mixes are hurting my earballs

author_unknown

New member
Hello folks,

Like many of us, I'm self-recording at home. Is it Abbey Road? Nope. Can it get the job done. Yep! I'm perfectly happy with an "at home" aesthetic and for this music it works well. The bed tracks are your typical "rock" band (drums, bass, guitar, vox).
More specific gear info is below.

While this isn't my first time recording and mixing in a very similar setup, I would never claim to be an engineer. I'm simply trying to capture the songs the best I can. But I'm running into a perplexing and frustrating issue with these particular sessions as I'm tracking and starting to rough mix.

I am experiencing ear fatigue and even inner ear pain/discomfort after a mix session and also when listening back on my stereo system and (particularly) earbuds. It isn't one particular song, but I've only been working on a few tunes for a coupe weeks or so now trying to get "the mix." This is unique to my mixes, not other music I may be listening to.

I'm not overly processing; some compression on the vocals, bass, kick and snare. Reverb to taste and EQ on tracks. Nothing on the mix buss (like compression or limiting.)

I have a couple guesses on what might be going on but I'm looking for some advice.

Guess one: I have a feeling I'm somehow building up particular frequencies in the mix. Probably the mid-highs since these seem to be what I'm most sensitive to. Additionally, so far the mixes have felt a bit dull on the larger speakers.

There's a mono overhead on the drums and I'm cutting a lot off the top to tame the high hats but keep the toms present. The electric guitars are "bright" but I think in some instances are a bit harsh. And vocals, well those tend to sit in the mid-range at least with my voice. Main culprit guesses though are those guitars and the OH mic.

Second guess: something to do with my mix setup. Tracks have been recorded with plenty of headroom (around -15db average) not even close to clipping. Monitor volume can get loud, but I try to be conscience of the volume.

I buss all tracks to a submix so that I can add plugins down the road (tape sat, compression etc.) when I'm mixing more finally and accurately and not have to worry about the master being post fader. However, to boost the over all volume of the final mix, I've got the the "submix" +6bd heading into the master fader. No peaking, but still makes it louder to compare with commercial mixes. But, just because the lights aren't red doesn't mean it's not cranking too much right?

Those are my ideas, but I'd love to hear any feedback and thoughts on what might be going on. While a bit apprehensive (you know how us musicians can get precious about sharing non-final stuff) I'd consider sending a file of a mix directly to you if you're inclined to give a listen and try to troubleshoot.

While this post isn't necessarily about the gear here's what's going on there:

Songs are tracked into Pro Tools via a Focusrite Scarlett series interface (24/96). I have some decent mics and some ****ty ones. My monitors aren't great (KRK Rokit 6) and I'm in a garage doing everything.

Thanks!
 
Without knowing a lot more specific details...you're just going to get a lot of speculation.

Bottom line...volume is going to be the first consideration...and you seem to be focused on getting commercial mix loudness, which is usually too loud.

Often when people mix, the listen to the same thing over and over, and volumes gradually get turned up. The other thing is that you are listing to the same thing over and over...so that will fatigue the ears. You need to walk away from it and give them a rest. Maybe even listen to something else just to clear out that "sound memory" of the mix... cleanse your palate.

If you are using a lot of compression on everything...it will flatten out the dynamics, and you don't notice the peaks as much...so the level goes up, but then the overall volume is too loud.

Earbuds aren't going to help...they focus the volumes directly into the ears.
 
Are you going back and forth between your mix and a reference track? That can help identify issues with level/loudness and EQ.

You should be controlling the level of your mix so it's several dB (say 6 at least) below the commercial mix, and you can use a gain plugin on the main/stereo bus (i.e., to toggle on to make up that difference) when A/B-ing against a reference track.
 
+1 Sounds like ear fatigue leading to eq hyping. Take a break to some place quiet every 40-60 minutes. Mix at 65 dB, check at 85 but don't leave it there for long. See the post about ONE set of ears!
 
Some tips I would recommend:

- Once you've think you completed the mix at a normal level, turn the master volume to a barely audible level and see what stands out to you first. This is a great way to tell if an instrument is too loud.

- Turn the master track on mono and also see if anything stands out.

- Lastly, you probably don't need as much compression as you think. Too much can lead to balancing issues.
 
Thanks for your reply! I've certainly been guilty of monitoring too loudly at times. I try to be conscious of my overall volume and I know that I won't reach commercial volume in my mixes, especially pre-mastering. I'm only boosting to get it a bit more volume out of it when giving some playback. I haven't overly compressed, in fact I'm using very minimal dynamic processing. More EQ than anything.

The earbuds aren't for mixing, just referencing what consumer products (say Apple EarPods) may sound like.

I'm really wondering if there's a buildup of some frequencies. It's so strange, since I've not experienced this with my past mixes and I don't seem affected by other music.




Without knowing a lot more specific details...you're just going to get a lot of speculation.

Bottom line...volume is going to be the first consideration...and you seem to be focused on getting commercial mix loudness, which is usually too loud.

Often when people mix, the listen to the same thing over and over, and volumes gradually get turned up. The other thing is that you are listing to the same thing over and over...so that will fatigue the ears. You need to walk away from it and give them a rest. Maybe even listen to something else just to clear out that "sound memory" of the mix... cleanse your palate.

If you are using a lot of compression on everything...it will flatten out the dynamics, and you don't notice the peaks as much...so the level goes up, but then the overall volume is too loud.

Earbuds aren't going to help...they focus the volumes directly into the ears.
 
Hell no. ;)

Not because I don't want it to be it's just not set up for it. Again, it's far from an ideal situation but it's what I have to work with.
 
Yeah, I'm thinking there's a buildup in them high-mids.

The earbuds listening is to just to compare what it sounds like in commercial products (e.g. EarPods etc.)

The +6db boost is via a fader. I feed my tracks into a an AUX track (submix) where I can apply any processing. Right now, there is no processing on the submix. I then feed the submix into a master fader.

---------- Update ----------

message lost nvm me

Yeah, I'm thinking there's a buildup in them high-mids.

The earbuds listening is to just to compare what it sounds like in commercial products (e.g. EarPods etc.)

The +6db boost is via a fader. I feed my tracks into a an AUX track (submix) where I can apply any processing. Right now, there is no processing on the submix. I then feed the submix into a master fader.
 
I think you need to start by calibrating your monitor level.
If you're boosting tracks and adding compression to increase the playback without using a known monitor reference level...you're going to be all over the place with listening volumes.
Mix levels will wander based on how you are hearing things at the moment, level-wise.

I've got a TC Electronics Level Pilot, which controls the output level of my monitors. I also have one of the new passive Mackie Big Knobs, which I only patch in when I want to A/B between two sources or two monitors.
Anyway...the Level Pilot has no markings on it, it's just a "big volume knob"...but when I calibrated my monitors, I drew marks on it with a small straight edge and marker, for the different reference levels. The Mackie Big Knob has hash marks, if I recall, and like-wise so does my console main monitor output...but the point I want to make is, I don't fuck around with all those other level controls, not even the main faders in the DAW...I just use the markings on the Level Pilot to set my reference monitoring level.
The primary level is around 82 dB SPL...but I have marks for 75, 80, 82, 85, & 90 db SPL also. That way I know what level I'm listening to regardless of what my hearing is telling me...which can be a lie as you mix for hours and hours, and slowly turn things up. With the calibrated level marks...even if I turn up, I can also see where I've gone with the level, and it's a reminder that I may need to back it off.
If I did nudge up the volume over a couple of hours time...when I get up and go for coffee or a snack, I intentionally turn it back to my original level, which is usually at the 80-82 dB SPL mark...and start fresh when I come back to it.

So don't set you "listening" volume by jacking up the tracks and the mix...set it with the main monitor level, based on a known reference.
I simple SPL meter from Radio Shack and some pink noise is all you need to set the reference levels.
 
You're right. That's a really good place to start. I'm also going to zero the fader on my submix and get the overall volume using the faders from the individual tracks to get the level right.

I think you need to start by calibrating your monitor level.
If you're boosting tracks and adding compression to increase the playback without using a known monitor reference level...you're going to be all over the place with listening volumes.
Mix levels will wander based on how you are hearing things at the moment, level-wise.

I've got a TC Electronics Level Pilot, which controls the output level of my monitors. I also have one of the new passive Mackie Big Knobs, which I only patch in when I want to A/B between two sources or two monitors.
Anyway...the Level Pilot has no markings on it, it's just a "big volume knob"...but when I calibrated my monitors, I drew marks on it with a small straight edge and marker, for the different reference levels. The Mackie Big Knob has hash marks, if I recall, and like-wise so does my console main monitor output...but the point I want to make is, I don't fuck around with all those other level controls, not even the main faders in the DAW...I just use the markings on the Level Pilot to set my reference monitoring level.
The primary level is around 82 dB SPL...but I have marks for 75, 80, 82, 85, & 90 db SPL also. That way I know what level I'm listening to regardless of what my hearing is telling me...which can be a lie as you mix for hours and hours, and slowly turn things up. With the calibrated level marks...even if I turn up, I can also see where I've gone with the level, and it's a reminder that I may need to back it off.
If I did nudge up the volume over a couple of hours time...when I get up and go for coffee or a snack, I intentionally turn it back to my original level, which is usually at the 80-82 dB SPL mark...and start fresh when I come back to it.

So don't set you "listening" volume by jacking up the tracks and the mix...set it with the main monitor level, based on a known reference.
I simple SPL meter from Radio Shack and some pink noise is all you need to set the reference levels.
 
You have to just remember that the fader levels are for you mix level balance...the speaker monitor level is how loud you like the mix in the room.
 
Yep! I'll use your suggestions for room volume measured with an SPL meter for listening volume. The levels I'm getting on my DAW master fader is the overall mix volume (usually somewhere around -15 to -18db).
 
Do you say if your drums and guitar are real or sims? Sims of either can result in weird overtones and hyped frequencies.

Otherwise, get back to basics: mix in mono at the lowest level possible. When it sounds good there, spread the elements to stereo. When it sounds good there, turn up the volume and see what pokes out, then adjust. You shouldn't be mixing at high levels. It serves no purpose.
 
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