Confusion about mixing

A

airbag76

New member
Hi I am trying for years to produce music of various genres from drone - tape music to ambient/cinematic and from max/msp glitch to german 70s electronic/ambient. Through the years i ve changed flats and home studio arrangements none of them perfect or even close to of course.
The problem I am facing is that once everything is relative in music production I am never sure about the final product. while i am working on a piece I believe its ok. then I am listening it to my car or living room and detect things I dont like. Trying to correct them then something else brakes etc... You could say Mastering. I can say its just me working the same pieces again and again and my ears are tired of sound and the piece itself...who knows

yesterday I received my first profesionaly mastered track and the result was horrible. all the details (bad of course) exposed to the maximum, bass covers everything, tape noise while welcomed 2 loud etc etc...
you could say stop dealing with music production but there must be a way...
Is there a way to test my perception, my hearing cappability etc cause to everyone around me the music sounds great (and they are not polite) but for me is always worst from the things I like... you could listen on soundcloud


https://soundcloud.com/bellerophone
 
Last edited:
Man, you shouldn't worry too much about other people's music, and start focusing on your own. If you keep saying to yourself "Their music is better than mine", you'll end with only two options: or you try harder to improve the quality of your songs, or you'll always see the downside of your productions.

Try to use some commercial tracks as reference, use forums like this one, ask for feedbacks. Search youtube for tutorials on the style of music you make, or the DAW you use, or a plugin you're trying to use on a song. Study music theory. Listen to different genres and try to incorporate sounds on your own productions. You'll never know, for example, if you're going to find a nice ambient part on a heavy metal song, until you listen to it.

I hope I helped you a little.
 
I guess this is something all of us with less-than-stellar mixing environments face - and well, there isn't really a magical fix for this. The best thing would be to make the mixing space better (that is, acoustic treatment, monitor positioning and such), but if that can't be done (or it can't be done enough), you'll just have to resort to referencing on different systems and learning how things end up sounding done in your environment. In other words, it will just take time. I've been mixing in my "bedroom studio" for about 5-6 years now and I'm only now beginning to understand how different nuances really translate to other systems.
 
Thanks for your reply. Its true that you have to get used of the imperfections and work in a relative way. I tried ARC 2 calibrating the room. I dont know if that improved the sound but I know that if you mute it during playback a phase change occurs. That makes the phase cancelation occure in my room. I mixed my last project with ARC and for the first time in 10 years I managed to deliver a cd that sounded ok (no boomy lows no sharp highs) in my car stereo. so i guess its working somehow, still that mastering thing made me sad. I guess..I keep trying.
 
In production there are always these phases that we personally hate even if we just love the rest of the production.
I can also spend a lot of time A/B-comparing and adjusting the track and very often it feels terrible and boring, but it has to be done.
It's an important part of the producing.

One thing that distinguish artists no matter what art, is that they are a complete perfectionists that are never pleased and will never be, they just come to a point where they find their art OK and have to let it go.

If you feel the result of the master was horrible, go back and complain and ask if they could fix it.
Even if you get the chance to let a fresh pair of ears to listen to your track and master it, it's still good to attend the mastering session to make sure it sounds they way you want it to in the end.
 
steffeeh said:
In production there are always these phases that we personally hate even if we just love the rest of the production.
I can also spend a lot of time A/B-comparing and adjusting the track and very often it feels terrible and boring, but it has to be done.
It's an important part of the producing.

One thing that distinguish artists no matter what art, is that they are a complete perfectionists that are never pleased and will never be, they just come to a point where they find their art OK and have to let it go.

If you feel the result of the master was horrible, go back and complain and ask if they could fix it.
Even if you get the chance to let a fresh pair of ears to listen to your track and master it, it's still good to attend the mastering session to make sure it sounds they way you want it to in the end.
Click to expand...

Yeah I always say that even the type of underground laizy fat guy with the beard that see in the pictures and think that he is a
"sounds ok who gives a shit I am bored fixing it" type of man, spends actually hours over the slightest detail even of his noisy product.
to tell you the truth I am quite lazy or tired from my regular job and thats possibly the main reason of those failures. Needs patience, time and no stress!!! thanks for your help
 
airbag76 said:
Yeah I always say that even the type of underground laizy fat guy with the beard that see in the pictures and think that he is a
"sounds ok who gives a shit I am bored fixing it" type of man, spends actually hours over the slightest detail even of his noisy product.
Click to expand...

I need to find out where you got that picture of me.........so I can delete it even from googles caching
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top