It NEVER sounds the same...

H

Hummerzdad

New member
So I am a novice at best. I probably know enough to be dangerous! I have a Boss BR-1600CD and I generally used pre-recorded tracks and record my vocals. The problem comes when I mix down I think it sounds so good, then I record it on to a CD and ploay it either in my vehicle or on another player and its terrible! So I just not sure what the heck Im doing to get this effect. I use Sennheiser HD 280 closed back head phones. Any ideas or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
 
Headphones don't quite usually "do it" for mixing. Your mixes don't translate very well to other systems because your headphones aren't giving you an accurate representation of what your mix actually sounds like. You should get yourself some monitor speakers to start, and then work on acoustically treating your mixing room.
 
Ok I will do that. And now that I think about it, that would make sense in that Im using headphones which have a captive sound, whereas the monitors would be more a true sound. Thats great thanks I really appreciate it!
 
Hummerzdad said:
Ok I will do that. And now that I think about it, that would make sense in that Im using headphones which have a captive sound, whereas the monitors would be more a true sound. Thats great thanks I really appreciate it!
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Yes, part of the beauty of monitors is that they react both with the room and with themselves (the left and right monitors). With headphones the left and right channels are completely isolated from each other, but monitors allow panned sounds to be in the same atmosphere at the same time. Do you have a budget for monitors? Maybe somebody here could recommend you a pair that fit your budget.
 
Not to kick off the whole "Can I mix on headphones?" debate again, but it's EXTREMELY difficult for someone with little audio experience to get good results when mixing on headphones.
 
When you're starting out, the best bet is to listen on as many systems as you can, make notes, and adjust your mix accordingly, then do it all again.
 
When you're starting out, the best bet is to listen on as many systems as you can, make notes, and adjust your mix accordingly, then do it all again.
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I think that's sound advice. I'm new to recording and have just got my studio up and running, but I have worked in the audio industry for a number of years. You might also find that using monitors can give you results which sound different on general use audio equipment. I have my studio set up to deliver a sound which closely represents what's recorded on my multi-tracker which I am confident is very close to being flat. The trouble is that other audio equipment tends not to be set up flat or in some cases the sound is influenced by the manufacturers so even when set flat the sound will be what the makers think you'd like to hear. I am presuming the recorded tracks you sing along to are already mixed, which if that's the case you don't have the flexibility that exists with a set of individual tracks. A vocal when added can alter the dynamics of a whole piece hence it is useful to be able to adjust the levels of parts of the whole track to enable them to augment or compliment the vocal, one also has the ability to alter the spatial positioning of instruments to allow a vocal to see the light of day without it being stifled by the additional content.

all the best

Tim
 
Thanks all for all of the advise... I actually do have monitors, but I have historically mixed with headphones, however, that mixing was done with a 4 track cassette tape system. Now that Im digital, its a whole new
ball-game! Thanks again!
 
Every system that you listen on will sound different. It is possible to mix with headphones, but generally recommended not to.
 
I mix in the cans and get some pretty good results... Some of it goes to the whole "dark art" of mixing and mastering, how and when to use Verb, compression, EQ limiting, panning, exciters, busing, doubling, Delay, Mid/Side, HAAS effect, etc. etc. etc. And on and on and on. It's much more important than cans vs. monitors.
 
You can get good results with either one. You just have to know how to mix on whatever you use. You have to know your equipment and how it translates on other systems. I've always heard that mixing on monitors was easier, but I wouldn't know....I've always mixed using cans. :o

I would love to have a set of decent monitors in a well treated room, but hey....it just ain't happening right now. :D
 
Hummerzdad said:
Thanks all for all of the advise... I actually do have monitors, but I have historically mixed with headphones, however, that mixing was done with a 4 track cassette tape system. Now that Im digital, its a whole new
ball-game! Thanks again!
Click to expand...

Most any home recording affordable speaker / headphone will have frequencies that are unequally represented. When you record on your headphones, you make it sound good, which means perhaps you increase a frequency that you don't know is missing from the speaker's design. When you play it on your friends speaker, which has that frequency in place, it ends up being over or under represented. Theoretically, if you can tell which frequency is off, you could mentally compensate for it on your mixing system. Speakers are better in general, but you will probably still have to get to know where they are "missing the boat" and compensate with them, too. Listening on different systems is a good and important part of the process.
 
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