Originally Posted By: MarioD
...he also jarred my brain.

Sorry Mario. I did not foresee doing that at all. I hope I didn't hurt you too much!

Originally Posted By: MarioD
I will add that you must mix a low volume. If you mix at high volumes then you are not only not hearing the mix properly, shortening the time you get ear fatigue but also damaging your hearing.

Thanks for picking up on that, Mario. I completely forgot to mention mixing volume. (This is one of the strengths of forums, if someone forgets something, there's always someone else to fill in the blanks. That's why forum discussions can be so very valuable!)


Chris,

I was at a mixing seminar a few years ago with Stephen Webber from Berklee. He won a Grammy with mixing. I clearly remember at this seminar that he said that he prefers to mix at 80 dB. This means that the volume of the sound reaching his ears is around 80 decibels. This is easy to measure these days with cell phones because there are free apps out that detect decibels.

I prefer to mix around 70 dB. This is about the sound level of TV or a vacuum cleaner. (My lawn mower has a label on it that tells me it's 75 db, for comparison, and that's louder than what I mix at.)

Here is a list of decibel levels and what objects or circumstances have such a volume.

http://www.industrialnoisecontrol.com/comparative-noise-examples.htm

Mario's point is very true though. Nothing tires the ear quicker than having the mixing volume too loud.

When I have a mix that is seemingly good, I listen to it as quiet as I can hear it (probably 10-20 dB) to see if I can detect all instruments and then I listen around 90 dB to see if any glitches stand out. This is only the final step, though. All other mixing is done with the volume a bit above conversation level.

Hope these added thoughts are useful,
Noel



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