Gearslutz.com - View Single Post - Why not "DEAD" room fro mixing and mastering??

DanDan · 2nd December 2009

Duck, here come the puns.....
I seem at odds with many on the issue of Deadness. I quite like being outdoors, no reflections. I find anechoic rooms are odd for a minute or so, then I forget about them.
I used to Mix on headphones, because I find most studio acoustics confusing. I don't particularly like wearing headphones but I get really accurate results, quickly.
I currently work in the deadest room I have experienced. The results are deadly accurate:-) It's like cans without the discomfort. This accuracy in delivering mixes which translate instantly is a great freedom. I would liken it to throwing darts at a board, with every single one scoring.
I will discuss this elsewhere, John, Ethan, Glenn, Andre etc. we need to get a private room.....;-)
For this thread I wanted to put the balance in. For me, in a small mix room, dead works extremely well.
The original question is very rich. Should we mix, as I do, with nothing in the way, or should we mix in a simulated average living room, (albeit with a balanced decay spectrum).
That's the original question repeated I think.
You have my answer. But let me add, it's all about balance. One aspect alone does not describe the whole. The brain is the largest part of the hearing process.
I have made many records over many years. I can aurally compute without conscious thought. While listening in Cans or Dead, I can very easily judge the right amount of Reverb and such, which tranlsates as 'the same' in an average acoustic that exists only in my head. An average of large rooms, headphones, cars, radio, TV, Mono, and so on. It's a learned skill. Note that the same brain finds it difficult to mix in a live environment. There is a bloom of room information clouding the issue. How do you judge how much short room ambience to add to drums when you are already listening in a short room? Do you guess at twice as much?
One last point. Again it's a mix, a combination of factors, a balance. I don't listen flat. I broadly subscribe to an old and seemingly forgotten curve which would be about +3 around 100Hz falling gracefully to -3dB at 10K
Mixing is all about balance. :-)
DD

2nd December 2009	#10
DanDan Lives for gear Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Cork Ireland Posts: 5,990 1 Review written	Grateful Dead Duck, here come the puns..... I seem at odds with many on the issue of Deadness. I quite like being outdoors, no reflections. I find anechoic rooms are odd for a minute or so, then I forget about them. I used to Mix on headphones, because I find most studio acoustics confusing. I don't particularly like wearing headphones but I get really accurate results, quickly. I currently work in the deadest room I have experienced. The results are deadly accurate:-) It's like cans without the discomfort. This accuracy in delivering mixes which translate instantly is a great freedom. I would liken it to throwing darts at a board, with every single one scoring. I will discuss this elsewhere, John, Ethan, Glenn, Andre etc. we need to get a private room.....;-) For this thread I wanted to put the balance in. For me, in a small mix room, dead works extremely well. The original question is very rich. Should we mix, as I do, with nothing in the way, or should we mix in a simulated average living room, (albeit with a balanced decay spectrum). That's the original question repeated I think. You have my answer. But let me add, it's all about balance. One aspect alone does not describe the whole. The brain is the largest part of the hearing process. I have made many records over many years. I can aurally compute without conscious thought. While listening in Cans or Dead, I can very easily judge the right amount of Reverb and such, which tranlsates as 'the same' in an average acoustic that exists only in my head. An average of large rooms, headphones, cars, radio, TV, Mono, and so on. It's a learned skill. Note that the same brain finds it difficult to mix in a live environment. There is a bloom of room information clouding the issue. How do you judge how much short room ambience to add to drums when you are already listening in a short room? Do you guess at twice as much? One last point. Again it's a mix, a combination of factors, a balance. I don't listen flat. I broadly subscribe to an old and seemingly forgotten curve which would be about +3 around 100Hz falling gracefully to -3dB at 10K Mixing is all about balance. :-) DD