Hey, friends! I'm having a dilemma regarding BALANCE MEMORY. I've been trying to feel the intensity of the Db in my head to figure out how far to raise the fader. But it seems that raising it individually doesn't feel the same as raising all the sounds, and it confuses me so much that I lose focus. Do you have any advice on this? Thanks in advance.
The way I do it is this: the first thing I listen for is what's the loudest element in the mix, then once I've got that, I listen for the second-loudest thing, third-loudest, and quietest, and I'll keep that arrangement in my head, like a tier list. Then I'll go back to the loudest thing and listen for where it is—is it all up in my face, or is it a bit further back? Then I'll start bringing the faders up; I'll get the loudest thing up where I think it is, then I'll bring up the second loudest thing and get that sounding like it was in relation to the first, then the third and fourth things, and by the end I usually have something pretty close to the original balance.
The only exception is when I have a balance that's way out of whack, where one element is like 15db louder than everything else. In those instances, I'll make a note of where the loudest thing is, but then I'll ignore it and go through the same process starting with the second-loudest element and get the quiet part of the mix right before I add the really loud thing on top of it.
I see, I understand your point. Although now I have to ask... Do you have a reference volume so you always hear the same level with your monitors or headphones, or do you constantly change it?
Excellent question. So I listen at what I would call normal mixing volume. To find this, take a commercially mastered song (somewhere between -10 and -9 LUFS) and go to the loudest part of the song. Turn it up to where it's not painful, but it is fatiguing to listen to. Like you'd have to really raise your voice to talk over it. This should be a good volume for mixing, since when you're mixing volume is a lot lower, and you want it loud enough to hear all the details. That fatiguing level is also good for when you're putting the finishing touches on a mix, as it will put problems with the balance into sharp relief, though you don't wanna listen and that level for very long.
Just wanted to re-share my last album here 🎧 I had originally posted it in *Mix Critiques*, without realizing that *Soundgym Café* was the more fitting space !
and I'd really love to know if any of you felt some vibes 🖤
It's a homemade electronic album // 7 tracks, 27 minutes. I'd be really happy to share it with anyone in the mood for a listen 🎶
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