i like to listen to it at different levels, especially almost slient to help me understand what instrument is most present and to see if the bass can be heard clearly. Although, I'm definitely going to try this out. I have never ran into clipping issues but it never hurts to try and standardize everything.
Great advice. I started doing this about 10 years ago, and it has made a world of difference! Luckily I had a monitoring system that allowed me to "store" my playback volume knob setting. Keep up the Great job you are doing, Joe. You are an inspiration to all of us! By the way, you forgot to mention that when a client comes into the room to listen to the work you are doing, be ready to turn up the volume louder to impress them! If the mix sounds good at your calibrated volume level, it will usually sound even better when you turn it up!
Hey Joe, I just want to say THANK YOU for getting "a bit more technical" on this topic than you usually do. It was SUPER helpful and I was surprised how easy it was on the second listen through. This is a gold nugget I can continue to use and teach to other recording friends. You da man.
This really helps to “learn” your ears, depth perception and yes your eyes as you go through the process of making adjustments over time. Awesome video with great advice.
Great advice! I sorted this problem out a year ago, I have a VU meter just sat on my Master bus with -18VU and then make sure that when the Kick hits it's -3Db and then together with the Bass together, 0Db. Been working for me recently!
This actually makes sense. Because different people will have ears with different sensitivity levels too. I did try with the SPL meter with 80 db, but then gradually had to re-adjust the volumes according to my comfort and now my ears are quite trained for that volume level.
Super important stuff right here. Recently calibrated my Yamaha HS7s with pink nose and a dBC-type SPL meter - stunned how different I had to set the volume knobs at the back to get the same reading at my listening position. Suddenly, my mixes don't sound lobsided anymore and depth perception has vastly improved. Big lesson: if you buy a (non-matched) pair of speakers, don't assume that same settings = same output volume ...
Thanks Jo. I've been mixing for a long time, but setting my volume knob to about 9 o'clock. However, I like the 10:00/2:00 idea, so i downloaded your track and did your exercise. My ideal volume happened to be 80dB.
Thanks Joe! I just did this and it sounds great and not as hard on my ears. And for fun I use my SPL meter to see the level and it came to be 76db for my room.
Great advice. Love your videos. Very informative as always. I've been doing something similar to this... I set the volume knob on my SSL2+ interface to 12 o'clock and then adjust the monitor's volume until it's comfortable and sounds good to me. When I'm tracking vocals or anything with a mic I simply turn the volume on the SSL all the way down to prevent feedback in my one-room studio. Then flip it back to 12 o'clock when recording DI or mixing and the volume is back to where I normally listen without needing to always where headphones while tracking.
Thank you sooo much! I have been doing sound design for videos recently and instinctively it occurred to me that my mixing levels are not exactly consistent. I searched far and wide about speaker calibration. Most videos I found gave me headaches until I found yours. Easy to understand, great advice and straight to the point.
I used pink noise and an SPL app and calibrated each of my speakers to read out at 80db and I have got almost this exact outcome. I found it did help my mixes ALOT and combined with proper gain staging get's you about 25% of the way to a really good or great mix. Not skimping on the set up really does make all the difference on the end product and mixing at low levels throughout and using high levels just to check the "bump factor" will save you alot of headaches and fatigue
Real helpful tip. I came up to something similar by testing and listening, but your method really conforms inconsistency issues and make it easy for no brainers . Thanks for this great advise. BTW: Cool tatoo. As a native Greek I spotted it instantly and very easy.
You always teach us in such a simple way that even beginners like me can understand and apply. Thanks, Ssir. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year hopelly without Covid-19.
I like your explanation. Just one thing, to say that the 85dbSPL is too loud first, then say you may find that you're clipping the master fader during a mix... That's the point of setting the 85dbSPL reference, to make sure there is enough headroom available for occasional spikes. It should also be noted that the 85dbSPL thing comes from THX where there was concern that movie mixes wouldn't translate between theaters. Setting the standard fixes the sound levels so that it is at the same volume everywhere. Technically by mixing at lower than 85dbSPL it means that the mix will sound way too loud when listening to it at the correct volume. Although, music mixes don't tend to follow the 85dbSPL rules for a number of reasons. Some of which are: lack of standardization and desire to have the music punch as much as possible, which means eating into the entirety of the headroom available.
It's Funny, I NEVER thought about this, but i did this too, I have my mix level set to 2 o' clock too, and i have my DIM setting set to exactly the level i need to lower for mastering. Consistency finally.
Joe, this is really good information. I think you have solve a lot of the reason I scramble with my mixes. I'm just learning but I think this one thing gives me a solid foundation to work from. Thanks!!!
I think the best way is to approach mixes like this: 1. Check your mix on low and loud volumes and master it until it sound good on both. 2. Reference your and other songs
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and creating this video! This helps greatly. This is the solution to a longtime on going problem. Fantastic thanks!
76db is my working peak level. (I do use an SPL app.) Therefore, when I listen from other apps like QuickTime and iTunes, I step them down just about six 'down arrows' as well. For certain genres, I do crank up, leave the room and listen from outside.
Thank Joe, this is one of the best tutorial videos and one of the most valid information for setting up your studio. Great advice and makes huge difference. Everyone starting mixing journey should watch it. Works magic!
Lol I did this yesterday in my new monitors Adam a7x which I have at 12 o’clock and my clarett 4 pre I have at 2 o’clock and my master in my daw at 0. At least this video confirms what I did was right..... thanks Joe 👏 👏
This may be the best idea of 2018 regarding home studios. Why/how is this so widely overlooked I still think Joe should bring back the biker mustache . PLLLLEASE joe? we miss it. :( cheers and thanks for all of what you do. steve
I calibrated my monitors with pink plugin by credland audio and a db-SPL meter. However i set my audio interface to unity, 0dB and set my sub and monitors to off and turned them up until the sub was at 79 dbspl and the monitors around 80 dbspl.
The gain knobs behind the Yamaha HS8's are very sensitive and there are no snappy ticks between the dB steps except the middle position (+4dB). So I'm afraid to adjust the gain knobs because of maybe losing the true center image if I set up one of the monitor gains wrong.
Good advice, as it also helps to reduce interference and/or sound floor issues in your output if you're always providing a decent amplitude to the speakers. i.e. if you have powerful speakers that are set on full gain, but your main mixer out/soundcard out is set low then you're sacrificing sound quality un-necessarily and exacerbating artefacts. Also, if you direct monitor external sources using outboard (Like a multi-bus mixer) you need to also ensure that the bus which goes into your audio interface is balanced with your outputs (i.e. sound the same level when you're direct monitoring via the mix console vs software monitoring). That's another common mistake and causes confusion in mixing levels as you can be clipping the recording without hearing it clip if you monitor via the mixer.
hey joe, i have herd the calibration term come up before. Just never decided to take notice. Mainly because i was trying to take in wayyyy to many other parts of info.... as we all know. Though, a piece of advice i took on board a long time ago, id like to get your opinion on. Was, when your ready to mix, Weather u just opened a new track, or you produced it yourself. Just turn everything down. And start from scratch. Level match to your ear, get a feel, then decide your next steps. a kind of "take it back to feeling it out" approach. Though, as i type this. I can see more how this would come into play getting multiple mixes. Just from the variations. I suppose because by the time i come to mixing, I have been working on the bastard for god knows how long. Producing it. but yeah.... i dunno. Have u ever tried this approach yourself?
Quick Question- clarification- (Using a Clarett 2 Pre Audio Interface with KRK Rokit 5s)- Not mentioned in the video, but my guess is that we should first, max out the "Computer" Volume, correct? Then set the Monitor knob on the audio interface to the 2 O'clock position for Mixing and 10 O'clock for Mastering followed by adjustments of the actual speaker volume knobs for the "Pleasant" volume setting. Does the 2 and 10 o'clock volume rule apply to headphones output of the audio interface? I am using some Beyerdynamic Dt770 Pro (250 ohm) ran through a headphone amp to help with the quietness of the headphones. I would like to find consistency regardless of mixing/mastering with headphones or monitors. Thanks Much- I am loving your course so far!
Joe, you are a very good instructor. Thank you very much for all your effort! Love your videos. It is a pleasure to listen, to educate and for me also to be entertained at the same time. You explain your self very well. All the best:)
What about the volume coming out from your interface? You forgot to mention where that sits. It may have audible noise if cranked to 0. 2 o’clock may be good for the monitor controller but the interface has a volume too.
Thank you Joe - -enjoy your videos. Question listening to the Fighter. Have a good set of monitors and headphones. I set the knob on the Octa Capture to 10. Listening via phones the overall volume of 10 is comfortable to the ears. I adjust the input sensitivity on the monitors to match the overall volume via headphones. The monitors came down from +4 to about -3 making sure the equidistance between me and monitors is set properly. Adjusted HF and LF on the monitors to match the level of drums and guitars when switching back and forth between phones and monitors. Now at least I know what I hear with either should be a match when doing the mixmaster thing. Pushing the dial to 2 o'clock still good for that level on the ears.
Flecher and Munson's graphs had another purpose, to prove that human ears are not linear (for instance mid frequencies are perceived louder than lower ones), at every spl
Thank you for the info I appreciate it. I’m going to try setting up like this when I get home. One question though. So when you are mixing, are you bringing the master fader down to -10 or leaving it at 0?
4 ปีที่แล้ว
Ideally, when mixing your tracks should stay around -18 (0dBVU, if you have a VU Meter plugin). That's enough headroom to do the mixing. Then you will bring the volume up in the mastering phase, with limiting. You shoudn't be mixing so hot that you need to pull the master fader down.
i like to listen to it at different levels, especially almost slient to help me understand what instrument is most present and to see if the bass can be heard clearly. Although, I'm definitely going to try this out. I have never ran into clipping issues but it never hurts to try and standardize everything.
"I literally almost never touch that volume knob." -Joe Gilder, a man who has literal cobwebs around that volume knob.
😂😂
HAHAHA
This is the one question I had for years....and no one answered properly on any forum or on TH-cam. Thanks a lot for this video
Great advice. I started doing this about 10 years ago, and it has made a world of difference! Luckily I had a monitoring system that allowed me to "store" my playback volume knob setting.
Keep up the Great job you are doing, Joe. You are an inspiration to all of us!
By the way, you forgot to mention that when a client comes into the room to listen to the work you are doing, be ready to turn up the volume louder to impress them!
If the mix sounds good at your calibrated volume level, it will usually sound even better when you turn it up!
Haha. Definitely.
Marius, your recordings and mixes have always sounded great! But it's good to know you are getting even better. Good to see you on TH-cam.
@@HomeStudioCorner what brand are your monitors?! thank you!
Hey Joe, I just want to say THANK YOU for getting "a bit more technical" on this topic than you usually do. It was SUPER helpful and I was surprised how easy it was on the second listen through. This is a gold nugget I can continue to use and teach to other recording friends. You da man.
This really helps to “learn” your ears, depth perception and yes your eyes as you go through the process of making adjustments over time. Awesome video with great advice.
How very true! Funny how so few people talk about monitoring volume. To me the most important thing with mixing.
Great advice! I sorted this problem out a year ago, I have a VU meter just sat on my Master bus with -18VU and then make sure that when the Kick hits it's -3Db and then together with the Bass together, 0Db. Been working for me recently!
This actually makes sense. Because different people will have ears with different sensitivity levels too. I did try with the SPL meter with 80 db, but then gradually had to re-adjust the volumes according to my comfort and now my ears are quite trained for that volume level.
Wow. I've never calibrated my speakers before, big difference, thanks for the advice. Your track fighter is very good too. Nice work.
Super important stuff right here. Recently calibrated my Yamaha HS7s with pink nose and a dBC-type SPL meter - stunned how different I had to set the volume knobs at the back to get the same reading at my listening position. Suddenly, my mixes don't sound lobsided anymore and depth perception has vastly improved. Big lesson: if you buy a (non-matched) pair of speakers, don't assume that same settings = same output volume ...
You where absolutley spot on with this. I did not have to make any adjustments though.
We ran into this problem yesterday. Great timing on this video! :) Love it!
Excellent Info. Joe!
6:47 - STEP 1...
Thanks Joe Gilder, amazing tips. Very useful. Best wishes.
Joe all your tips are coming at the right time for me. thanks so much for this!
Love this Joe. Consistency is a better rule than any rule.
Genius! Absolutely brilliant my guy🤘🏽 thank you!
Thanks Jo. I've been mixing for a long time, but setting my volume knob to about 9 o'clock. However, I like the 10:00/2:00 idea, so i downloaded your track and did your exercise. My ideal volume happened to be 80dB.
Great job!!!! Thank you for this quick insight
Thank you so much Joe! I'm a complete green horn when it comes to mixing and this helped me a lot!
Thanks Joe! I just did this and it sounds great and not as hard on my ears. And for fun I use my SPL meter to see the level and it came to be 76db for my room.
Nice! I think mine landed around 72 last time I checked.
Great! I must be doing something right. Mine came in at 72-73. At this point I have my sub turned off. Where would a sub fall into this formula?
eggnogagogo it doesn’t. Don’t use a sub to mix
Great advice. Love your videos. Very informative as always.
I've been doing something similar to this... I set the volume knob on my SSL2+ interface to 12 o'clock and then adjust the monitor's volume until it's comfortable and sounds good to me.
When I'm tracking vocals or anything with a mic I simply turn the volume on the SSL all the way down to prevent feedback in my one-room studio. Then flip it back to 12 o'clock when recording DI or mixing and the volume is back to where I normally listen without needing to always where headphones while tracking.
Forgot to add that I downloaded your master to try your 2 o'clock - 10 oclock method.
Very good suggestion! Thanks a lot!🎹🎼👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
Crazy to hear so much bass without a cardioid mic very close to get the proximity effect.wow! Sounds great
Thank you sooo much! I have been doing sound design for videos recently and instinctively it occurred to me that my mixing levels are not exactly consistent. I searched far and wide about speaker calibration. Most videos I found gave me headaches until I found yours. Easy to understand, great advice and straight to the point.
Awesome. Thanks Joe.
It's great, thank You!
cheers Joe!
Very Good Video, You are exactly right.
Thanks!
Thank you so much Joe. Saved my pain
Thanks man. Very helpful.
Really good explanation.
Thank you Joe
I used pink noise and an SPL app and calibrated each of my speakers to read out at 80db and I have got almost this exact outcome. I found it did help my mixes ALOT and combined with proper gain staging get's you about 25% of the way to a really good or great mix. Not skimping on the set up really does make all the difference on the end product and mixing at low levels throughout and using high levels just to check the "bump factor" will save you alot of headaches and fatigue
Real helpful tip. I came up to something similar by testing and listening, but your method really conforms inconsistency issues and make it easy for no brainers . Thanks for this great advise.
BTW: Cool tatoo. As a native Greek I spotted it instantly and very easy.
Ha!! Nice!
I think our ears have compressors as well. Very good and simple point about turning up the volume!!!!
You always teach us in such a simple way that even beginners like me can understand and apply. Thanks,
Ssir. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year hopelly without Covid-19.
I like your explanation. Just one thing, to say that the 85dbSPL is too loud first, then say you may find that you're clipping the master fader during a mix... That's the point of setting the 85dbSPL reference, to make sure there is enough headroom available for occasional spikes. It should also be noted that the 85dbSPL thing comes from THX where there was concern that movie mixes wouldn't translate between theaters. Setting the standard fixes the sound levels so that it is at the same volume everywhere. Technically by mixing at lower than 85dbSPL it means that the mix will sound way too loud when listening to it at the correct volume. Although, music mixes don't tend to follow the 85dbSPL rules for a number of reasons. Some of which are: lack of standardization and desire to have the music punch as much as possible, which means eating into the entirety of the headroom available.
Thanks
Outstanding advice thank you
This has got to be the best discription i've heard in years!
It's Funny, I NEVER thought about this, but i did this too, I have my mix level set to 2 o' clock too, and i have my DIM setting set to exactly the level i need to lower for mastering. Consistency finally.
Man your videos are amazing! Keep uploading!
Joe, this is really good information. I think you have solve a lot of the reason I scramble with my mixes. I'm just learning but I think this one thing gives me a solid foundation to work from. Thanks!!!
I think the best way is to approach mixes like this:
1. Check your mix on low and loud volumes and master it until it sound good on both.
2. Reference your and other songs
That was great....Good job ....can't wait to try this method in my studio
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and creating this video! This helps greatly. This is the solution to a longtime on going problem. Fantastic thanks!
76db is my working peak level. (I do use an SPL app.) Therefore, when I listen from other apps like QuickTime and iTunes, I step them down just about six 'down arrows' as well. For certain genres, I do crank up, leave the room and listen from outside.
Yeah I think I landed around 69-72 as my comfortable range.
Thanks!
Joe saved my life again. I was in crisis because I found unbearable (my neighbors either) mix at 85 decibels. Sensible words here.
I started doing this a while ago and found my mixes are more consistent great advice!!
👍
Awesome vid, Joe. Thank you!
Thank Joe, this is one of the best tutorial videos and one of the most valid information for setting up your studio. Great advice and makes huge difference. Everyone starting mixing journey should watch it. Works magic!
Thanks. Excellent presentation. Very clear and concise!
Thanks Great Job ..subscribed
Thanks so much Joe! Have a very Merry Christmas!
Hands Down G
Lol I did this yesterday in my new monitors Adam a7x which I have at 12 o’clock and my clarett 4 pre I have at 2 o’clock and my master in my daw at 0. At least this video confirms
what I did was right..... thanks Joe 👏 👏
This may be the best idea of 2018 regarding home studios. Why/how is this so widely overlooked
I still think Joe should bring back the biker mustache . PLLLLEASE joe? we miss it. :(
cheers and thanks for all of what you do.
steve
more technical than usual, it works very well
Great tip, thanks Joe
This is really appreciated.
Thank you!
I think that’s a really great idea. Thanks!
Great advice!
wow great practical info... thanks
Joe
From a new novice, thank you for this video!
Good advise! Good song!
Thank you very much
Killer advice! What about tricks to setting up the switches on back of speakers haha. The low freq and high freq etc
I calibrated my monitors with pink plugin by credland audio and a db-SPL meter. However i set my audio interface to unity, 0dB and set my sub and monitors to off and turned them up until the sub was at 79 dbspl and the monitors around 80 dbspl.
What were your settings for noise level and master level in the credland audio Pink VST?
Thanks for the tips. I feel my monitors much more consistantly now. :)
Thanks for the tip, very helpful! Gonna try it!
Thank you Joe. This has been great for me to get my mixes to the same volume level before mastering. This will please my mastering engineer!
so helpful man
The gain knobs behind the Yamaha HS8's are very sensitive and there are no snappy ticks between the dB steps except the middle position (+4dB). So I'm afraid to adjust the gain knobs because of maybe losing the true center image if I set up one of the monitor gains wrong.
Liked the video as soon as I heard "Fletcher".
Damn, this might be some of the best advice I've had :O
Hey Joe! Can you provide that .wav file again or a comparable file? Recently purchased a pair of Sceptre S8s.
Makes sense... Thanks!
Good advice, as it also helps to reduce interference and/or sound floor issues in your output if you're always providing a decent amplitude to the speakers.
i.e. if you have powerful speakers that are set on full gain, but your main mixer out/soundcard out is set low then you're sacrificing sound quality un-necessarily and exacerbating artefacts.
Also, if you direct monitor external sources using outboard (Like a multi-bus mixer) you need to also ensure that the bus which goes into your audio interface is balanced with your outputs (i.e. sound the same level when you're direct monitoring via the mix console vs software monitoring). That's another common mistake and causes confusion in mixing levels as you can be clipping the recording without hearing it clip if you monitor via the mixer.
Hi Joe! Like this one-makes alotta sense,thanks
hey joe, i have herd the calibration term come up before. Just never decided to take notice. Mainly because i was trying to take in wayyyy to many other parts of info.... as we all know. Though, a piece of advice i took on board a long time ago, id like to get your opinion on. Was, when your ready to mix, Weather u just opened a new track, or you produced it yourself. Just turn everything down. And start from scratch. Level match to your ear, get a feel, then decide your next steps. a kind of "take it back to feeling it out" approach. Though, as i type this. I can see more how this would come into play getting multiple mixes. Just from the variations. I suppose because by the time i come to mixing, I have been working on the bastard for god knows how long. Producing it. but yeah.... i dunno. Have u ever tried this approach yourself?
Thanks for the video!! I got mine at 78db =)
thank you!
Quick Question- clarification- (Using a Clarett 2 Pre Audio Interface with KRK Rokit 5s)- Not mentioned in the video, but my guess is that we should first, max out the "Computer" Volume, correct? Then set the Monitor knob on the audio interface to the 2 O'clock position for Mixing and 10 O'clock for Mastering followed by adjustments of the actual speaker volume knobs for the "Pleasant" volume setting. Does the 2 and 10 o'clock volume rule apply to headphones output of the audio interface? I am using some Beyerdynamic Dt770 Pro (250 ohm) ran through a headphone amp to help with the quietness of the headphones. I would like to find consistency regardless of mixing/mastering with headphones or monitors. Thanks Much- I am loving your course so far!
Joe, you are a very good instructor. Thank you very much for all your effort! Love your videos. It is a pleasure to listen, to educate and for me also to be entertained at the same time. You explain your self very well. All the best:)
What about the volume coming out from your interface? You forgot to mention where that sits. It may have audible noise if cranked to 0. 2 o’clock may be good for the monitor controller but the interface has a volume too.
Unity.
That was REALLY helpful!!! TYVM
I have Focal Alpha 50s just low shelf and high shelf adjusted
Nice tip, very nice!
My focals alpha 80 doesnt have volume knob what should I do??
Thanks so much, nice to know.
dude...thank you. so much.
Thank you Joe - -enjoy your videos. Question listening to the Fighter. Have a good set of monitors and headphones. I set the knob on the Octa Capture to 10. Listening via phones the overall volume of 10 is comfortable to the ears. I adjust the input sensitivity on the monitors to match the overall volume via headphones. The monitors came down from +4 to about -3 making sure the equidistance between me and monitors is set properly. Adjusted HF and LF on the monitors to match the level of drums and guitars when switching back and forth between phones and monitors. Now at least I know what I hear with either should be a match when doing the mixmaster thing. Pushing the dial to 2 o'clock still good for that level on the ears.
Any tips on balancing the separate volume knobs on each speaker?
Flecher and Munson's graphs had another purpose, to prove that human ears are not linear (for instance mid frequencies are perceived louder than lower ones), at every spl
Thanks for advice joe!
👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾 Thank you
Thank you for the info I appreciate it. I’m going to try setting up like this when I get home. One question though. So when you are mixing, are you bringing the master fader down to -10 or leaving it at 0?
Ideally, when mixing your tracks should stay around -18 (0dBVU, if you have a VU Meter plugin). That's enough headroom to do the mixing. Then you will bring the volume up in the mastering phase, with limiting. You shoudn't be mixing so hot that you need to pull the master fader down.