Question about a demo mix

[Buddah999]

I think this goes here. If not, please move this to the proper fourm.

So we finally got our music tracked and into Pro Tools. Seeing as this is my first time working with recording and mixing, I made the noobish mistake of not checking the mix on other mediums. So naturally, the mix sounded great in the stuido monitors, but when transposed to my home computer, and MP3 headphones I noticed some mixing errors, and I wanted to rework the mix to fix the errors.

My drummer (whom all the equipment belongs to) assured me that even though there are some errors, this is not an EP and not for general listening. Put the tracks onto myspace, and in CD format simply to get gigs. Dont worry about the demo mixdown.

Well I understand, and seeing as he has got more giging experience than I do I have listened, however my gut tells me that the untrained ear will judge you on the mix, and not so much the content. And I dont want to loose an oppertunity because of my inexperience in the mixdown phase of music.

So should I follow my gut and remix it, or listen to his experience and leave it alone until its time to release an EP?

[D.Don]

Originally Posted by Buddah999

I think this goes here. If not, please move this to the proper fourm.

So we finally got our music tracked and into Pro Tools. Seeing as this is my first time working with recording and mixing, I made the noobish mistake of not checking the mix on other mediums. So naturally, the mix sounded great in the stuido monitors, but when transposed to my home computer, and MP3 headphones I noticed some mixing errors, and I wanted to rework the mix to fix the errors.

My drummer (whom all the equipment belongs to) assured me that even though there are some errors, this is not an EP and not for general listening. Put the tracks onto myspace, and in CD format simply to get gigs. Dont worry about the demo mixdown.

Well I understand, and seeing as he has got more giging experience than I do I have listened, however my gut tells me that the untrained ear will judge you on the mix, and not so much the content. And I dont want to loose an oppertunity because of my inexperience in the mixdown phase of music.

So should I follow my gut and remix it, or listen to his experience and leave it alone until its time to release an EP?

Where's the audio file?



D.Don

[stranger0]

Originally Posted by D.Don

Where's the audio file?



D.Don

+1

Last week I had gone about inviting my guitarist over to mix down a practice from the night before, well, a few hours later we were done and relatively pleased with ourselves but when I got up the next morning to give it another listen, it didn't sound great but whatever, i went to the car and it sounded like crap. I went back inside, heard it again and realized it sucked.

So, I went about remixing the entire thing and finally got it to where I liked it, then I brought it over...it was balanced, sounded fine, stripped down, no fx, just dry but it's a live recording as it is. Anyway, at first he liked it, then a week later he calls me up and blasts me for it, accusing me that I purposely turned up the bass and that the guitars are softer etc...

I told him "that's balanced".

imo if you record something and don't want others to hear it, you don't post it online, if others hear it, you get it sounding decent/good/great etc...

[GianGian]

Trust the studio monitors, as they are probably made for mixing. The speakers of the other devices you used cut some frequencies. Make a mix that is meant to be listened through good sound equipment, not bad stuff.

[D.Don]

If you have a bad room, it doesn't matter if you have the best studio monitors on the planety, here's the most common problem with mixing stuff, the room.

[GianGian]

Originally Posted by D.Don

If you have a bad room, it doesn't matter if you have the best studio monitors on the planety, here's the most common problem with mixing stuff, the room.

great point...it hadn't occured to me.

[ashtray]

I like to mix stuff with my stereo speakers, eq set not to aggressive. Then I double check it with a straight-to-headphones listen and continue to tweak.

If you're putting it online for people to listen to, then you don't need to worry how it will sound in a car. You need to worry about how it will sound on people's computer speaker systems.

Getting the mix good is very difficult. Did you master the tracks as well? That takes me longer than adjusting the volumes. When I eq each track, it's like I'm adjusting the volume for that track, but just certain frequencies. My stereo has a graphic eq to show the levels, so I can tell if the entire mix is say "bass heavy", and missing highs. I play each track and see the frequency it covers. The visual really helps.

[kalle74]

to me, it´s common sense to check your mixes on as many systems as you can. make notes and correct accordingly. or, set up a good room (acoustically treated) with, say, 3 sets of speakers and switch speakers as you mix your songs. all speakers sound different, and thus will reveal the caveats in your mixes...

[pretaanluxis]

Originally Posted by kalle74

check your mixes on as many systems as you can.

I agree! It's all about compromise in the mix (e.g. would you rather a great earbud sound or great car sound etc.)