Mixing: how long before your ears start lying to you?

  • Thread starter Thread starter markmann
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Well, I'd say about ten to maybe 20 minutes before monitor-listening is pointless, unless I'm recording an electric guitar or a synth and I don't have to worry about a mix decision, or were I'm sitting or standing in the room. I mix it up, using open- and closed-back phones before the final bounce, and then listen with earbuds in bed. If I don't use the phones for the final mix-check, the mix almost always has something sticking out that ear fatigue caused me to miss!
 
TimOD said:
Well, I'd say about ten to maybe 20 minutes before monitor-listening is pointless, unless I'm recording an electric guitar or a synth and I don't have to worry about a mix decision, or were I'm sitting or standing in the room. I mix it up, using open- and closed-back phones before the final bounce, and then listen with earbuds in bed. If I don't use the phones for the final mix-check, the mix almost always has something sticking out that ear fatigue caused me to miss!
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That's interesting because I'm sort of the opposite. I track with headphones but I always mix with monitors. The reason is because everything seems to sound great with headphones but when I listen back with any other speaker it never sounds as good, especially the stereo separation.
 
When ever you lose mix focus, play the drum part on your leg, concentrating only on drums. Any glaring issues will become evident.
Cheers
 
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About an hour's normal. Pros take breaks, switch monitors, keep volume low. Ears get tired fast, if it starts sounding off, step away.
 
markmann said:
I've been wondering how long others can mix before they lose perspective on what good tone is? For me it seems to be about an hour before changes I make begin having a negative effect on the mix. FYI, when I mix I am usually also adjusting EQ and time based effects. How are people that work in studios able to do it for many hours? If I take an hour or two break I'm good but I really wish I didn't have to.
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You ears don’t lie to you - they get fatigued - for me that about 1.5 horus - then I need a 1/2 hour (at least) break - I can push it for 4 hours - but then usually my ears are spent for the day.
 
An interesting thread but I wonder how many of you are monitoring the SPL you are running at and whether you have your speakers calibrated?

Dave.
 
ecc83 said:
An interesting thread but I wonder how many of you are monitoring the SPL you are running at and whether you have your speakers calibrated?

Dave.
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I was and did. Editing was quiet, but mixing was at 85db spl.
 
Farview said:
I was and did. Editing was quiet, but mixing was at 85db spl.
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Thank you Jay. IMHO "fatigue" at that sound level would more likely to be due to mental stress rather than "ear bashing"?

Much of course depends I would say on the material being mixed? If a genre you like and of good musicianship you can probably do a good 3-4 hours at a stretch. Some weird **** with peeps not hitting pitch or time will wear you out in minutes!

This being "HOME" recording, most here like their own stuff...Pros have to work on EVERYTHING!

Dave.
 
I didnt spend that much time at 85db once I started mixing in the box. Because of the total recall, i would be refining the mix during the tracking process. This let me work mostly on balance and transitions during the "mix".

Certain guitar tones will ruin my ears instantly. If I couldn't talk them into a different tone, I would monitor as quietly as possible.
 
Ive been recording and mixing at low levels for several years now after experiencing ear fatigue. My issue is that I lose my tonal perspective after a while.
 
If I already lost objectivity on a mix after multiple days or weeks on it, then even after a break I can get fatigued after 5 minutes, after 1 hour I have lost objectivity, and I am not listening to the mix for tone anymore, I am listening to how well everything is sitting, for which I can continue to do this for many hours with not too much of a problem.

With a reference though, I can carry on for several hours longer without getting anywhere near as fatigued.

Mix at a lower volume
I do a few things to allow me to work for longer,
Short bursts of playing the song and tweaking
Avoid Narrow boosts (sweeping method in an EQ)
Switching to different sets of speakers, and headphones periodically
Reference Mixes
Short Breaks
Closing my eyes

If you all of a sudden have the urge to do a massive EQ move after many hours of mixing, this is usually a mistake, this could be a good time to walk away. (make sure you got that backup save if not!)

Sometimes there is a glaring resonant problem in my mix that I just did not notice whatsoever until I listened on a specific speaker, and then once I notice it, the mix then becomes unbearable to listen to on every speaker. And it is never so simple to just narrow cut because it will either throw the balance of the rest of the track off, or just make another resonance pop out. Then...... I have come back to the same mix a month later, and everything sounds fine again. So I will wonder for hours..... is it just me?
 
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