An issue of volume scaling

[adpz]

I am hoping some of you ME's might have an idea about this observation:

I mix mostly at fairly low levels (65-60db). I often get my mixes sounding very balanced at that level, though if I boost the volume a lot the relationship between the elements can change rather dramatically.

I have very good equipment and a decent, treated room so I know that this is not only a technical issue . . .

The main point is that my reference mixes - that I often to listen to at the same differing levels as my mixes - seem to scale much better: they sound similar no matter the volume whereas my mixes change a lot even though they sometimes sound near-identical in terms of balance when played at the lower levels.

Is mastering a process that addresses this apparent difference? If you have noticed/seen this problem in material that you have worked on, what could be the underlying cause or issue?

Appreciate any info or responses.

[William Bowden]

I see this all the time (I'm a mastering guy) although I often characterize it as mixes feeling a bit weak, so you feel you want to keep turning them up and up to get a vibe. Ie at lower levels (even normal ones sometimes) things feel as if they dissapear or don't have cohesion. Whereas mastered tunes just seem to 'sit' and work better at lower volumes as well as loud.

Personally I think it's a big part of what I do in mastering, a bit of compression and eq can tighten things up, so you're not wasting part of your dynamic range on unimportant things like resonances at 80Hz in the bass say and the mix may often end up feeling more dynamic or 'present' if you focus on the positive elements. There was a thread here about "stability' techniques in mastering that may comment further.

Sometimes compression seems to get a bad name, but like all things if you use it properly it can be an absolute miracle worker - same with eq.

Many of my clients ask about what eq settings I'm using to get "that sound" because they've tried to eq the track at home or used plugs to try and master. All I can say is that it is a combination of things that get you to that point - and it's daily a different combination sometimes too.

Maybe something to look out for and focus on is how all the elements are relating to one another - mix engineers are supposed to do this of course, but there seems to be sometimes a vast difference between thinking 'locally' and 'globally' and I guess this is why ME's have a job.

Even on mixes where there's very little eq, I often have a few little subtle things going on in the compression or limiting world to get things more cohesive or maybe just some slight colouration that helps. It's hard to describe though I'm afraid as it's a bit of an instinctive thing.

It may also help for you to break out of the 'level zone' you've created for yourself and try louder and quieter and see what is revealed, and possibly have a second or even third set of monitors to expand your understanding of things. I find all speakers sound different, but they all tell me things in certain areas of meaning - and I like that a lot.

Guess I'm just not a 'one speaker' kind of guy. Hope this helps.

The King

[William Bowden]

I should add that I think the underlying cause may be that you might be mixing in the box in protools possibly, and also your room may change dramatically depending on volume, in which case the treatments may be an issue as well.

The King

[Bob Olhsson]

Our ears compress everything above around 500 Hz. If you vary the volume level you can hear this happen with everything below 500 getting much louder and softer.

I'd listen to what a really good mix does when I vary the volume and then listen to my own. Beware that excessive eq. can really mess what you call scaling (and the translation of the mix) up.