Muddy mixes and the Windows Media Player EQ

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mharr552000

New member
I'm doing my mixes through these crappy Nady headphones(yeah, no mixing in headphones) with an insanely hyped high end. I then bring a CD to work to test the mix on my work PC through some $2 Logitech headphones.

With my latest batch of songs I've not been able to get rid of the mud. If I use the Windows Media Player Graphic EQ it's like magic.
I boost the 8kH slider up by 5 and it's like the clouds part, sunshine streams down and angels sing. The mix sounds great.
What is this thing doing? I've tried to find out what the parameters of the EQ are like dB boost/cut and Q/bandwidth by searching Microsofts site but I can't find anything.

A couple songs need the 4kH slider boosted up 2 or 3 in addition to the 8kH slider to get that sound, but dammit it sounds just like I want it to.

How in the seven hells can I emulate that magic EQ?
 
It's just a basic graphic EQ. Probably made with DirectX.

You can record the output from Windows Media Player to a separate WAV file. Then use that WAV file as a reference while using another EQ plugin.

Or just keep the WAV file you recorded from Windows Media Player.

If you had a plugin like Izotope Ozone you could use the matching EQ feature. This is one of the rare cases where something like that actually does work perfectly.
 
Ah yes, good ole' mastering through Windows Media Player.

It sounds like you are listening through two different sources that each will only show you a small handful of glaring problems with your mix. bet with 10 other pairs of headphones, you would have to bump at least another couple areas across the frequency spectrum. At least that's my opinion.

Perhaps fix-in-the-mix, as its known?

This is more a theoretical jumping point than a real-world fix, as I realize you don't have monitors and endless other stereo systems to test your mix on. Its just commentary on the situation :)
 
instead of boosting at 8k, try cutting 380-480 hz freqs. maybe a little boost at 14k for headroom. this will eliminate a lot of the mud in your mix and hopefully have the angels singing again
 
mharr552000 said:
I'm doing my mixes through these crappy Nady headphones(yeah, no mixing in headphones) with an insanely hyped high end. I then bring a CD to work to test the mix on my work PC through some $2 Logitech headphones.
Click to expand...

No offense dude, but I think mud's the least of your problem if you're mixing through such an inaccurate source. It's like trying to paint a portrait of someone while you're wearing drunk-glasses: you just can't make accurate judgments about how it actually sounds. If you're making mixes with the intent of having nobody else on earth listen to it on any other stereo system ever, then your question has merit. If not, you really can't substitute real speakers and real experience, no matter what "magic button" you think you've discovered :/
 
I've been doing it this way for a couple of years now. What I've found is that if I can get it to sound reasonably well on my work computer through the Logitech headphones it will translate reasonably well to most other sources. I can also easily compare my mixes to others. Zakk Wyldes guitars are a lot whoolier than mine. My stuff is louder than Led Zep but not as loud as Slayer...etc. I'm not delusional enough to think I'm getting anywhere near a commercial quality mix. Really nice demo maybe.

I also have a pair of $12 Sony headphones that I use for quiet guitar practice that I can check things on, but they have cups that are even too small to fit over my five year olds ears, so they are pretty uncomfortable. They don't sound too good either.

I have two computers at home to listen on as well as a under-cabinet CD player, a jambox, two DVD players running through TVs and a few car stereos. It's not like I don't check my mixes elsewhere. I will test on these AFTER I have gotten a good mix at work. Some of them don't sound as good, but it works. On my moms' computer it sounds like the vocals are floating out in the middle and my mother-in-laws' Ford Focus is just fucked.

I can't cut low frequencies much. All I have under 400Hz is a shelf(damn Fostex VF160). If I cut it I loose my kicks. I dig my slightly panned double kicks. There is plenty of 'air' in the 12-20K range. If I boost it my ears hurt.

I used all of the same gear with the same settings during tracking as I did with the last 'album' as I did with this one. I was actually A LOT more consistent this time. I didn't have this problem before. I don't know what is different as I documented then replicated everything down to how many inches the hanging comforter was from the back of the mic when I tracked vocals.
 
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