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!
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!