How consistent are your mixes across different media ?

grimtraveller

If only for a moment.....
Going right back to the mid 70s when I was a kid, I noticed that a song or songs on an album, although being the same song or set of songs, sounded slightly different depending on whether they were being played on radio, a turntable or cassette deck. The changes weren't to do with quality, just that different mediums brought out different things. That also extended to if I was listening on headphones {which also extended to the type of headphones or earphones}, a walkman, a car stereo etc and later went on to include CDs when they came out, then ipods and stuff via the computer etc.


I'm curious about how "consistent" people find their mixes to be when they hear them in different situations. For example, I've found that my own mixes {and I'd be the first to admit they're not close to stellar !} sound slightly different depending on what I'm playing that mix on. Rarely to the extent that it sounds awful on anything, but there may be slight differences. I might hear the drums loud and clear with the percussion slightly less so as intended, on most of what I play the particular track on, but the percussion might be emphasized say, on a car stereo and shitty laptop ~ things like that.

I find, I've pretty much always found, these differences to be the case on commercial recordings too. I remember how amazed I was to hear Paul McCartney's bass lines on Beatle songs when I wasn't playing them on my little cassette recorder because on it, the bass rarely, if ever, figured. Yet I could hear Roger Waters bass on the first two Pink Floyd albums very well on the same cassette player, to the extent that it inspired me to actually take up the bass.


Is this a common finding ? Do you sometimes hear minor differences depending on where and what you play your mixes on ?
 
Radio was always different from the album, because every radio station that I've ever been in uses limiters and compressors along with some mild EQ to bump up the sound. 40 years ago, it seemed to me that AM radio stations were set up to sound their best through a 6x9 speaker in the dash of the Family Truckster! When FM became the rage, they seemed to be tailoring for the home stereo market, usually a receiver and a pair of bookshelf speakers. The bass frequencies were mildly compressed to make them sound full regardless of original mix. It tooks years for FM to become standard on cars.

On some 45s, there were obviously different mixes from the LP, usually to get it into the 3min airplay window. 45s always were "hotter" since the higher speed allows for more room for the grooves vs the 33 1/3, so even if the album was the exact same song as the single, it sounded different.

As for the differences between McCartney's bass sound and Waters, that's probably the difference between Paul's use of the Hofner, and Roger's Rickenbacker or PBass. They have distinctly different voices.
 
As for the differences between McCartney's bass sound and Waters, that's probably the difference between Paul's use of the Hofner, and Roger's Rickenbacker or PBass. They have distinctly different voices.
Partly. But Paul used a Rickenbacker from '66 onwards. On my cassette, you couldn't hear the bass at all. But I could hear Waters' OK or Bill Wyman and Keith Richards on some of the Stones songs like "Street fighting man." Some of it may be the way they played within the actual songs but I couldn't hear Paul's bass on songs where the bass is upfront, like "Getting Better."
 
Yeah, i notice the differences in different car systems, earbuds, different headphones{especially different between closed/open back), etc. I like to use the differences to my advantage, IOW , i can do things like add some low end for bigger/sub type systems and balance it so that it doesn't hit a limiter too hard and bring down the overall volume of the track.

Listening on earbuds has given me a lot of mixing ideas since every commercial release has decisions and ear candy that don't necessarily show up on a standard home playback device
 
Hearing bass notes on a system that literally has NO low frequency capability means that either they added a doubled part (played on guitar or bass an octave up) or had a lot of harmonics on the bass itself - Rics have a lot of high harmonics.
The question really isn't about different 'media', it is how the sound is being reproduced - different speakers, etc.
Of course getting your mix to translate well to other systems is one of the keys to mixing - it may sound different, but does it sound bad, or is an important part 'missing'? Personally, I think anyone listening on earbuds is not really concerned with sound quality/accuracy, just convenience - how many people do you know that use them regularly have decent ones (i.e >$100 cost)? I can't cater my mixes to those people.
 
I don't see how playing a single mix across any number of systems can result in anything less than a myriad of differences. Each system will have it's strengths and weaknesses in reproduction.........some more than others of course. Essentially it means that you still need to be very familiar with each system you're testing your mixes on so there will be no surprises concerning those weaknesses.

So.........IMO.....if you use a good familiar playback system in a good room......you're going to be able to get close to a result that could translate well over most systems. At some point......your mix is as good as it's going to get in terms of translation.
 
My mixes tend to translate fairly well. The differences are the same as I’d expect from the system, but it still comes across more or less as intended without too much major change in overall balance or feel. But I do sometimes get my stuff played on a local radio show where the DJ does some “mastering” of their own and then there’s the general station processing and I’m often very dissatisfied with the way my shit holds up to that.
 
Hearing bass notes on a system that literally has NO low frequency capability means that either they added a doubled part (played on guitar or bass an octave up) or had a lot of harmonics on the bass itself - Rics have a lot of high harmonics.
Songs like "Chapter 24," "Matilda Mother," "Take up thy stethoscope and walk" and "Let there be more light" on the Floyd's first two albums don't have added or doubled bass parts but the bass is integral to the song or at least, it is in parts. I don't know why there was such a difference but it was also there on a different cassette player I had around the same time when I was getting into heavy rock. Same kind of cassette player but I could hear the bass on some tracks well but not so well on others.

The question really isn't about different 'media', it is how the sound is being reproduced - different speakers, etc.
There's a lot in that but I'm not entirely buying that. I well remember my Dad's old Panasonic music centre
back in the 70s and early 80s. I would tape records from the turntable to the tape deck and there was always a slight difference in the sound. I noticed the same thing when I was living alone from age 18 and had my own set up. It was something I noticed without thinking about it but it wasn't ever something that diminished my enjoyment. It came into even sharper focus by the early 90s when I had a set up that included a turntable, cassette deck, CD player and DAT player. Same amp, same speakers, same set up, same room, same listening positions ~ but there was a slight difference. Again, never a sufficient one for it to be a problem, but a difference nonetheless.

Of course getting your mix to translate well to other systems is one of the keys to mixing - it may sound different, but does it sound bad, or is an important part 'missing'?
That's the thing, I do find that mixes sound slightly different on different machines and spaces but rarely does it ever sound 'bad'. But I have found things missing or emphasized or under~emphasized. That was kind of what I was curious about in asking the question.

Personally, I think anyone listening on earbuds is not really concerned with sound quality/accuracy, just convenience - how many people do you know that use them regularly have decent ones (i.e >$100 cost)? I can't cater my mixes to those people.
Interestingly, I've always found that mixes sound good on earbuds, whether my own or those on albums/singles that I have.
 
Mine are VERY consistent. Sound like crap in the studio, sound like crap on the laptop, phone. Sound like crap in the car, on streaming platforms etc. :)
 
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