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QOTD: “We basically need this album to sound good on a cell phone.” –Ryan J Gill theotherass.com
* I normally don't post anything but the quote and picture, but I want to correct something that's going on in the thread below.
To be "intellectual" about it, I love this cartoon because I think it illustrates what new artists think they need to do in order to compete. And it's not realistic, because really, what you need is for it to sound good on ear buds.
That being said, let me correct a mis-impression. I can speak with a bit of authority on this because I started recording in 1965 and am still recording.
In the 60's, we did NOT listen to mixes on small speakers to be sure they'd sound good on a transistor radio! We listened on small, crappy speakers because if something sounds good on a crappy set of speakers, it will sound good on anything.
The transistor radio issue came up with the rise of stereo. When I began buying my own records (I was about ten years old, earning money with a paper route, so it was 1961), I always bought mono. It was a full dollar cheaper, and I reasoned that the notes would be the same either way. However, engineers and record companies were left with the problem of how to make sure mixes sounded as good in stereo as they did in mono.
Some of you may be familiar with the argument that the early Beatles and Beach Boys records still sound better in mono, as they were originally intended. I'm of that opinion myself. Stereo has been great for fun tricks - throw the guitar all the way over to the right, isolate a hand clap - but it's not how we hear!
Okay, that's a whole other discussion.
So in the 60's we used crap speakers to make sure the record would sound great on any size/cost system.
We also used (and still do) "the wall test". If you can go outside the studio and stand next to a wall and still hear all the words, the vocal will be intelligible everywhere.
We also used "low level listening". A mix should sound great at any level. Every great engineer I've ever worked with, every great producer as well, listens and mixes mostly at low levels. High levels fool the ear into an excitement fight-or-flight mode, and make your brain think something sounds good when it doesn't. Also, we want to preserve our hearing.
In the 70's, we listened on Auratones, boom boxes, and car speakers to check mixes.
Nowadays we listen on crappy speakers, car speakers, and phones to check.
But it's all, really, to make sure the music sounds right on any kind of system.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
* I normally don't post anything but the quote and picture, but I want to correct something that's going on in the thread below.
To be "intellectual" about it, I love this cartoon because I think it illustrates what new artists think they need to do in order to compete. And it's not realistic, because really, what you need is for it to sound good on ear buds.
That being said, let me correct a mis-impression. I can speak with a bit of authority on this because I started recording in 1965 and am still recording.
In the 60's, we did NOT listen to mixes on small speakers to be sure they'd sound good on a transistor radio! We listened on small, crappy speakers because if something sounds good on a crappy set of speakers, it will sound good on anything.
The transistor radio issue came up with the rise of stereo. When I began buying my own records (I was about ten years old, earning money with a paper route, so it was 1961), I always bought mono. It was a full dollar cheaper, and I reasoned that the notes would be the same either way. However, engineers and record companies were left with the problem of how to make sure mixes sounded as good in stereo as they did in mono.
Some of you may be familiar with the argument that the early Beatles and Beach Boys records still sound better in mono, as they were originally intended. I'm of that opinion myself. Stereo has been great for fun tricks - throw the guitar all the way over to the right, isolate a hand clap - but it's not how we hear!
Okay, that's a whole other discussion.
So in the 60's we used crap speakers to make sure the record would sound great on any size/cost system.
We also used (and still do) "the wall test". If you can go outside the studio and stand next to a wall and still hear all the words, the vocal will be intelligible everywhere.
We also used "low level listening". A mix should sound great at any level. Every great engineer I've ever worked with, every great producer as well, listens and mixes mostly at low levels. High levels fool the ear into an excitement fight-or-flight mode, and make your brain think something sounds good when it doesn't. Also, we want to preserve our hearing.
In the 70's, we listened on Auratones, boom boxes, and car speakers to check mixes.
Nowadays we listen on crappy speakers, car speakers, and phones to check.
But it's all, really, to make sure the music sounds right on any kind of system.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk