|
Log in to post
|
Print Thread |
|
|
|
|
|
Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
|
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 99
Enthusiast
|
OP
Enthusiast
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 99 |
would this be a disaster? I've always mixed thru the JBL ref. spkrs in my studio. I'm now further along in age with a somewhat hearing impairment and am thinking a pair of good quality headphones (sen HD-4.5 BTNC) might work better for ME than the JBL's. would app anyones feedback
5string
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
|
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 12,921
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 12,921 |
Head phones are a great way to mix.
But, it depends on the headphones and how flat they are.
I mix everything using headphones - audio-technica ATH-M40fs.
They are great for mixing.
However.
When I've finished - gotten to where I think it is a "finished" mix...I then listen through studio monitors - Yorkville YSM-1.
Almost every mix needs some small amount of adjustment to get the best sound through the Yorkvilles - usually some bottom taken out of a few things and a bit of highs bumped in others.
Once I've done that and return to the headphones the improvement (from using the studio monitors as the final call) is obvious.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
|
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 2,147
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 2,147 |
I have a reasonable set of speakers on my music pc but not monitor quality. I set them up with a commercial recording i like to get the eq right and then i know i'm comparing my mix with the professional one. But i mix mainly on a good set of headphones and then as floyd says try the mix on the speakers.
I also do a test by making an mp3 of the mix (yes I know p3 loses a lot according to purists but i can't really hear it!)
then i play the mp3 through my big hifi with an ipod. at each stage i might hear something to change and like floyd says the improvement usually show when i return to the headphones.
If i could afford a set of studio monitors and a dedicated studio listening environment I would probably just mix on the monitors. but i would also try it (as I used to when I was the client at professional recording sessions)on small speakers so i could judge what it sounded like on the tv or radio.
but i have a limited budget so i do the best i can. most of my stuff goes onto cds for personal use and i always have the option of remixing if after repeated listening i hear something i don't like.
and after all, i'm an amateur these days so as log as i can get a sound i'm happy with i'm quite content.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
|
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 2,732
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 2,732 |
Hi Fivestring, I love to listen in more than one environment on my mixes. I have a pair of JBL 8" Powered Monitors and a set of Sony MDR-7506 headphones that I use. The perfect tool to get a good and accurate response for both is the following: Sonarworks Reference 4For my speakers they provide a test mic to calibrate my JBLs to the room and it's bad frequencies. Then on the headphone side they have hundreds of headphone models to establish a flat response. I checked the Sennheiser model you are looking to buy and they do offer a preset for that model. This tool isn't required when using headphones but it does go a long way into improving the sound when you do have to use them. The software is free to try so you can test with the headphones you do get and see if it helps you. My two cents. Good Luck with your headphone shopping!
 Steve BIAB/RB 2022, Pro Tools 2020, Korg N5, JBL LSR 4328 Powered Monitors, AKG/Shure Mics.
PC: Win11 PRO, 4 TB M2 SSD, 2 TB HD, 128 GB Memory
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
|
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 22,611
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 22,611 |
Like floyd jane, I also like/recommend the ATH-M40fs headphones for audio work like mixing, editing, etc.
They are nice flat clear 'phones, and the price is more than acceptable.
I have noticed they need a little more drive than some other headphones (but not as much as the old AKG-240's) to sound nice and loud/clear.
I've owned other more expensive ATH headphones and have gladly traded them for the less expensive ATH-M40 pair. <grin>
The newer ATH-M40X are just as nice IMHO.
That said, I was not as impressed with the more expensive M50 or M60 line.
They pushed the bass frequencies (to me) making it harder to get an accurate mix.
Always check your mix in monitors too before calling it done, but there are times you need to mix in headphones, and the M40's allow you to do so pretty dang well.
Last edited by rharv; 05/13/20 04:14 PM.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
|
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 27,572
Veteran
|
Veteran
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 27,572 |
I do the reverse - check my final mix in headphones, especially to find phase cancellation. But if my hearing were going, I think I would do what is recommended here: use flat closed headphones, then check the mix on monitors (and a boombox, and my car, and earpods etc.).
About flat response: when I was starting out, I had SONY 7506 cans. Still have them, several replacement pads later. But then I bought the next model up, the 7509, thinking they would be even better. Big mistake. The 7509 are nowhere near as flat, emphasizing the bass.
BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
|
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 2,732
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 2,732 |
About flat response: when I was starting out, I had SONY 7506 cans. Still have them, several replacement pads later. Same here. Replacements don't last quite as long as the originals did.
Steve BIAB/RB 2022, Pro Tools 2020, Korg N5, JBL LSR 4328 Powered Monitors, AKG/Shure Mics.
PC: Win11 PRO, 4 TB M2 SSD, 2 TB HD, 128 GB Memory
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
|
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 8,491
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 8,491 |
I use something similar to what Steve mentioned re: Sonarworks. I have the Waves Abbey Road Studio 3 with AKG headphones. If I think I got the mix right, it is great to tell me if I really did it, and is reliable--to me, anyway. It usually tells me to turn up the drums.  No matter what I do though, I trust my meters, not my ears, and have numerous track templates and board templates for acoustics, electrics, drums, bass on and on, with many plugins tweaked for each instrument. I have found that meters rarely lie. When I get everything where I think it should be I run it through Abbey Road to hear how it all turned out. If it sounds great there, it sounds great on speakers. The last four songs I posted on the forum were done this way. https://www.waves.com/plugins/abbey-road-studio-3#presenting-the-waves-abbey-road-studio-3-plugin
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
|
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 7,267
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 7,267 |
AKG K240 - budget (but great for the money) or AKG K240 MKII better Or K702... Very neutral and well balanced.
All above are semi-open backs. For some reason I get dizzy with closed back headphones.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
|
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 99
Enthusiast
|
|
OP
Enthusiast
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 99 |
hey guys - many many tks 4 the coaching,suggestions & replies. that gives me a lot more than i had to go on.
5stromg
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
|
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 3,414
PG Music Staff
|
|
PG Music Staff
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 3,414 |
Well there are pros and cons to mixing on headphones, same too with using monitors. Ideally speaking, using both is better. Or failing that, really knowing what sound you're going to get with what you're using and how to compensate for it.
I find panning and stereo imaging more difficult to gauge on headphones. Listening on cans is different to listening to speakers. Each ear only hears whats coming from the relevant channel, but with speakers both ears are hearing signal coming from both left and right channels. There are some timing differences here and it forms the basis of the stereo illusion (phantom image between speakers etc). With headphones you don't get this. Personally I never feel it to be a true stereo image.
But that's not to say it doesn't have it's uses for reference. Also if your room acoustics aren't great then headphones can provide a good option. Really though, it's about getting to know the response of the headphones and accommodating for it.
Cheers,
Deryk
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
|
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 16,136
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 16,136 |
I agree Deryk. For me the panning sounds dramatically different with phones. My process, FWIW, is to mix with our KRK’s and then listen on our larger living room system that has a sub and on our mono HomePod. If it sounds “good” on all them I stick a fork in it. One caveat is that with so many folks listening nowadays with earbuds I may well be missing something needed. Dunno. And, BTW, did I mention my old ears are shot? Bud
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! Our Videos
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
|
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 22,611
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 22,611 |
The above posts are true; you have to learn your equipment and not trust one source when mixing.
Play the resulting mix everywhere you can (phone, car, home theater, studio monitors etc) and then judge.
But also learn what your original mixing source 'caused'.
This is part of the 'Learn To Trust Your Ears' concept;
If your headphones produce too much bass, and thus you lower the bass in the mix, but then it sounds tinny everywhere else .. well you learned something.
Your headphones are bass heavy.
Once you learn this you can either;
1. compensate moving forward
2. get headphones that don't produce too much bass
Once this is solved, learning how to 'hear' the image in the headphones as far as stereo becomes a much more solvable task.
Simple example: import your end result stereo wav file into RB to two separate mono channels .. and pan them to less of a 100% R/L mix. In RB you would (for instance) set the panning for the L/R to 60 and -60 to bring the image (perceived appearance of the stereo field) a little more narrow.
Just because you use headphones doesn't mean you can't test your mix in differing 'live' scenarios, or at least approximate it.
But even then, go listen in the car, living room, phone .. anywhere a real person may listen. You can't cover every possible scenario (there is no 'BrowserStack for Audio' where you can test on multiple devices at will) but we can try by testing with everything we have. <grin>
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
|
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 20,587
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 20,587 |
Head phones are a great way to mix.
But, it depends on the headphones and how flat they are.
I mix everything using headphones - audio-technica ATH-M40fs.
They are great for mixing.
However.
When I've finished - gotten to where I think it is a "finished" mix...I then listen through studio monitors - Yorkville YSM-1.
Almost every mix needs some small amount of adjustment to get the best sound through the Yorkvilles - usually some bottom taken out of a few things and a bit of highs bumped in others.
Once I've done that and return to the headphones the improvement (from using the studio monitors as the final call) is obvious. This is my approach too. I use headphones to zero in on an initial mix. I use the same headphones as floyd. Then I alternate between headphones and speakers until both sources sit comfortably with me when I A/B them. For the final test, I leave the mix for at least 24 hours and test it first thing in the morning before I have heard any other music. I've found that when my ears are rested and refreshed, I more clearly hear the mix.
MY SONGS...Audiophile BIAB 2026
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
|
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 24,716
Veteran
|
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 24,716 |
It really doesn't matter what you use as long as you know what the end product sounds like on various playback systems. I have a friend who produces great sounding covers, regardless of the playback system, and he uses his home stereo system's speakers for monitors. He knows what settings to use when he is recording.
I arrived early to a restaurant.
The manager asks, "do you mind waiting a bit?"
I said no.
"Good", he said. "Take these drinks to table 3"
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
|
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 1,685
Expert
|
|
Expert
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 1,685 |
Agree with Mario's friend, I have my home hi fi next to pc, to listen to music from pc and to hear myself recording , mixing and mastering.
Most of what we listen to music from is a hi fi source, so I need to know how it will sound through the hi fi source.
I use the beyerdynamics dt770 headphones.
It is good to know folks set up as You always live and learn.
I have had numerous flat response monitors active and passive and I've always went back to my Arcam hi fi set up.
Last edited by beatmaster; 05/15/20 04:09 AM.
win 10 64 bit 16gb,i7 chip, ssd 500gb, m-audio air, ,Roland BK-7M, 1000,shure sm7b,sonar,acid,mixcraft, variety of plugins.Sample tank 3,Kontakt. TC Helicon Voicelive 3 2 . https://beatmaster1.bandcamp.com/releases
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
XPro & Xtra Styles PAK Sets On Sale Now - Until May 15, 2026!
All of our XPro Styles PAKs and Xtra Styles PAKs are on sale until May 15th, 2026!
It's the perfect time to expand your Band-in-a-Box® style library with XPro and Xtra Styles PAKs. These additional styles for Band-in-a-Box® offer a wide range of genres designed to fit seamlessly into your projects. Each style is professionally arranged and mixed, helping enhance your songs while saving you time.
What are XPro Styles and Xtra Styles PAKs?
XPro Styles PAKs are styles that work with any version (Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition) of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). XPro Styles PAKS 1-10 includes 1,000 styles!
Xtra Styles PAKs are styles that work with the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). Xtra Styles PAKs 1-21 includes 3,700 styles (and 35 MIDI styles)!
The XPro & Xtra Styles PAKs are not included in any Band-in-a-Box® package.
The XPro Styles PAKs 1-10 are available for only $29 ea (reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Listen to demos and order now! For Mac or for Windows.
The Xtra Styles PAKs 1-21 are available for only $29 ea (reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the Xtra Styles PAK Bundle for only $199 (reg. $349)! Listen to demos and order now! For Mac or for Windows.
Note: XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 19 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version as they require the RealTracks included in the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
Supercharge your Band-in-a-Box today with XPro Styles PAKs and Xtra Styles PAK Sets!
Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Mac Videos
With the release of Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac, we’re rolling out a collection of brand-new videos on our YouTube channel. We’ll keep this forum post updated so you can easily find all the latest videos in one convenient spot.
Whether you're exploring new features, checking out the latest RealTracks or Style PAKs, this is your go-to guide for Band-in-a-Box® 2026.
Check out this forum post for "One Stop Shopping" of our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 Mac Videos!
Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Mac is Here!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac is here and it is packed with major new features! There’s a new modern look, a GUI redesign to all areas of the program including toolbars, windows, workflow and more. There’s a Multi-view layout for organizing multiple windows. A standout addition is the powerful AI-Notes feature, which uses AI neural-net technology to transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI—entire mixes or individual instruments—making it easy to study, view, and play parts from any song. And that’s just the beginning—there are over 100 new features in this exciting release.
Along with version 2026, we've released an incredible lineup of new content! There's 202 new RealTracks, brand-new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two new RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
Special Offers
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac and save up to 50% on most upgrade packages during our special offer—available until May 15, 2026. Visit our Band-in-a-Box® packages page to explore all available upgrade options.
2026 Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK Add-ons
Our Free Bonus PAK and 49-PAK are loaded with amazing add-ons! The Free Bonus PAK is included with most Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac packages, but you can unlock even more—including 20 unreleased RealTracks—by upgrading to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49.
Holiday Weekend Hours
As we hop into the Easter weekend, here are our holiday hours:
April 3 (Good Friday): 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM PDT
April 4 (Saturday): Closed
April 5 (Easter Sunday): Closed
April 6 (Easter Monday): Open regular hours
Wishing you an egg-cellent weekend!
— Team PG
Update to Build 10 of RealBand® 2026 for Windows®!
If you're already using RealBand 2026 for Windows, download build 10 to get all the latest additions and enhancements.
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® users: Build 904 now available!
If you're already using Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®, make sure to grab the latest update! Build 904 is now available for download and includes the newest additions and enhancements from our team.
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® users: Build 1237 is now available!
Already a Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Windows user? Stay up to date and download the build 1237 to get all the latest additions and enhancements.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Forums57
Topics86,222
Posts802,060
Members40,070
| |
Most Online64,515
Apr 8th, 2026
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dansk
Deutsch - Windows
Español
Français - Windows
Italiano - Windows
Nederlands
Polski
Português
Svenskt
русский
Japanese
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Korean