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Hi,

I am new-ish to recording and mixing and i am suffering from a frustating problem !
I am using Cubase sx3 to record rock/alternative music. The monitors I am using were given to me, they are Tannoy speakers (I think the model maybe E11 ? This is all I can find on the back of the monitors). When I am mixing tracks I can get the songs sounding more than satisfactory but when I get home and listen to them on a hi-fi, the songs suddenly sound cloudy, muddy and totally different ! The dynamics seem to be gone and the sound is nothing like what i am hearing thru the monitors !

I have read up a little about the acoustics of listening environments and ama little confused by it. Surely the room I listening in can't be affecting the sound this much ? I have thought about buying some acoustic products (traps, foam etc) but it seems very expensive and a bit hit and miss as to whether I place these products in the correct place or not.

Could it be something else ? should I be investing in new monitors ?

please help !

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Comments

anonymous Thu, 06/21/2007 - 17:59

AAAHHH Grasshopper!!!

There are many factors that could come into play but I would probably say it is acoustics. Yes they play a much larger part in the outcome of a mix than you would ever think. Say for instance you have a room that is very bass heavy and you mix to what your ears think sounds right. But then you listen on a speaker in a car etc that is not as revealing as a reference monitor and everything comes out thin and tinny. check out the acoustic design section of recording.org or for a more in depth look check out http://www.Johnlsayers.com and look into his forum.

anonymous Fri, 06/22/2007 - 19:12

try mixing with a lower volume like reallly low. don't hit the levels too hard and try to ride your faders on parts that need it. take out -3db of some 200 Hz in your vocals and brining up some of your mids. i noticed tannoy tend to fool you in there mids. use your discretion. and listen to your mix in about 5 different places and you should get an idea of what needs fixing. don't over analyze it or you will never have a finished product. a good idea is to have someone else listen to it and tell you what is good and what is not.

AudioGaff Sat, 06/23/2007 - 01:31

There is no real fix if your room has problems and is lying to you. It will always be something that you will be fighting with. But despite that, it will still take you many, many hours for you to learn your monitors in your specific mixing space before you are able to make mixes that can translate well to other speakers and listening spaces. Listen to as much various types of music as you can on those monitors to learn their specific characteristics. In the end, you may find that they just won't ever work well for you.

Lack of skill and experience with low freq problems in general with rooms and with mixing are one the most common things to overcome. Using additional monitors and/or speakers to check your mixes can be of big help. It is not easy. It isn't supposed to be easy.

DrGonz Sun, 06/24/2007 - 03:07

My Ears arent flat my monitor and room is....

I hate music lol well not really but .... this is the hardest part because u have to fool your ears. The ears are filters and adjust to frequency. I.E. u ever listen to mixes and your ears adjust to those sounds. Thats why ear training is a great concept to study. It requires AB and Y :twisted:

chips Mon, 06/25/2007 - 04:47

Great answers everyone.
Thank you. I do tend to mix too loud so I am going to try at lower volumes. And keep the levels lower.

I think that when I get the money I might just try a different set of monitors. Any suggestions ? I can't afford to spend thousands but could possibly stretch to about $900 (not a lot I know !). I would prefer passive monitors. Any suggestions would be welcome.

Thanks all again for the advice. It is appreciated