Referencing Different Speakers.

[Brutality001]

I finally have something i can share and hopefully help others with.
Most people will know about this as it is quite a standard yet essential procedure, but may not understand the importance of it.
This is aimed at some of the other new/new-ish guys.

I just did a quick mix here:

http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/rate-my-mix-tone-threads/734873-metal-dis.html

and it is the first time that i havent referenced other speakers while mixing. It was only gonna be a quick mix and i just thought "Meh, im not too bothered if the bass is slightly higher or if theres some horrible freq that stands out a bit etc."
So i uploaded it and went to my parents house. I had a quick listen on thier laptop and thought WTF! So i plugged in some headphones and omg. The bass is way too high, the guitars are burried and the drums are owning the mix!
I didnt realize how much of a difference there could be and how important referencing other speakers/systems really was.
Anyway i thought id share how i usually reference different speakers. (if there is any information here that could harm other peoples mixes in any way pls say so)
This is just how i do it so there are probably better ways but it works for me.

OK, First of all start mixing as you normally would using whatever speakers you usually use.

Then, when you feel youve got your levels right, Chuck some headphones on, maybe try using a couple of different pairs. When you put them on the levels probably wont sound right anymore. Start tweaking the levels again. The key is to find a balance that works across your speakers and your headphones and still sounds good.

Repeat the last step for every stage of mixing you do.

Then, when i feel like the mix may be complete i render it, put it on my ipod and try it out on my hifi in another room. If something doesnt sound right there i will open up the project again and get to work.

You get the idea.
Sorry its not very "in depth" but its enough to get started and you should get the hang of it pretty fast.

Again this is just how i do it and could not be the best way, It would be great to hear other methods. Or tell me if im doing something wrong.

Thanks guys

 

[rob w]

I usually listen to new mixes in another room to the playback, this can highlight something out of place.
But will check out mixes on as many different mediums as possible - earbuds/ car/ tv etc.

 

[Clockwork]

When I think a mix is done I usually check it in mono in addition to on other speakers, I feel that you can really see which things are buried that way.

Then I usually reference earbuds, laptop speakers and the speakers in my car and all that kind of stuff.

 

[Trevoire520]

If when referencing on other systems your reaction is "The bass is way too high, the guitars are burried and the drums are owning the mix!" then you really need to improve you monitoring and room acoustics. With a monitoring system that's reasonably well balanced you should be able to get a mix that translates well to most other systems, and just do some small eq tweaks after referencing. A total reshuffle of levels shouldn't really be necessary.

 

[Brutality001]

If when referencing on other systems your reaction is "The bass is way too high, the guitars are burried and the drums are owning the mix!" then you really need to improve you monitoring and room acoustics. With a monitoring system that's reasonably well balanced you should be able to get a mix that translates well to most other systems, and just do some small eq tweaks after referencing. A total reshuffle of levels shouldn't really be necessary.

Thanks man. This is very true. I have a somewhat "ghetto" setup to say the least.

Thanks guys, i have just started checking the mix in mono, really does help!

 

[Shinozoku]

This video is relevant to this thread in so many ways.