Mix sounds different played back on different computers.

J

Junior Melvin

New member
My apologies if this has been addressed before.

I do home recording using an HP laptop and Audacity, with a Behringer interface.

Sometimes, after mixing down and being happy with the results, I will play the tune back on a different laptop and the mix sounds off. Usually not, but sometimes.

When doing my mixdown, I start with headphones and when I am satisfied, go to the computer speakers, then make further adjustments if necessary. OK, sounds good, all set, til I play it back on another laptop, and the bass is too loud, the guitar too quiet, etc. etc.

Your thoughts? And thanks.
 
Yep - the snag is that all these devices sound different, so your mix decisions need to be made on something that is neutral, balanced and sounds good on everything. In the office - I have an excellent interface, and very nice 5" RCF 5S speakers, but these speakers have little bass - they start to tail off at 65Hz, so If I mix on them the bass that sounds right, is wrong. If I play back on my macbook pro - it sounds good too. Play back on the studio big speakers and the bass is often a surprise! Not just too loud but even un-noticed mistakes. If I pklay back a studio mix on the macbook it sounds good and the no bass is OK. Play it back on a panasonic laptop and the bass rattles and buzzes. That's why the best studio monitors sound OK on everything, they tell the truth. A very good pair of headphones is great if all your speakers are a bit, er, just OK.
 
Junior Melvin said:
My apologies if this has been addressed before.

I do home recording using an HP laptop and Audacity, with a Behringer interface.

Sometimes, after mixing down and being happy with the results, I will play the tune back on a different laptop and the mix sounds off. Usually not, but sometimes.

When doing my mixdown, I start with headphones and when I am satisfied, go to the computer speakers, then make further adjustments if necessary. OK, sounds good, all set, til I play it back on another laptop, and the bass is too loud, the guitar too quiet, etc. etc.

Your thoughts? And thanks.
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Well basically, welcome to the wonderful world of mix translation. It's quite a rabbit hole. If you search for 'mix translation' or 'how to make my mixes translate' that'll get you started, along with what Rob said.
 
There's also the issue that Windows will often enable "enhancements" in the sound driver setup. That stuff needs to be turned off. EQ, Spacial enhancement, etc. might be enabled depending on the audio chipset. Go into the playback properties and turn off audio enhancements in the properties.

The output for the audio should be consistent if you plug the same set of speakers or headphones into 10 different computers. Using the computer's internal speakers is worthless for judging anything., though.
 
Junior Melvin said:
No doubt, but when you put your stuff up on Youtube, that's what people listen thru.
Click to expand...
What they listen on is totally up to them... YOU need to have an accurate gauge of the sound. Unless you can have one of every model computer/Ipad/cell phone/headphone and earbud in existence, you will never know what the other end of the chain will be.

Anyone who is serious about sound will have decent speakers or headphones. Anyone who only uses the puny micro speakers aren't interested in quality, simply having some background noise, or trying to decide if the song is worth hearing. They produce ZERO low bass, instead they simply distort, and give an impression that they have bass. Do a simple frequency sweep of your laptop and see how low it really goes.

I will never comment on sound quality of anything unless I either have my good headphones on, or am connected to a proper pair of monitors.
 
Junior Melvin said:
My apologies if this has been addressed before.

I do home recording using an HP laptop and Audacity, with a Behringer interface.

Sometimes, after mixing down and being happy with the results, I will play the tune back on a different laptop and the mix sounds off. Usually not, but sometimes.

When doing my mixdown, I start with headphones and when I am satisfied, go to the computer speakers, then make further adjustments if necessary. OK, sounds good, all set, til I play it back on another laptop, and the bass is too loud, the guitar too quiet, etc. etc.

Your thoughts? And thanks.
Click to expand...
Get to know your playback devices - theoretically on Headphones it shouldn't sound different - but on speakers it will - you just have to learn to balance your mixes - and as @tailsmanRich said - get Decent Nearfileds and bring them with you.
 
You never know what device listeners will choose. Traditionally, mixing on NS10s and Auratones translates pretty well.

Here's a mix I did today with tracks from the Cambridge Multitrack Library.

Listen to Back Home To Blue by Tom Hicks888 on #SoundCloud
on.soundcloud.com

Back Home To Blue

Back Home To Blue by The Long Wait. Country song from the Multitrack Download Library. Mixed on Samplidude Pro X.
on.soundcloud.com on.soundcloud.com
 
Junior Melvin said:
My apologies if this has been addressed before.

I do home recording using an HP laptop and Audacity, with a Behringer interface.

Sometimes, after mixing down and being happy with the results, I will play the tune back on a different laptop and the mix sounds off. Usually not, but sometimes.

When doing my mixdown, I start with headphones and when I am satisfied, go to the computer speakers, then make further adjustments if necessary. OK, sounds good, all set, til I play it back on another laptop, and the bass is too loud, the guitar too quiet, etc. etc.

Your thoughts? And thanks.
Click to expand...
Hey man. Totally natural. As someone mentioned: welcome to the world of mixing 😎

Flipping to mono is a true test of where your levels are. I use a single avontone mix cube (in mono) but, I also switch my yamaha hs80m monitors to mono sometimes to check how things sound. I use headphones during my mix process as well but, I don't like to sit with and rely on any one listening device(s) for too long. The brain/ears get used to how things sound pretty quickly. Mixing on my headphones (sennheiser HD650) then switching to my monitors sounds weird at first which is a good thing. I go between the monitors, the headphones and the mono avantone speaker frequently, especially leaning on the avantone for bass in the low mids and overall balance of everything. If it sounds good and balanced in mono on that monitor, as long as I am not doing anything crazy with the widening tools (which is lost in mono...so lost on some phones and in a club !!!) I am in good shape.

Oh, and I would not completely rule out the computer speakers. They will not reproduce deep sub bass hahaha but, taking into consideration that some people will listen through those kinds of speakers, it would be nice if they also had a good experience with your track. A lot of mixing decisions are made in the production - which instruments to choose - phase. A lot can be done by filling out a chord with the right sounds...
 
Oddly, Rich’s comments made sense, but I do it in reverse sometimes. My first listen is usually, on a MacBook, that has zero bass. Many questions can be understood on it, but those about quality issues or background noise, can’t. When that fails, I often go to my stage in-ears and can hear the hisses, hums, burbling and odd stuff, but then when I listen later in the studio, many of those things actually are less obvious. In my early videos on YouTube I totally missed the low frequency fan noise. Missing on the edit suit speakers, and I genuinely didn’t hear it. I moved the recorder to the edit suite and that solved the issue.

if you originate music, voice or audio of any kind, it’s your job to tune things for the listeners with the best kit, not the poorest. Often, they are the ones whose opinions count more. When I stick my stuff up on here, I know people with good ears and good kit’s comments will be truthful and help me improve. youtube reminds me to shave, or ask about the colour of my clothes, or ask about the kit they see in the background, or even the state of my coffee cup. Occasionally somebody mentions they didn’t like a certain mic’s sound. Phew!
 
My son was talking to me only a day or so about a related problem. He builds versions of musical pieces from scores with guitar parts and MIDI instruments, e.g. Brand'#5. He tells me he has worked his ears off until 2am, crashed then when he awakes next day BE'yd and Bushy tailed, the mix sounds rubbish! This is "ear fatigue".

But yes, good consistent kit and levels is vital. If you don't have one get a cheap Sound Pressure Level Meter or an app for your phone. Use the "C" weighting and calibrate your speakers. I will try to find a link about that.

Dave.
 

Establishing Project Studio Reference Monitoring Levels

If you're serious about recording and mixing you need to set a consistent reference level to which you can always return. Our seven‑step guide explains how to do it.
www.soundonsound.com www.soundonsound.com

That ^ is perhaps a little too complex for your present situation but the important part is first to get a C weighted meter (or app) and set things up so that you listen at a consistent Sound Pressure Level, day to day and even when you are feeling out of sorts (tho' probably not best to make 'artistic decisions' when snot bound!).

The 'official' sound level of ~85dBC is generally a bit too loud for many people and can be socially unacceptable. Dialing it back to around 75dBC is fine so long as you know that and are consistent. You can of course have the odd 'kick back and head bang session'!

Dave.
 
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