A little trick that helps me (with ears adjusting)

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I was listening to some modern music and flipped it to something recorded in the sixties and imeadietly noticed how limited the overall frequency was. No low bass, no sparkle in the high end. But within A FEW SECONDS my ears started to adjust and everything sounded normal.... Man... Crazy how quick that happens. So what I've been doing (after your basic mix, levels , general eq and compression) is go through each song, mute the master and play it and quickly write down what u notice, be super quick, you only have a few seconds. Too bright? Low end too boomy? Go thru each song, make notes and the revisit your final mix with what you've learned.

It's not earth shattering I know, but thus simple thing has saved me a few trips back and forth to the car
 
I mentioned making notes when mixing in another post and got gently ribbed for it. Though for me it's more about making arrangement decisions after recording, I think what u are doing is smart. Another reason to take breaks often, also
 
Headphones too it's bizzare. Can go from a really nice set to $10 earbuds. They will sound terrible at first but then your ears quickly adjust, until you switch back and realize what you've been missing. Funny how that works.
 
My sister is a music freak and has speakers in every room, so you can wander through her house listening to the the same song wherever you go.

You can be in the lounge room listening. Then you move into the study and immediately notice a change in sound characteristics, and you go "that sounds terrible). But after a few seconds your brain adjusts and it sounds ok again. You then go into the kitchen, and the same thing happens.


So your brain has the remarkable ability to internally adjust the sound to make it acceptable.
 
gecko zzed said:
So your brain has the remarkable ability to internally adjust the sound to make it acceptable.
Click to expand...

Right...this is what I was saying in another thread about testing mixes on other systems...etc...that "translation" is not an absolute thing.
IOW...if anyone thinks the can get their good quality studio monitor mix to sound exactly the same on their car speakers or their earbuds, etc...your dreaming.
You have to account somehow for the differences in playback systems and their quality...and generally speaking, your brain will help with the translation if you give it a minute.
So...I still say, mix on the best studio system you can afford, in a decently treated room, and your mixes will translate to everything else "good enough".
I mean...your "fans" ;) are not going to run around testing your mixes...they will just play them on their chosen system, and their brains will take care of the rest.

When I'm getting my mix prepped...maybe I spend a few hours working on something, and it's all good...but it's the first listen on the next day that tends to reveal the most AFA what more I need to do.
So it all goes back to the "ear fatigue" thing...and the need to rest your ears and/or also listen to something different for a bit...give your ears and your brain a chance to "cleanse your palate".
 
I hear you (no pun intended) about the ear fatigue. Funny how it works. I can work on something for hours, think I have it sounding good. Listen the next day and go "WTF was I thinking?". On the flip side, I can shut down a session in disgust, tired, cranky, dissatisfied with my results. Listen again the next day and be surprised at how much better it actually was compared to what I had thought.
 
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