevant or augmented with a subwoofer, AND still be within the speakers specified nearfield. I'm not a good writer, hopefully what I wrote makes sense.
Actually its "you dont listen to your monitors, you listen to your cables" Just ask your sweetwater sales engineer and theyll be happy to set you up with a new pair of mogami platinums for the low price of $120 a pop
actually it's "you don't listen to your cables, you listen to your electrons" just ask your glorkian electricity flavoring specialist and they'll be happy to set you up with a new pair of solid titanium electron flavor tanks for the low price of ₷418 a tank, plugs right into your earthling outlet to give you pure glorkian cuisine straight from your wires and speakers
Actually you don't listen to your audio cables, you listen to your power cables. Make sure you buy a $2400 hand crafted power cable shielded with powerful rare earth magnets and a diamond connector for the best sound.
HELLO Sensei... Yes amazing brilliant mixing advice... FOR 30 plus years I'VE BEEN mixing about 2/3rds OF your recommended distance and speaker positioning; took your advice, and WOW!!! WHAT A SERIOUS IMPROVEMENT!!! I'VE ALWAYS MIXED USING A COMBO OF KRK AND OR YAMAHA 5" NEAR FIELD POWERED MONITORS, ALSO MIXING WITH HEADPHONES, SENNHEISER HD 280 PROS THEN COMPARISON LISTENING AND MAKING ADUSTMENTS...THANX ALWAYS FOR YOUR APPROACH AND SAGE ADVICE
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
"You think you're listening to your speakers but you're actually listening to your room" Good advice, Switched my speakers off and now my mix sounds better than ever!
Underrated comment
Wow, my songs sound best that way too!
🤣🤣🤣🤣
🤣🤣🤣
the sad truth
Gregory: "I'm gonna come to your studio in my mind"
Me: "I better cleanup this place"
"I don't think I'm gonna like what I see" cracked me up
the part where my speakers are facing the long wall, simply because some boxes i could not be arsed to clean up were in the way
😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣
literally the first thing i thought when he said that haha! I looked around like "i need to clean the fuck up"
You are vibing way too much with this kush thing 😂
Dead rooms (with no reflections) are fun for mixing but live rooms (with some echo) are fun for performing and creating. I’ve found no happy medium. Two workspaces are needed.
Wassup Chocolate Rain guy?! How are you?
You were one of the reasons why i wanted to produce music. nice to meet you.
LMAO that you pop up here of all places is hilarious to me but I guess it makes sense.
CHOCOLaTE RaaaIIIINNNN SOME STaY DRY aND OTHERSFEEL THEa PaIINNNN
Makes sense, that's why in pro studios live rooms and control rooms are built differently. Happy to see you around here Tay!
I first got my interface and started getting serious about producing music back in April. Last night I realized one of my monitors was upside down.
I just love this comment section. Such a positive vibe.
Go to hell
@@fr_reynolds5002 hahahah
Every time I hear that intro I feel like the videos going to be about making love your wife properly
They are...
The early "sexy" videos he did play up that aspect more.
Every damn time.
I’m shit at mixing but that’s not why I’m here, this is a thirst follow
Def 80s porno music
I can smell the incense through this video.
Through the beards
I can see the weed, too ...
Ayy fluff is here
Skunkincense!
That aint incense bro😅✌🏻
Lol... gonna admit... I saw the title of your video and thought you were going to try and tell people they should be using headphones to mix and I was immediately judging you. :P Glad when i finally watched you were talking sense.
Gregory is the Studio Whisperer. 100%. I am addicted to this channel..Such good down to Earth advice that anyone can learn tons from.
Oooh doggies, the Bob Ross of Mixing is back at it again!
"Today we'll make a scene that's very happy. A beautiful little scene with lots of colour. Very easy that you can do. There we go. Let's put a happy little synth pad right there. Something about like that. Now let's bring in a bunch of happy little vocals. A nice choir right there.
House of Kush the Land of Happy Little Mixes."
"Every little vocalist needs a friend."
There is something in the way you deliver your tutorial, like no-one else seems to do. Most people sound like they are talking to a damn classroom, with their introductory "Hi guys" and their "some of you", "most of you", "any of you"... You speak like you are speaking to me (whoever "me" is), and that is very much appreciated. I'm sitting in my studio, not a lecture hall. And that is how you deliver. Thank you :D
So many other channels make me feel like I have to follow along, but not in The House of Kush. Here, I can sit back, listen and absorb the information.
I could listen to him talk about this stuff forever!
Get a load of his podcast, UBK's happy funtime hour, your wish will be granted. It's awesome and there's a huge backlog.
Acoustics what material do you recommend for panels? That is safe for health...been seeing praise for Rockwool for sound improvement but also lots of hazard breathing in it....
This is the biggest trip of 2021. I never imagined myself getting rock solid audio advice from the doppelgänger of Bob from Twin Peaks.
Please don't ever stop doing these. This has become the best channel about audio production out there next to Sonicscoop!
Better than Sonicscoop, I feel. Better camera framing with less forced close-up shots, popping in and out of the zoom on the camera. Literally makes me nauseous and feel distracted.
damn straight!!
Two of my favourites
A kush video warms up even the most cold days
I walk around my room like a mad man when listening to my mix lol
Same here, and I plan to do an episode on why that is!
@@TheHouseofKushTV I'm glad that I'm not the only one. By the way I've learned a lot with your videos, thanks a bunch.
@@TheHouseofKushTV please
Same lol
@@TheHouseofKushTV Please do! I am the same way
Watched this yesterday and impulsively decided to rearrange my entire studio. The difference was honestly shocking. It feels as if the stereo space is more realistic and it doesn’t sound as “exciting” like you said but I 100% feel like I’m going to make more informed mixing decisions! Was even able to make the usefulness of the room still somewhat work! Thank you so much for making content like this! Can’t wait to see the next
This guy is the fucking boss. It´s like Tarantino making audio tutorials! Marvellous!
#truestory
Tarantino would make terrible audio tutorials
@@LouisBurgessComedy lol
At last!!! A Straight Shooter with zero agenda... Just telling it like it is!!! You've got my trust!!!
This guy man... my entire pathway of self taught mixing makes so much more sense now, I've got opinions for days on the taste, it's just listening properly, and learning how to get what you're after.
Greg, thank you so much for making these videos, refreshers for old cats, and eye-openers for new cats. PERIOD !!!
I just came back to say that I pulled my desk a bit farther from the wall and positioned myself farther back as well and wow, I could instantly hear how empty my last mix was. My latest mix was night and day after the switch, even sounded good in the car right off the back!
That is such great news. I'm really happy for you. Enjoy your new listening position.
I feel like I like your videos before I even watch them at this point. every single video I have seen from you, which to the best of my knowledge is all of them on RUclips, has given me some knowledge that I didn't have before. I don't know if I can thank you enough for that. Please keep these videos coming, and I will keep learning from you in any way that I can.
So right on! I build broadband absorbers and bass traps as a side biz. When I visit a home studio to talk about products, the first step is always repositioning their rig. It's amazing what a difference that simple effort makes. Then it's largely a matter of budget, but a lot can be ameliorated with just a few well-placed 1st reflection panels and corner traps. Thanks for the great posts!
Man. Every single one of your videos is a real eye-/ear opener. Such great advice that you just don't find anywhere else. It's funny, because you BASICALLY aren't saying anything completely new. But your approach to everything - as opposed to other videos amd forum posts - just absolutely makes me THINK and TRY OUT. And that's how you learn! That's how you learn languages, that's how you learn math, that's how you learn... friggin gymnastics or skate boarding - everything needs to be tried out. I googled how to set up my monitors, found a bunch of infographics and I set them up the way other people in other rooms with other ears than mine told me to and I thought that was it. And here you come and tell me "dude, try to move them and see what gets you the best results and start to actively listen to this stuff" and I'm like "whooaAAAAATT???" 🤯 Hahaha I feel stupid saying this but on the other hand I absolutely don't because I know most amateur musicians are that way and that is exactly why you made this video. And I thank you for that!
Best RUclips mixing and mastering channel by a mile. As a newbie in my 60’s coming back to music as art after a lifetime of practicing medicine, I’m learning and hearing new things in tracks I’ve listened to for decades. It’s a wonderful feeling. I can now “ play” with a compressor like an instrument ! Thank you so much for sharing these aesthetic insights. Any advice on dealing with very high frequencies when you can’t hear them ( 😂) greatly appreciated. I can’t get an answer from anyone else.
Oh my God the sound is now more open and the transitions are so smooth.and the panning is perceived
As per your PDF, I checked and, uh oh, found my woofers were exactly halfway between floor and ceiling. Flipped them upside down and raised them and cannot believe how much clearer the bass is. It's astounding. Thank you Gregory!
Right on, that's great to hear! 🕺🏻
Just did the same, ridiculous.
So the woofers can be above or below the 50% height line? Just not exactly at it?
@@pixel_seph I think so. And it makes sense... Think of the lows bouncing off the floor and the ceiling and meeting back in the middle, where they originated… it creates a standing wave, cancellation, comb filtering. Others will explain it better.
Son: I've just discovered your channel, and have listened to only a few of your presentations but this one reflects a paramount degree of insight and knowledge that I believe transcends what would predict given your age (without any familiarity regarding your training, years of experience, and background with technologies of the past prior to plugins). I can't help but point out the "take away" remark you emphasized at the 4:00 minute mark in this upload regarding listening to the room as opposed to your monitors/system. Today's audio for the masses, with few exceptions will never be reproduced using anything even close to equipment that was considered middle of the road consumer set ups (never mind audiophile systems) from times gone by. Steering clear of the digital versus analog debate, yes convenience and the quick and dirty is "arm chair production" yet as an admitted old school studio owner, Audiologist and Engineer it disheartens me that todays serious, gifted engineers know that the meticulous mixes and performances captured are likely destined to be reproduced via ear buds, head phones, computer speakers rendered from an MP3 file. Your efforts on this channel likely contribute to some degree of reorientation to aspiring music techs. One addition I respectfully submit, regarding one's endeavor to mix and master even the best of tracks, even in an accurate control room setting is the following. Of equal significance you are not just listening to your room or system. One is perceiving, analyzing, and making subtle acoustical decisions based upon your aural capacities. Auditory fatigue, knowledge of one's own frequency by frequency levels of intactness, and a basic knowledge of how the auditory system responds differentially to varying sound decibel levels is worth even a hobbyist engineer's research.
I'd call this my favorite music channel on youtube, thank you for getting into such specific workflow details
What a difference! I had to move about 18 inches back from the monitors and everything opened up, the imaging, the convergence, it just all worked. Thank you!
I’ve always been ahead on the curb when it comes to what I hear in a song
But When I 1st started mixing I thought I was lying to myself
Gregory you literally helped almost in every way to become mixing and how to use my ears
There is literally no other RUclips that has what u do.
It’s all gear and other things that help out as much as a sales man does for a carpenters apprentice
So thank you from the bottom of my heart
Ahead of the curve. Fwiw
This explained my 'why is my mix so loud in the car problem'. Thanks alot for this well explained video!
I built floor to ceiling rockwool bass traps and then built panels for a floating cloud and to treat first and second reflections, and set my speakers up in a setup similar to the diagram a couple of years ago. It cost me a couple hundred for all this rockwool and wood, etc. I have never been so happy with spending money, as the first time I sat down and listened to well mixed music it was amazing. My girlfriend walked in the room while I was listening to Sara by Fleetwood Mac and she sat down and said "where is the center speaker?" it turns out because she heard the stereo imaging so clearly (and she is not trained at all) she was confused by the true center of Stevie Nicks vocal and thought there had to have been a separate monitor in the room. Your previous video tutorial of flipping to mono and doing work there was also very helpful (even though my stereo image is much better now). I've done an album at CRC in Chicago which sounds so good, and it was the only time my home environment after 20+ years of having a home "studio" actually seemed in the realm of that room. It's certainly not as good, but I have been able to adjust over the last two years and learn so much more and improve my skills thanks to hearing better, and to great tutorials online like yours... like not staring at the EQ frequencies and listening instead (which softube console1 has helped me with, having dedicated knobs where I can just listen and not stare at a VST)
Hey! What do you use for those dedicated knobs? MIDI controller?
Excellent tips. Like you say, it's free to implement. I'll do so this weekend.
I got a really strange form of acoustic treatment that I don't recommend to a soul: when my youngest son passed away from a rare brain tumor 28 days before his 4th birthday in December '19, we eventually had to put all his clothes in vacuum seal bags and put them in the back of the room my studio is in. They absorb sound pretty well, but man do I miss my boy. He used to come sit on my lap and help me record my old synth sequences, and he was a real sweetie. He had a lovely voice and was just the best kid you could ever ask for. He was more thoughtful and considerate at two and a half than almost every adult I've ever met, certainly including myself. He was also very supportive of me and his other family members in everything we did.
Sorry to go off on a rant about my son. We just had a beautiful baby girl and I've been thinking about how they'll never get to meet. It's a shame because they would have adored each other. If it weren't for her and our big boy, age 7 1/2, I seriously doubt my wife and I would still be here.
These videos give me a lot of resolve to pick things back up in my home studio (I got the bulk of the equipment for it two months before my son's diagnosis, so it wasn't a priority for quite some time). This video, especially, is great advice. As you point out, acting on this advice is free and can have massive benefits. I'm very grateful to you for sharing your expertise and experience with us like this.
I love the different styles of RUclipsr Recording Engineers. I learn great things fron each of you and you have my thanks!
Favorite channel right here
Your attitude is spot on.
I even encourage people to close their eyes.
It’s a pity it takes decades of experiences, lots of trial and error to get to a point you can lay out the simplicity of what needs to be done.
Bang on the money Gregory! About 15 years ago i realized i was listening to the room first and monitor's second! Since appropriate room treatment and correct monitor set-up i have never looked back and "Was the game changer" suddenly subjective became more objective!
I finally subscribed to this channel. Thank you, Matthew McConaughey of Music production!🙏🙌 good stuff here 💯
Your channel has helped me more than anything else I have ever read or watched.i can't thank you enough.
This is wizardry in the finest form.
I totally agree. Everyone has to work with the room they have, but the triangle concept works along with flat monitors, and the right acoustic treatment.
saw this video yesterday, instantly changed my monitor setup, now sitting about 1,5 meters away from the speakers (got a large room, some room treatment) and i couldn't be happier. my mixes translate better and i hear way more details and the transients sound way less compressed, easier to spot hard transients. thank you so much!
This is awesome advice. As per usual. I hope you're shown a lot of gratitude.
I try to tell my friends this because they do the monitor/headphone thing. This is a concise video I can send them without me having to get grouchy. lol
I love how you can teach mixing without even using any analog or digital gear, just talking
Finally pulled the trigger on a single mono avantone mixcube and so far I’m hearing a HUGE improvement on my mixes and translation
@tee vee tried that before and its just not the same. It's a LOT better having a dedicated single speaker for that especially a single driver one with no crossover points. You also don't get that weird "fake mono" effect by running mono into two speakers.
The thing is .. your tips are beyond universal expertise . Key points to be conscious everytime you drive!
My morning audio affirmations here 🕺🏻
Unlike many people, I came to home studio already knowing and believing in the concept of proper listening environment. It's self-evident, and I was curious about it and worked to make the studio an accurate and reliable listening position for me. It doesn't take much consideration or space, really, either for most rooms....just a few tweaks, and some basic dampening and bass control.
I realised the "headphone effect" of my bad listening position just the day before this video. Synchronicity! This is such important information and really useful. I was hearing everything wrong - the balance of the instruments in the middle vs those panned left and right was all out and I couldn't work out why - until I realised I was sitting in the wrong place in relation to my monitors. It's still not right and this is sooooo useful. Going to get the tape measure out.
Greg always comes at things from a different angle and tells you things others don't. All his videos are GOLD! Thanks Greg.
His voice alone is a reason enough to get good speakers 😅
And the acoustics to hear every nuance in his voice
This is 100% correct, once I got my room & monitoring right my mixes instantly improved and translated to multiple systems. All the gear in the world isn’t worth a shit if you can’t hear what’s actually going on in your mix...... great vid!!!!
Well said, my friend. The only reason I haven't purchased some MM26's is that my room is not set up to justify the price of the monitors. The money would be much better spend on controlling room acoustics.
Maybe considering the mobile use if you have laptop! Just a thought :) you’ll make the best decision :)
Scott, you are a GREAT teacher: you have the gift. So much said in layers with depth and yet not too many words and all of them well chosen and presented in an inviting manner. Like a good mix. I butchered my room; sacrificed the massive oak hutch battle desk that could hold oh so much crap - got some monitor stands - a complete re-do. I feel like that dude in the bible: I can hear! For the first time! Thank You!.
You earned my trust. Thanks for the advice.
Man I've been following Gregory for nearly a year and I'm just enamored with his philosophy on audio. I'm learning a ton.
This is the only channel that puts my mind at ease and reminds me that mixing should be enjoyable!
Gems straight gems
I mix on a set of pretty nice APS nearfields set too close because I simply don't have the space to set them up properly right now and it's always a struggle and not very pleasant to listen to. All my listening is in the living room on a pair of beat up AR2ax that a neighbor was throwing out years ago, about 10 feet from the listening position, and it sound fantastic. Having a room big enough to get my monitoring in order and still have space to actually work is kind of the dream.
You'll have to breakdown how you produced and mixed that intro eventually! Man it's one epic track!
Innnteresting, I can do that!
1. Speaker placement (measure, listen. In the end, trust your EARS.)
2. Eliminate primary reflections (rockwool)
3. Isolate big low-end issues (you will have them, bass traps, rattles, etc.)
4. Shut up and listen now, use refrence tracks.
5. Fix some little shit, now the rest is up to your perception.
6. Did you shut up and listen? Like really? Do it again with a different mindset.
7. STOP OVER THINKING IT. You can get shit done now, tweak as you go! Don't wait to go while you tweak.
The only way to dive into the void is headfirst.
Tried moving further back from the monitors. This made a huge difference, but it could be associated with a node as well. However I cannot have the monitors as wide as the triangle describes. The sound simply becomes unfocused. I blame my room for that. But having the monitors closer together and me further back gives me the best sound I've ever had, so thanks for the tip!
An equilateral triangle is exactly what you should have. The room doesn't affect how those first sound waves hits your ears, it affects the reflections, which could create standing waves. Definitely treat the first reflection points and make sure the distance between the cones is the distance from each cone to each respective ear. ✌
Your videos and mix philosophy has has been a huge source of inspiration for me since finding your channel. Thank you.
If I’m using headphones does that mean I’m listening to my head?
Yes, and specifically, the resonances in your ear canal become a big factor 😊
@@TheHouseofKushTV Does Sweetwater sell acoustic treatment for my ear canal? Can I use egg crates?
@@chaseharris7582 don't clean 'em..let that wax build up!
No. You are hearing tiny parrots reproducing the sound coming from your headphones.
When I fart am I hearing the fart or is it voicing off my cheeks and reflecting off of my jeans?
I like how you shift the perspective from a architectual setup to a setup that supports the work and the heart of what we doing. We get lost too quick in details and finetuning small aspects and forget about the big picture. Thanks again for remining 🌻
Is this free music psychology? Because its working and its awesome!!
I dont even have the slightest clue about music production, but here I am, listening to you. A treat to the ears, partly because of your voice, wording, but damn, its actually quite interesting too, regardless of whether or not I ever attempt to make anything music-related. Thanks for quality content, if anything, you talking will be what I am going to listen to when going to sleep, haha!
I'm convinced that Gregory is the best audio engineering teacher out there. The guy has such a mellow way, and makes things simple and easy to understand. Love this guy!
Hi Gregory. RUclips recommended your channel to me. I just watched this video and I'm totally impressed.
After years of study, suffering while trying to produce in my bedroom, I decided to build a home studio (underground, like a basement to prevent external noise and give me isolation) based on information such as "Bonello's Criterion" with the proportional measures of what could be the best geometry of the room. In addition, I did all acoustic treatment with ample Bass Trap, foams, reflectors, etc. Finally, I installed my monitors similar to your diagram (my sweet spot is in the 75% of the room, according to what I studied). In short, the result is simply fantastic. I can literally see each audio sample, muuuch better for mixing (btw i follow and recommend The Art of Mixing by David Gibson).
I mean, I confirm and reinforce all the explanations you gave in this video.
Now you won a subscriber.
Greetings from Brazil.
Not sure what the reasoning is about those transients need space to "come together", what you need is that the signal from both monitors hit you hear at the same time (i.e. that they are in phase), but that depends on the relative distance of the two monitors (thus the equilateral triangle), not on the absolute one.
That’s what the equilateral triangle gives you, Time for those waves to come together. You’re right, absolute distance doesn’t matter, I didn’t mean to imply that it does. I was referring to situations where people have the monitor is (e.g.) twice as far from each other as they have them from their head, I think that’s actually the most common home studio set up.
@@TheHouseofKushTV Thanks for the clarification.
Were you spying on me!?!! Described my set up to a T. Spent the last few days rearranging my whole set up and its a million times better. THANKS!
Now it leads to the next topic: Mixing on headphones
@@EdwinDekker71 You're supposed to put them over your ears, not clamp them on your John Thomas!
I'd be interested in this topic for sure
Was just gearing up to make a vid about this for my followers. This is everything. The most essential ‘plug-in’ there is.. I’ve achieved that balance of placement/treatment and it’s by far the biggest factor in critical listening..
I love you as much as a stranger could love another stranger without it being weird
Your voice chills my dog out so much - she is napping comfortably on my lap haha! Thanks for another cracking video Gregory, getting the tape measure out now!!!
“I’m gonna come into your studio in mah miiind” far out man
It never ceases to amaze me when discussing loudspeakers how most don't have a clue about how room acoustics play into the overall audio experience. I have a friend that showed me his pair of $15,000 loudspeakers. I suggested that he took some serious time to rearrange his setup and spend some time and money on room acoustics. He just gave me look like he was exempt from such as these.loudspeakers are used.at Abbey Road recording studios and many popular mastering houses. You are correct in suggesting that people should definitely spend lots of time getting proper speaker placement correct. I bought a new pair of studio monitors and spent some time getting the placement right. Once settling on placement, I could clearly hear (3) errors previously undetected. This was a very successful commercial recording that was multi-platinum. Never under-estimate the importance of taking time to do things right. Thanks Gregory!
Thank you Gregory! I thought it was just me. I sent this as a question to UBK Happy Funtime Hour before Christmas. I'm so happy you did a video on this. Midfield wins! Yes!
Agree man. Every time I learn something it’s like I already knew that information naturally but when I hear it from some one else it just reassures myself what I already naturally knew. This is how much I use my ears. My ears have shown me more than my eyes have seen.
It’s a weird thing.
Greater distance means that you are listening to the room more than the speakers. That is why nearfield monitors became popular and studio monitors fell out of favor. Freelance engineers/producers could work in any studio and know that the sound would translate. Personally, I use headphones for mixing. I can work anywhere and know what I am going to get sonically.
Just listening, i would have sworn your claim is bold, but in deed your results are fantastic. My audio setup is quite sensitive regarding all sorts of sonic crimes amplifying whatever error is made.
This is the only channel where I click Like before even watching the video. Thank you so much for all your knowledge Gregory!👏🏼👏🏼
As I watched Twin Peaks I didn't know Killer Bob has a decent RUclips Channel
I keep thinking the same thing - except Greg is obviously waaaay better looking and not scary at all! :)
Hahahahaha I thought the same
Mr Kush... Idk if youre gonna see this. But I've been developing an ever deepening appreciation for the knowledge that you put out on youtube; extensive, pertinent and profound. Thank you.... And so, I stumbled upon your music with Sneaky Little Devil, and bro.. I'm fucking shook. Holy fucking shit bro. It's 1 in the morning rn and it's been such an intense spiritual ride. Know that your work know means so so much more to me than it did an hour ago. Your whole discography on repeat. Nearly broke down while listening to Wicked Lullaby. My friend, how did you get that synth sound towards the end? So viscerally textured. Feels like I could feel it tingling everywhere. You're good bro. You're fucking good and your love for this shit shows; it's inspiring :) I sincerely hope you're healthy and happy
I see this, and I’m super grateful for the kind words. And I’m glad what I’m doing is getting out there and touching people, I feel like I’ve been living in a cafe a bit too long!
@@TheHouseofKushTV I'm glad.. We do what we can bro, nothings ever perfect and its a forever balancing act. You have any new releases planned? Or are these youtube videos your primary focus atm?
What’s your opinion on mixing with headphones, Greg? Really want to hear from you about this. For guys like me, we don’t have a good room environment to set up a pair of good speakers. Thanks.
Yeah yeah, great suggestion for an ep! Here's my take in a nutshell, and this is all very much in my personal experience: having at least one set of speakers --- ANY speakers, no matter how small and crappy they may be --- is infinitely better than no speakers. I've never been able to make it work mixing exclusively thru headphones. That may be just me. But speakers-in-a-room and -headphones-on-the-ear are two different universes, giving uniquely different sets of information and perspective not on the mix, but on "sound" in general. Different physics, different pictures. And to be clear I absolutely need the headphone universe as well, for low frequency safety checks, sharpness control, fx levels... lots of good info in there.
So even if all you do is have a cheap bluetooth speaker off to the side, and all you ever listen at is low volumes, that will still help you tremendously IME. That way you can get at the truth a little more even in a crappy room and/or an apartment with thin walls and cranky neighbors.
I'm truly going to do an episode on this, and share a couple of cheap bluetooth speakers I think are quite helpful for mixing 😊
Great question. I was going to ask the same.
I'm in a flat (apartment), stuck in a corner of my living room so the headphones are the best option for me as well.
I do however have small computer speakers on the desk and a pair of Monitor Audio speakers in the room and I jump from one to another to check how it all sounds when I know it won't cause a riot from my neighbours. :D
Go for a drive, and turn off the subs for at least a little while so you know how the poor people will hear it. While you're in there, play it off your phone, just so you know how that sounds too. Because the car is an excellent quiet place, you can hear all sorts of frequencies you normally wouldn't. Having multiple points of reference can help reveal things you would never hear otherwise.
I use Audeze LCD-X,s with their reveal plugin and have some great mixes turn out from them.
@@TheHouseofKushTV I'll be waiting for it :D
For a long time I mixed mostly on headphones because I've never been able to get a mix that translates well in a nearfield monitor situation with speakers right near my head. It took spending some time in my friends acoustically treated studio with a midfield speaker arrangement and sitting about 8-10 ft away before I started to understand the benefits of mixing on speakers. The mixes we did in his space seemed to translate (mostly) to all other speaker setups. Speaker placement, where you sit, and room acoustics mean way more than the cost of the monitors you own. Great video!
I find listening too close to speakers causes some anxiety when mixing, sitting further back is like seeing the wood for the trees - with your ears.
Same here 😊
Because no driver is perfect, speaker enclosures have multiple drivers to handle different parts of the frequency spectrum. If you sit too close, you may subconsciously notice the sound coming from these different sources.
I just flipped my monitor (yes, a single speaker) upside down after rearranging my setup. Thanks so much! This is already making a big difference.
From the PDF: "Avoid, at all costs, putting a monitor's woofer at 50% of room height"....Yeah, guess where my woofers are. Woof. And here I was all happy because I put the things on IsoAcoustics Stands. (proceeds to flip the monitors upside down...)
Mine are upside down as well 🙃
The more i listen to you the more i appreciate reading a book that explained speakers/environment first. Thanks for passing on your experience. Btw my desk was “in spec” luckily. LOL!
Also, I’ve always heard more anomalies when walking around or passively listening.
Vaguely related, how do you feel about crossfeed plugins like the GoodHertz CanOpener?
I have no feels about them whatsoever. 😊
@@TheHouseofKushTV ok, then what do you think about them :) is it a good alternative if you don’t have a good environment in your room?
Great question. I can only mix on headphones for right now, so I’ve been using the Waves Nx plugin. It’s seems to help a whole lot. My mixes got approximately a million times better after I started using it. But I can’t wait to get the speakers plugged in again. It feels like just a decent short-term solution.
Damn, I love when in the intro drums hype up the tension, then wurlitzer drop comes in, that feels so goood
Guys, you have no idea how small an amateur mixing room may be in my country. It's the equivalent of a closet in the U.S. bedroom. No wonder nobody is able to tame transients or shape reverbs even with ADAMs or Genelecs.
Your point about transient information is so so so important. I had an “aha!” moment about a month and a half ago where I realized mixing is really just situating transients together to make a compelling, unified rhythmic “envelope”, and everything clicked in my mixes. I’ve completely extinguished doubt from my approach/decision making, and it’s made mixing even more fun, and it’s also made my approach to production so much more efficient because I basically define the role of each instrument / element as I compose / record it in that broader context, and by the time I’m finished with the production/composition (which for me are deeply intertwined) the mix is 90% done. I even can apply this when mixing for others because I do that same sort of transient landscaping and am technical enough to be able to manipulate the audio to fit it. Anyway, yeah, speaker set up and transients. This is the secret.
How about using a good headphone with a crossfeed plugin to improve the stereo image and a frequency correcting plugin like sonarworks? Just to take out the room. My room is small and I can't get all that space. Is this a good option?
I can't make it work with just headphones, but that may just be me. "All that space" is relative, it's percent based, so everyone has it. If your room is a 4' deep closet, you sit 38% of 4' back 😊
Goodhertz' Can Opener is nice
This answers so much regarding why my mixing has suffered every sense I switched from mixing on my little Bose SoundLink Mini Bluetooth speaker to my Kali Audio LP6 monitors. I’m practically right on top of them as they sit on my study desk in my bedroom. I guess it’s time to invest into monitor stands, and move my desk away from the wall if I expect to be able to here the transients properly.
My monitors now have fingerprints on them.
Mine have got spunk stains, but I don't go around shouting about it! I enjoy a nice port, I do.
It's always a great day when a new 'House of Kush' video pops up. Thank you for your generosity in sharing your knowledge here!
Professor Snape knows his music!
He's nothing like professor Snape, Snape is cold, sarcastic and unpleasant, this guy is the opposite.
@@God-yb2cg Snape is a hero and so is he!
@@Writtenmirror I still don't like Snape
@@God-yb2cg That's a you problem!
@@Writtenmirror It's an I problem?
I absolutely appreciate what youre saying. But we should always be listening to the nearfield of our speakers. Meaning that we are hearing a greater percentage of the direct sound from our speaker than reflected sound. Some speakers have spec to sit 3feet away (meaning that this is the correct point at which all the drivers from the speaker combine together), whereas other speakers like ATC SCM300ASL need like, 10 feet or something like that in order for the tweeters mid driver and sub driver to meet together. Listening at 3feet away to the first small speaker, is equivalent to listening 10 feet away for the big ATC speaker, in the sense that you are in the nearfield of each speaker, respectively.
The caveat is that with a speaker that requires you to listen to it 10 feet away (the speaker's nearfield), you need an exceptional room, otherwise you will hear more reflection than direct sound. Whereas yes if you sat 1 foot away from the big ATC speaker, yes youd hear exceptionally less room reflections and more direct sound, but that direct sound would be innacurate because the speaker wasnt MADE to be listened to from a foot away (meaning the drivers wouldnt meet together at 1 foot distance). Thats where now you would want to have a much smaller speaker that IS intented to be listened to from a shorter distance, so youd hear more direct sound, AND that direct sound would be ACCURATE (per specs of the speakers required listening distance).
This is all beneath the fact that, assuming you dont have a deliberately built room, youd first need to find the spot/region in your *already existing* room/area that is the "low-end" sweet spot. Meaning: the spot at which all room modes balance out the MOST, which is something that cannot be changed/fixed with treatment, unless said treatment is thick in order of 10+feet (which for most people, would eat up an entire basement or room of the house etc), or you use diaphragmatic absorbers which can be a pain also - having to tune them to the room and spot etc etc. Note that placing a subwoofer does not change the location of room modes (standing wave pattern), rather it can either dampen/null them out, or pump more energy into them. Not change their location. (Note this is why software like amroc or something doesnt require to know where your speakers/sub is set up to know where the room modes will be).
So in reality, it all depends on what speakers you have, if your low end sweet spot is close to a wall (at which point your best option is to put the speakers as close to the wall as possible so you can still sit in the low end sweet spot) or if the low end sweet spot is substantially far enough from the walls that (depending on the speaker's specifications on how far you should listen to the speaker) you can actually place the speakers far enough from the wall to have SBIR in such low frequencies that it becomes irrelevant or augmented with a subwoofer, AND still be within the speakers specified nearfield.
I'm not a good writer, hopefully what I wrote makes sense.
Actually its "you dont listen to your monitors, you listen to your cables" Just ask your sweetwater sales engineer and theyll be happy to set you up with a new pair of mogami platinums for the low price of $120 a pop
WTH 😂
actually it's "you don't listen to your cables, you listen to your electrons" just ask your glorkian electricity flavoring specialist and they'll be happy to set you up with a new pair of solid titanium electron flavor tanks for the low price of ₷418 a tank, plugs right into your earthling outlet to give you pure glorkian cuisine straight from your wires and speakers
@@laurenpinschannels lmaoooo love u
And here i was listening to the MUSICAL ARRANGEMENT.
Actually you don't listen to your audio cables, you listen to your power cables.
Make sure you buy a $2400 hand crafted power cable shielded with powerful rare earth magnets and a diamond connector for the best sound.
HELLO Sensei... Yes amazing brilliant mixing advice... FOR 30 plus years I'VE BEEN mixing about 2/3rds OF your recommended distance and speaker positioning; took your advice, and WOW!!! WHAT A SERIOUS IMPROVEMENT!!! I'VE ALWAYS MIXED USING A COMBO OF KRK AND OR YAMAHA 5" NEAR FIELD POWERED MONITORS, ALSO MIXING WITH HEADPHONES, SENNHEISER HD 280 PROS THEN COMPARISON LISTENING AND MAKING ADUSTMENTS...THANX ALWAYS FOR YOUR APPROACH AND SAGE ADVICE