Sounds Good on Headphones, Crappy on Speakers...

Robertt8

Robertt8

New member
I'm sure I should know this, and it's probably a mastering issue, but...

When I listen to my own tunes on headphones compared to professionally recorded tunes on headphones is sounds not too far off from sounding good to me, but when I run my tune through the ol' stereo speakers, my tunes always sound like ass compared to the same tunes. I'm assuming this is a mastering issue?

Why does this phenomena happen? Is it because I'm stuck mixing my tune in (gasp!) headphones? I mean, I know everything seems to sound better on headphones, but why does this happen?
 
daaang..nice thread

you know i've learned more on this web site in a few months than the last 5 years. this info is wayabove appreciated.
Most excellent question too..so clearly asked and answered.

i've been recording for years...and using headphones and getting crap sounding mixes...with no clue as to why really. daamnnnfhkndammn....if this works and i get another paradigm shift improvement.......believe it or not i been recording and reading for many years...it was never such live info as this board is.

bear, i was confused when you made a comment "need good monitors to hear what your tracking..." now i know.

my mixes have already increased dramatically in the past few months..thanks to the gang here
IE: leading me to a DMP3/PreAMp...and here I had been swapping out micrphones for fhkn 2 years trying to get the sound.

daaaang does this could mean less ear fatigue too!

SOCOOL:
tracking thru the monitors
Buy RNC
Build up the acoustics in the room
 
proofs in the pudding...

Tracking thru the monitors: damnfhkn damn i'll be..

first few tracks sounded alright. much less ear fatigue too! GREAT!, awkward breaking old habits tho.

this is amazing, simplist things get over looked sometimes.
transferred so much easier to the cardeck (my main uninterrupted enviroment), first CDR too.

its embarrassing how many years i been using the cans, recording meself, for everything, and it sounded great until mixdown.

i'd had a few decent mixes...but it was a "shooting in the dark" type thing, extremely frustrated i was.


most appreciated thread!!
proofs in the pudding.
 
Yo Roberto:]

Your recorded stuff always sounds good in cans. It's the can structure and environment and small space between your head and ears that make it good -- especially if you have good cans.

Alas, it's not true with the mix. You need to hear the sounds on good monitors or piss poor monitors if that's the case, and you can then adjust the EQ and volume in the faders and reverb and compression and, et. al.

Then, when you play back your recorded mix, you will get something that sounds balanced rather than dull and lacking in vibrancy.

Green Hornet :D :p :p :rolleyes: :cool:
 
Before my monitor purchase:
- computer speakers - sounded like a rock star
- car stereo - realized the bass is about 10db too damn loud!!
- home stereo - sounded like Led Zeplin if you could get the whole band inside a metal bucket with the drummer beating the top

After remixing with decent monitors:
- got a mix that sounded great in all three places, and it shaved about a whole day off of the process because I didn't have to run around and play my mix in 10 different places to hear where the mistakes were.

Bottom Line - Monitors a must :D
 
yeah..can the cans..

I have nephews that started recording using some of my old,old stuf 4track casstte Tascam 144...

anyway their stuff sounded frkn great (relative to my mixes), on fhknkg Cassette!! better than anything i had ever done in transfer ability??? they had only just started recording!
but it never crossed my mind to ask 'em. it was always what kinda guitar effect you use, what kinda microphone?

so last night i spoke with him, after this revalation thread, and asked, "hey, do you track and mix with headphones?"

nephew said "oh, no...that doesn't work, i go back and forth maybe, but even my detachable boom box speakers transfer better than headphones...etc..etc..no one ever told me, i just noticed the mixes were bad using headphones"

so fhk me again,
me and my brother (nephews dad) have been recording with cans for like years and years...depressed at the horrific mud mix after tracking for hours and hours with cans on and smiling only to go into dark depression from this horrific final mud mix over and over and over...(a friend once politely asked.."is that drums or did you use like a cardboard box?")

EXCUSES of IGNORANCE:
i guess when your the musician AND recording guy, you always see the musicians with headphones recording in the studio.
Videos and pictures....musicians siging into a big condensor with cans on or a guitarist in front of a guitar stack with cans on laying down tracks.....and the drummer too, with cans on.

...but the Mix Eng's are rarely thought of, or photographed
...but now as i pay attention more to Engineering pictures...they DON'T have the Headphones on.......very rare to see George Martin and Geoff with cans on...

excuse my redundant excitement......fhkme:)
 
Blue Bear Sound said:
One of my articles should explain it --

Whad'ya Mean I Can't Mix With Headphones????
Click to expand...

Without ever reading the article (and I dont know who BlueBear is) I must concur with the premise...You can't mix using only headphones...What you hear just isn't "real"...Levels, EQ, Effects, Dynamic Processing, Spatiality, Etc., will be either exaggerated or diminished to some degree (more often than not to a "great" degree)...

Hope this helps!
 
OK, I've been convinced I can't mix with headphones.

BUT, I've spent all my budget on my V-drums and my TASCAM 788 and I cannot afford decent monitors.

Someone once told me I shouldn't use home stereo speakers as monitors - why?

Are they really that bad?

Surely as long as the speakers are not absolute crap then it should be OK?

I've got a feeling I'm wrong, but I have no idea why!
 
It's not really about whether they're crap or not, it's really how flat they are. But I've read about a lot of people getting decent flat response from home stereo speakers. I'd say if you've got the money for good home stereo speakers, it may be better spent on monitors, IMHO :).
 
PinkFloyd said:
OK, I've been convinced I can't mix with headphones.

BUT, I've spent all my budget on my V-drums and my TASCAM 788 and I cannot afford decent monitors.

Someone once told me I shouldn't use home stereo speakers as monitors - why?

Are they really that bad?

Surely as long as the speakers are not absolute crap then it should be OK?

I've got a feeling I'm wrong, but I have no idea why!
Click to expand...

out of money....i'd use the home stereo speakers over the cans/phones. from my expiero.

try some tunes and check it out on your car and boom and other listening enviro's. even simple sht, BAss,Drum, Guitar..I'll bet the mix transfers better.

i did a quick track/mix using the monitors and first CDR transfferred better or as good as my past methodolgy(phones) re-buring 25 fhkn cdr's and still fhkd up IMO.

pumped me up so much...i been hanging out at the studio building page learning about Fiberglas NRC, Density, Freq absorbtion....its all fhkn wild...
can you dig it?
 
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