Befuddled by translation???

[deckard1]

Hello,

 

I simply can't figure out how to get my mixes to translate well...like commercial mixes. I get a personal project in Logic to sound well (to my ears) on my Apple earbuds...then I listen to the same mix on my hi-fi stereo and it sounds dreadful. Yet, the commercial reference mixes I am using sound fine on both my Apple earbuds and hi-fi stereo. Makes no sense. 

 

Any advice? 

 

Thanks.  

[stardustmedia]

Have you compared your mix and a reference on your earbuds? 

[deckard1]

Oh yes. Both mixes sound fine on earbuds. But, on my hi-fi stereo speakers or in the car the reference mixes sound fine but my mixes sound like they have a blanket covering them...not as clear sounding, in other words. 

[stardustmedia]

Theoretically you also should be able to hear that difference on the earbuds giving that they are capable of playing back the highend properly.

 

There is no general rule for mixing. Try to boost hi freq on a couple tracks. Or mix them louder.

 

My recommendation generally: Get some loudspeakers. Ears get used to one set of monitoring system. A second one will help you to get rid of that "bias". Switch back and forth between both system while mixing. And always compare to a reference on both systems.

[deckard1]

Theoretically you also should be able to hear that difference on the earbuds giving that they are capable of playing back the highend properly.

 

There is no general rule for mixing. Try to boost hi freq on a couple tracks. Or mix them louder.

 

My recommendation generally: Get some loudspeakers. Ears get used to one set of monitoring system. A second one will help you to get rid of that "bias". Switch back and forth between both system while mixing. And always compare to a reference on both systems.

Thanks for the excellent advice. 

[skijumptoes]

You need to compare at similar volumes too, as that has a dramatic effect on how 'good' something sounds, you can put a few db of gain on a track and compare it to the original, and most people would say the louder one sounds better, has more punch etc. etc.   So even if your mix, or the commercial mix sounds quiet/loud, don't adjust your speaker/earbud volume as that's incredibly important factor to take into account.   Once you adjust the volume on playback it's not a fair comparison.   

 

So your first step would be to get those volumes matched before starting to critique one to the other, it's too hard otherwise.

 

Also, as your mixing on earbuds you may need some help visually to get you where you need to go.  For example, Match EQ is a hidden gem built in to logic which you can use in two immediate ways to really help your mixes:-

 

Method 1 - Use it to take a snapshot/fingerprint of a track that you really like the sound of AND which also matches your current song in terms of instruments/feel etc.  You can then use that EQ fingerprint and apply it to the master on your track, or use it as a visual guide so you can mix to that EQ curve.   i.e.:- https://emastered.com/blog/2016/12/13/mix-like-pro-match-eq/

 

Method 2 - You can also use Match EQ to create space in your mixes by reversing the reference of one track to notch out another, for example, if you had a bass track that was hard to bring out in your mix, you can take a fingerprint of that, and then apply a reverse copy of it to other tracks/groups.

 

There are third party plugins which are arguably better at doing these tasks (Izotope Ozone etc.), but Match EQ (and similar) are certainly worth learning, particularly as it serves as a great visual aid, particularly when you find yourself in a position where you are with a reference mix that you can use.

[deckard1]

You need to compare at similar volumes too, as that has a dramatic effect on how 'good' something sounds, you can put a few db of gain on a track and compare it to the original, and most people would say the louder one sounds better, has more punch etc. etc.   So even if your mix, or the commercial mix sounds quiet/loud, don't adjust your speaker/earbud volume as that's incredibly important factor to take into account.   Once you adjust the volume on playback it's not a fair comparison.   

 

So your first step would be to get those volumes matched before starting to critique one to the other, it's too hard otherwise.

 

Also, as your mixing on earbuds you may need some help visually to get you where you need to go.  For example, Match EQ is a hidden gem built in to logic which you can use in two immediate ways to really help your mixes:-

 

Method 1 - Use it to take a snapshot/fingerprint of a track that you really like the sound of AND which also matches your current song in terms of instruments/feel etc.  You can then use that EQ fingerprint and apply it to the master on your track, or use it as a visual guide so you can mix to that EQ curve.   i.e.:- https://emastered.com/blog/2016/12/13/mix-like-pro-match-eq/

 

Method 2 - You can also use Match EQ to create space in your mixes by reversing the reference of one track to notch out another, for example, if you had a bass track that was hard to bring out in your mix, you can take a fingerprint of that, and then apply a reverse copy of it to other tracks/groups.

 

There are third party plugins which are arguably better at doing these tasks (Izotope Ozone etc.), but Match EQ (and similar) are certainly worth learning, particularly as it serves as a great visual aid, particularly when you find yourself in a position where you are with a reference mix that you can use.

 

Thanks! I noticed something else. You mention it above. When I match the volume of my track with a reference track my mixes start clipping but the reference track does not clip. Does this make any sense?

[skijumptoes]

Just a general presumption here, but sounds like your mix has a wider dynamic range, and in bringing the overall volume up results in the louder/peaks within the song are causing the clipping?  

 

Does your mix dance around on the meters (More up/down movement) more so than the reference track?  That's when you have more dynamic range going on, if there's not so much dancing going on then sounds like you have an over-heavy mix and need to pull it back some, and maybe use EQ to bring it out again.

 

The dark art of compression and limiting is going to consume you to get this right! lol

 

Seriously though, if you have a reference mix as your target, and use the many analysis/matching tools available stock within Logic you will get yourself close to the sound you want, even long term professionals pull up reference mixes and ask bands for the sound they are trying to achieve as a template for them to work to.  I think it's very important to have a destination that you're getting to with mixing, as opposed to getting to a point that sounds 'right'.  It also helps to be more objective in where you're going wrong.

 

But always try to match that EQ curve when you can, in my experience, getting the EQ profile right is important to mixes translating across different playback devices etc.  particularly if you using earbuds, as has been stated above your ears become tired/used to the mix and having that visual cue kinda keeps you on track.

 

Also, it's very easy to turn the volume up in your ears as your hearing becomes tired, i've found that by starting with a moderate volume in your ears for monitoring, and not deviating from that during the session really helps.  Many times in the past i've had to up the volume gradually throughout a session and everything sounds good at the end, until i go back to a moderate volume and it then sounds poor, and i've probably damaged my ears in the process.

[jerrydpi]

Method 1 - Use it to take a snapshot/fingerprint of a track that you really like the sound of AND which also matches your current song in terms of instruments/feel etc.  You can then use that EQ fingerprint and apply it to the master on your track, or use it as a visual guide so you can mix to that EQ curve.   i.e.:- https://emastered.com/blog/2016/12/13/mix-like-pro-match-eq/

 

 Hi skijumptoes

 

I've searched YouTube to see an example of what you suggest above, but all I've seen are examples of using Match EQ in a different way.

 

Any suggestions?

 

Thanks,

Jerry

[skijumptoes]

Sure, you have the subtractive method that you use for making space for two sounds to 'live' together:-

i.e. :-  

 

 

And then, the one your asking about, where you can also use matching to get your overall sound close to a commercial reference mix, example here:-