MIXING OUTDOORS?? GOOD OR BAD IDEA??

[brethes]

Originally Posted by redstudio

I was just thinking about all the reflections, bass response, transmission, low frequency problems. Just wondering if just taking it outside would be a bad idea to mix a project.

Maybe a crazy idea???

Ha - let me know...

C

Crazy idea, indeed! How do you cope with rain & thunder (or irate neighbours)

[jayfrigo]

Bad idea - as is mixing in an anechoic chamber. It won't translate to where real people listen to music. It may sound good through the P.A. at outdoor festivals between bands though!

[redstudio]

i live on about 200 acres so i don't really have neighbors, yes rain and thunder a question, but I wasn't thinking on a permanent matter.

As far as listening environment of others, most listeners listen to CD's in cars where there is no real reflective, or solid surfaces, correct? The speakers dissipate out to thin air, the walls of a car are different then those of house.... in a sense, correct?

Still a bad idea?

Or still not a good translation?

[UnderTow]

Originally Posted by redstudio

i live on about 200 acres so i don't really have neighbors, yes rain and thunder a question, but I wasn't thinking on a permanent matter.

As far as listening environment of others, most listeners listen to CD's in cars where there is no real reflective, or solid surfaces, correct? The speakers dissipate out to thin air, the walls of a car are different then those of house.... in a sense, correct?

Not for the high frequencies! They will bounce off everything in the car. Only the really low frequcnies will pass through the chassis and even those will have some reflections.

Alistair

[allphourus]

Originally Posted by UnderTow

Not for the high frequencies! They will bounce off everything in the car. Only the really low frequcnies will pass through the chassis and even those will have some reflections.

Alistair

Well then, Mix in your car,You won't be the first Ya' Know,I've heard old Ramblers are great for this.Maybe this thread should be moved over to to Low End Theory.

[lucey]

One idea that might work, maybe ... is a slat walled building with a solid floor. We have an old machine barn/corn barn (1875) that has 4-6-8" boards spaced approx 4" apart, a solid wood floor and a high ceiling. This allows some HF reflection off of the slat walls and floor, but the low end goes right out. We have various artists play out there twice a year for festivals and it's a nice sound ... thin, but very clean and even.

[elpillo]

Maybe a crazy idea???

Why don't you try it out and let us know what happened.
If it sounds good... it sounds good, it doesn't matter if you mixed it in an old rambler.

[redstudio]

thanks all for your input. I guess this may have been a weird idea. Perhaps I'll still try on the back porch one day to see what happens.

Just a random thought, and though this is a forum for thoughts questions and answers, I feel I have wasted time... or maybe just storage space.



Regards,
Corbett

[Alex Niedt]

It's not that weird. I'm sure it's crossed a bunch of people's minds.

[HIGHENDONLY]

getting a tan while u mix...wow that would be awesome!!

[Bob Yordan]

Mixing out doors in a car, definitly a bad idea.

[Oldone]

No bass build up, no high frequency bounce, no nulls or nodes. Sounds like the ideal place to get an idea of wether your speakers are flat or not.

If there is wind, running water, rustling leaves or anything that interferes at a volume louder than your mix you might be in trouble.

I've thought of this before but the birds noises alone would be irritating. Remember you are usually in critical listening mode when mixing. Small noises could be very distracting.

[Ethan Winer]

Originally Posted by lucey

One idea that might work, maybe ... is a slat walled building with a solid floor.

Brian, I've been touting the benefits of an all-cardboard building for a few years now. It's impractical for sure, but you can contain the mids and highs while the walls act as perfect bass traps. You establish the crossover frequency with the cardboard's thickness.

--Ethan

[Taproot]

I was doing some Victoria Williams recordings outside once and talked to John Fry about it. As usual, he had a great response. "The good thing about recording outside is, the sound only goes by once." Loved it.

[Kendrick]

Originally Posted by Ethan Winer

Brian, I've been touting the benefits of an all-cardboard building for a few years now. It's impractical for sure, but you can contain the mids and highs while the walls act as perfect bass traps. You establish the crossover frequency with the cardboard's thickness.

--Ethan

Mixing in a cardboard box.

[Remoteness]

I've listened to stuff in cars...

Some studios even transmit on the FM band to the clients/artists cars in the parking lot as a reference.

Hey, how about mixing outside in a truck or RV?

I've heard good results from setups like that.

[Jim vanBergen]

Mixing out of doors plan #967:

-Find 100 acres of pristine land in an urban area.

-Dig a large, earthen bowl 60' in diameter.
-Plant trees around it.
-Trench in electric and find excellent natural refective and absorbtive surfaces to that the studio designers are slobbering with jealousy.

-Install a digital console or a computer....you STILL can't read it in daylight.

Steve, I'm with you. Give me a TRUCK to mix in!!!

-JvB

[redstudio]

Originally Posted by HIGHENDONLY

getting a tan while u mix...wow that would be awesome!!

Ha - never thought of that, but perhaps...

[redstudio]

OKay, so maybe not outside, but in a large room? Are there any mastering or mixing rooms that are large enough for later reflectoins that don't interupt your mix, or would this be non-sense again?

I think I've seen large rooms for mixing/mastering for some reason...

Or maybe 1000 square foot for mastering?

[muziekschuur]

Just walk into any cathedral and you'll know why it isn't done often....


echo eeeecho ooooooooooooooo

[Harley-OIART]

Why not do it? well if you are being actually critical - climate is a major reason why not to.

Temperature and humidity changes will heavily influence the listening environment.

But as always - if it sounds good... it is good... =) Heck I'd love to mix on a beach in the Mediterranean, with a nice portable rig.

[bishopthomas]

One reason why this is not done is the same reason many people still use the NS10's for their main monitor and why reference mixes are checked in broom closets with a Radio Shack boom box.

[redstudio]

Well, to back up my reasoning, and why I came up with this idea was this exact reason.

I found this website for the masterpiece audio unit. As you may also know was built and designed by Billy Stull and Mr. Rupert Neve, who is of course for his famous audio equipment and boards. Well they both reside in Texas, where I live myself. So I searched for a website and low and behold I found it.

Masterpiece Mastering home

If you notice on the main page it shows that he(Billy Stull, also known for his golden ears) has a room that measure 1000 square feet where I believe he does his "mastering". He's and audio genius right? He helps design these pieces of equipment that we call miracle boxes, so he's gotta know.

So, even if his room is treated and well balanced or what not, isn't the space large enough to almost be outside? This is where I came up with the idea. Maybe a crazy one, but this is where it all kinda came from.

Thanks for all the input and the post that you guys have posted.

Thanks...
C

[nandoanalog]

I made a thread asking the same some time ago.. No one bothered....

Despiste all the bird noises (mixing at night might resolve that problem), I think that mixing outside could get you good results.

Good mastering facilities are large. And the are constructed in a way to sound even larger (not echoish).

[redstudio]

Originally Posted by nandoanalog

I made a thread asking the same some time ago.. No one bothered....

Despiste all the bird noises (mixing at night might resolve that problem), I think that mixing outside could get you good results.

Good mastering facilities are large. And the are constructed in a way to sound even larger (not echoish).

thanks for the reply. have you tried this yourself i take it?

[nandoanalog]

Originally Posted by redstudio

thanks for the reply. have you tried this yourself i take it?

No... But I bought several systems outside to listen to them. As for listening pleasure, I liked the result. The bass sounded right to me, and you can notice that there are a lot of less reflections (image smearing) on the mid to high frequencies.....

Didn`t mix anything yet tho.... I`m more a musician than a mixer... So, I don`t mix stuff often...

Get some speakers, and bring them outside. Try it... Nothing to loose.

[Sound Chaser]

As I don't have a remote truck I often find myself mixing in large open rooms such as an empty banquet hall 150' away.
I must say that I've gotten some great results. The monitors just seem to flatten out and cause zero listening fatigue. I'm still careful where I setup avoiding large reflective surfaces and I often use packing blankets here and there as needed.
Compared to all but the best designed control rooms, I find that even playing back music in an open space (just short of the outdoors) offers an easy, comfortable sound that agrees with my ears. The recordings seem to back that up.

I don't know what the results would be if you were to mix outdoors, but if you have the opportunity you should go for it. AND YES... you did pose and interesting question that deserves more than a flippant remark because I think we've all thought about it.

p.s. here's a video recording I did in a room 100' by 50' with a 20' ceiling. The band played in the room beside 100' by 100'. It was mixed on an old set of 34 year old JBL Century 100's and a few pieces of gear that I've heard a lot of people here give less than favorable reviews. Soundchaser.ca - accent

[Chaellus]

hhmmm i heard that one of the red hot chillipeppers records was mixed i mean recorded in the backyard...i dont know which one..must be one of tthe early ones .but a friend of mine told me a while ago...

[Barnabas]

Besides recording, I do a lot of sound reinforcement, both indoors and out.

I really enjoy setting up a sound system outside because of the lack of reverberant surfaces. I find it easier to mix live music outside than inside.

I hate exposing my equipment and my person to the elements (I burn easily), but on a strictly audio level, I prefer mixing outdoors.