Well the speakers are intended for home theater-they can't even plug into my Audio Interface which already is a problem. I use them for reference but I know I need to get some type of studio monitors soon (I just really want the Yamaha HS8's). Yet, it's going to be awhile before I can purchase those.
Yes, my biggest problem is coming to a realization that there is some kind of problem within my mix. I either can't identify what the problem is or I know and can't fix the problem. Of course this will come with experience and as I learn more.
At least I know that there are 3 things I need to really focus on when doing a mix and that's Leveling, EQ and Compression- I just wasn't sure which one to focus on first.
I don't agree with jocasrb. I went that route myself (long ago) and first spent a few years learning wrong techniques, and when I finally got decent(-ish) speakers UN-learning them.
What you describe in the bolded text, is a typical problem if you don't have monitors. You're just not getting an accurate representation of what's going on in your mix, and on top of that an innaccurate reflection of what you're doing to it with, for instance EQ and compressors. I'd trust the headphones before I'd trust those speakers... but between those you're still kinda goalseeking your end result, which is why I said forget about being too precise or getting that real professional sheen to your tracks for now.
Jocas is right in that you don't have to get expenive monitors right away.
Even budget-monitors will give you a big advantage over what you have now. They'll probably lack the bass, and won't be as clear and complete sounding, but even those HS8's aren't perfect in that regard (especially in a small room you'll be swimming in bass-waves with them). Once you get to those you're also at a point where you need to start to take room treatment and such into account.
Also tutorials will only get you so far... unless you find someone that actually offers a comprehensive course on mixing for free, they're all pretty one-note and limited in scope.... if not plain wrong, stupid, outdated or not applicable to the music you're making. A tutorial on mixing bland rock music isn't gonna help you get that fat Dre sound (going by your name here)... and tutorials claiming to get your that Dre sound will only get you a cheap facsimile of it. They're gonna wax about mid/side processing or parallel compression.. which again, are two techniques where you'll need precise monitoring to even hear what you're doing. And just two of many techniques... period. Tricks. Tutorials won't teach you to listen, or how to be more creative.... these are skills you can learn, but they can't be taught.
So yeah, monitors man.. it's shitty that the first couple of investments you have to make sting like that, but they are truly investments and you'll be glad you did them later on when it's saving you time and getting you better results.
But at the same time, don't get blinded by the gear. I've only just stepped up to the HS8's and have been producing for years. I got pretty good results on my old cheap monitors.
The perfect mix isn't everything either.. there's plenty of perfectly mixed music out there that's bland and banal as fuck. And there's plenty of producers who make perfectly inoffensive mixes for perfectly inoffensive shitty elevator music to put behind pay per view porn in hotels and commercials. That's music no-one gives a shit about. People do care about all those house classics, oldschool hiphop joints, dusty jazz records, punk 7 inchers, techno cassettes and what not... stuff that's decidedly imperfect.
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