This is a spin-off thread from Mixing Grunge in the 21st Century, I didn't want to hijack the OP's original thread regarding critique for his song. We were starting to move into other areas, so I decided to continue the discussion here. I've started out by replying to the last post by audiokid, where he is discussing the final stages of a mix.

-d.

audiokid, post: 416762, member: 1 wrote: There ya go.

My mixing position is within 2 db from 40 to 500hz. I can hear ( or feel) down to 40hz easy and know when its swinging or killing it. Bass is a obsession for me so I struggle all the time trying to get it big. The hardest job I have, fixing whats not mine and then trying to forget what I just did on the last one..

I can hear and feel it now, since I treated my room. I used to add HPF much higher in the frequency range than I do now, because my room was a smeared mess of low-end and low-mid freqs.

Now I'm hearing a far more accurate representation of what the low end is doing. My room is "tighter" in the lower end. I've actually got a bit more low end, but now it's far more defined, and not a smeared and skewed mess.

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audiokid said:
"The last hours of a mix is where I suffer defeat. I keep thinking I will find a way and it pains me. I'm almost at a point in life where I can't take it anymore. Some days I wish I didn't choose sound. This business has taken away the magic enjoyment, the innocence of just listening to music and being content."
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The last few hours of a mix are the hardest for me as well. It's those last few small, incremental changes that can make or break a mix. The problem is that by the time I get to those last few changes, I've usually lost objectivity and I'm pretty burnt out. I'm finding that the least amount of time I can spend generally turns out better mixes on the whole, but, I'm a perfectionist and I'll keep going until I get it right.

I think the pros get it done better faster, because they have the gear that helps them to get it done faster. There's far less "repair" in their mixes, and a lot more actual mixing and enhancement. Small, subtle nuances add up to really nice sonics when you have the best gear available at your fingertips... whether it's Pre's, EQ, GR, Reverb, or just having great sounding and fantastically performed tracks in a room that helps you and doesn't hurt you, they can get the job done better and in less time because they have the best tools to use.

And of course, these pro facilities are the ultimate in acoustics. These cats aren't having to be concerned with whether or not the low or low mid freqs in the mixing room are false or hyped. In most cases, these pro facilities have been built from the ground up, or at the very least, re-built to tight tolerances with audio recording and mixing in mind.

I lost the ability to simply listen to music for enjoyment of it years ago. I cannot hear a song anymore and just listen to the song. I immediately start to separate the tracks in my head and listen to individual parts of the mix.
"Is the snare sitting in a good place? I wonder what kind of mic they used on the vocals? There's some tube coloration there, I think.."

It's been years since I've been able to listen to a song for the simple enjoyment of it.

IMHO of course.

d./