Monitoring for Success

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Charles Dye

Altered Space

When I have three sets of speakers set up in front of me, even though their sound changes as I switch between them, what remains constant is the impact of the room acoustics. This can cause three extremely different speakers to share common sonic characteristics. And that doesn't help the whole perspective issue.

But I have a solution for this problem. Instead of placing my lo-fi speakers in front, I place them directly to the left of my mix position. This causes two things to happen. First, with the speakers to the side I will sometimes turn and face them, which changes the entire color of the room (see Figs. 3a and 3b). The speakers now interact quite differently with the space, making it seem like I'm hearing the mix back elsewhere. I also listen to them while facing forward (toward the console and the other speakers). With only my left ear facing the speakers, I essentially perceive the mix in mono, and this is what I refer to as manual mono. It most accurately represents the way many people will really hear my mixes: as incidental music that's mainly in the background.

Does It Hurt Yet?

Ever notice yourself reaching for the volume knob when your mix doesn't quite sound right? When you do, it should wake you up to the fact that the real problem is the mix itself. This is when you should turn the volume down instead.

Mixing loud is the best way to get a result that will sound wimpy and flat when played back on small speakers at a low volume. Why? Because the number 1 rule of monitoring is, “Everything sounds great loud.” Although blasting the playback works perfectly to make the drummer feel good after a take, it's pretty useless when you're trying to create a mix with any detail.

One reason is that our ears have built-in compressors, and at high volume they begin to distort. The louder the speakers get, the more your ears compress the sound, essentially impairing your ability to accurately judge dynamics. It can sound good at the time, but when you listen to it at more realistic volumes, your mix will be very different.

The frequency response of your ears changes as you turn up the volume, but you can use that to your advantage. By changing the level, you can alter the way your mind hears the mix. Like switching speakers, you can once again give yourself a fresh perspective.

Although listening loud for extended periods isn't generally a good practice while mixing, I do occasionally push the volume up, because louder levels help me more accurately judge low end. This is because the lowest frequencies are something you almost feel more than hear — literally in your chest. And you really can't sense this until you get some air moving.

Try a Little Quietness

Not only is an extended period of high-volume listening hazardous to your health, it will also temporarily burn out your ears. It will cause the highs to seem not bright enough, and instruments not loud enough. That is precisely why and when your mix will get out of whack — leaving you chasing sonic ghosts.

I find it's best to spend most of my time mixing at low volumes, what you would probably consider very quiet. I listen so quietly that even a whisper from the studio couch can be distracting. It might be difficult to get used to at first, but the longer you do it, the more you will realize how much easier it is to hear mix problems this way.

Try listening as quietly as you can. If you've never done it, I promise you'll hear detail you haven't heard before. And you'll soon learn your ears will have more productive hours in a day because of it. Listening loud can be exciting, but your emotions will often cloud your sonic judgment. Save it for the final playback.

Something Completely Different

Here are several low-tech but time-tested techniques for reinventing your listening environment. One of the simplest and most revealing is to get out of the hot seat and listen while relaxing on the studio couch. Or, if your studio doesn't have a couch, simply stand off-axis elsewhere in the room. The mix position has a tendency to put you in a very reactive state, constantly wanting to fix every problem you hear. But when you move away from it, the fact that you can't reach the knobs frees your mind to hear the mix in a new way.

Another method is to leave the environment completely. Get out of the studio for 15 to 30 minutes, just long enough to clear your mind completely of whatever you were zoned in on. When you come back, you'll be able to hear the whole mix, not just that hi-hat you were tweaking. Or, simply remove the environment from the equation altogether — by listening on headphones. It's a completely different way to hear your mix, and with all the iPods out there, it's how many others will hear it too. You can even try listening with iPod-style earbuds.

The next two suggestions may seem quirky, but they're effective. They're known as the “finger test” and the “door test.” For the former, you listen to the mix with your fingers in your ears. Really. And for the latter, you step outside the control room and listen back to the mix with the door closed or just slightly ajar. The effect for both is similar. By eliminating the top end in the mix, you can tell if all the instruments are well balanced. That is because all you can hear are the fundamental frequencies. It's not something you need to do very often, but a finger or door spot check can be very illustrative.

To review, listen to your mix on different speakers, at different volumes, and in different environments, and change between them often. The idea is to hear something unexpected, and there is no better way to do that than by changing your aural point of view. Of course, literally taking your mix out of the studio (like listening on your car stereo) can be helpful too, but the advantage to the techniques I've described is that you not only get a fresh perspective, but you also can tweak your mix while you're listening. And if you can get it sounding good in every situation, then you've got a great-sounding mix.

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Grammy-winning engineer, mixer, and producer Charles Dye (Lauryn Hill, Shakira, Ricky Martin, Jon Bon Jovi) adapted this article from his DVD/DAW session-based mixing course Mix It Like a Record (www.likearecord.com).