btyre-
thanks for listening!
the vox, starting out, yes, i brought out a bit more of the high end (4-8k) for clarity....
works for the speakers, but not as much for the headphone mix.
i like the listener to really have to dig into the entire mix, i mix it for the vox to blend and work as an instrument, NOT to stand out on top like
a standard top 40 mix, where the vocal is really the only thing going on....
comes from listening to a lot of
classic rock mixes, the AOR stuff, not the hits......!
my theory:
the way you process and mix the low end, and the most high end, makes or breaks a headphone mix.
the common frequency for everyone, is the mids, of course, that's where most people hear the most information...
but to get the heaphone mixes to be as good as the speaker mixes, is tricky, and requres a more
modern (for me) approach.
i'm looking for some commonalities with headphone listening, that i can focus on mix wise....for my mixes to work better in the headphones, and not screw up the good translation thru the monitors and homes stereos.
i'm thinking more folks listen on headphones or earbuds these days, than did when i was younger and just getting into music....
it's the devices, that drive that decision....
i like the listener to really have to dig into my entire mix, on vocal songs, i mix it for the vox to blend and work as an instrument, NOT to stand out on top like
a standard top 40 mix, where the vocal is really the only thing going on....and the music is just a backing track......
comes from listening to a lot of
classic rock mixes, the AOR stuff, not the hits......!
anyway, that's just my approach to production, it's what i like.
it is very hard to get a good mix to translate mixing with only headphones, i've rarely ever heard a good mix from someone using only headphones to mix....
but i DO use headphones to do spot checks, and to do critical editing..... and i love listening to music with my earbuds in general, because it's the only way i can crank it up to a volume i like, that doesn't bug everybody else around me, and it's the only way i can hear EVERYTHING in a mix, when i'm not in
the studio.
and i find usually, that a good mix thru the monitors, will almost always translate into a good sounding headphone mix.
but here's the rub, if you want POWER in the low end, like you say, then there is an entirely different area of EQ and compression that you have to concentrate your work on....
and to NOT ruin the speaker mix, by adding that power, that is the trick.
and believe me, there are HUGE DIFFERENCES in quality of headphones and earbuds.
and usually, it's in the ability to have that power, and smooth high end as well.
headphones and especially ear buds, are tricky beasts..... and it's even harder to get a common concencus amongst different earphone users as it is folks listening thru monitors at 85 dB.