Karaoke Forums

Ive just spent the last 2 hours mixing a song.
I am worried about the quality of my recordings,and how they sound to the general public...so....I mixed this tune useing my external speakers (ALtec/Lansing)..... finally....after eq-ing like a crazy lady with no coffee.. I Finally got a sound that made me sound crystal clear,as nice as store bought cd (yeah,,I was doing the whoohooo dance).
I'm thinking...Ive finally found the perfect eq settings for my voice.....
......SOOOO...Ive GOT to hear how wonderful this sounds in my headphones right???? I snuggle into the headphones (a very nice pair),start the music play .....and OH MY GOSH..................
I sound like TOTAL dungy poo poo cow crap.
*flings self to the floor,,thrashes arms and legs....runs over to wall head on...slowly falls to floor in a heap*. OH the CALAMITY!

So,,what I need to know is this... should we be mixing our tunes useing our headsets?? Or useing those external speakers?? How are the majority of you listeners..listening to us? what to do?? what to do??
Ayone got any suggestions??...................Sigh. help.

speaking personally, I record on my large system... then I check it out on the computer afterwards

Tammy:
IMO,once you find a monitoring system (speakers or headphones) that make your mix sound great on different set ups, you should stick to it like glue because that's when you can really start moving on fast with your projects. It has to do with getting a monitor system that reproduces a flat response as accurate as possible and then adding the right amount of bottom and highs without destroying the mids. In my case I use a well trusted set of headphones because after trying out other alternatives, this headphones always take me back to what some call a"REALITY CHECK".
If you depend on speakers, they have to reproduce that flat response characteristic and also you have to consider the room acoustics and your place in the listening area. It's just too much of a hassle and IMO, not very reliable.
Hope my personal experience helps you out some.
Always,
Tonmay - Tony

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I dream of songs of love, peace and harmony.

Yes I agree Tony,got to find some happy medium...But I did make one discovery....For one..my speakers are much too close...not only that...they are in a corner.(Sounds like something a girl would do doesnt it?) Speakers in a corner,together,seem to double up on bass response.Well...Im only a girl,who knew

I also got rid of the sub woofer.( I am very sensative to bass sounds)and that sub woofer was adding to the already multiplied bass I was hearing.The subwoofer...was husbands idea.As far as he is concerned,you can never have enough bass.The way I see it,it starts shaking up your internal organs,,,welll...its too much

I am going to be trying different speakers,and maybe using my belkin a little more too,listen to mixes thru the big sterio.Thanks so much for your input..and thankyou "Masked man" as well for your reply.

~ Tammy

Well , as you might know , I don't own any headphones,so I record through my system then listen back through the computers speakers for final adjustments...but now you've got me wondering if it actually sounds like crap through headphones... Ohhh well ,I try,and I have fun so I guess that'll have to be enough for now!

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Gotta' Sing , Gotta' Sing !!!

Because I am now doing on of my recording, etc, on my ibook, I use headphones to record all of MY submissions, as well, as to listen to everyone elses... Mine submissions generally sound the same, either with headphones, or if I shoot the song over onto my emac, but, occasionally, if I stick a song on my ipod, and plug 'er into the car, things sounds a little differently. Same goes with a lot of people submissions I have heard... besides, you can ALWAYS pick out every error when you are listening with headphones....Mine would sound best with your stereo muted.

Tammy I must say that you could not sound like poopy dungy poo even if you got tossed around in a portapotty. I hope you find your answer!! God I'm so far away from that level of technical mixing (sigh).

Tammy - I feel you pain!! Just when I think I'm making headway on this mixing thing...pow! right on my face. Headphones vs speakers... ARGG!!!

I had been pushing sound to my home theater, thinking that would give me a better idea of how the final mix fit together...then I got some feedback to the contrary... Alas, I remain frustrated, but determined.

PS... Thanks for the post Tammy, and all the advice folks. I have benefited too!

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Flattery (and criticism are) like chewing gum, enjoyable or not, don't swallow it!!!  adapted from Hank Ketchum

I use my karaoke system and a stand alone burner to record. On playback, it sounds one way when I run it through my home system, another way through my laptop and still another way in my truck. Oh, and yet another way through my headphones. And, I'm not really pleased with any of them...but, as Sara Evans says...I keep searchin' for something more!!

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If you can't have fun...why bother?

Tammy,

I believe that to get a good sound, you'll nead a good set of head phones that are what we call Studio Monitor, I have a pair of AKG-141 Studio. Now, it's also good to have good speakers call Studio Monitors, I recently bought a set of the new Behringer Thruth B-2031A.

The Head phones are the most important but I needed to give my ears a break! If you use anything else but what we call Monitors, you will of course have a different sound than the reality. My suggestion, spend your money towards a pair of AKG or Beyer-Dynamics & you'll get the sound you're looking for!

A good sound card is also important and they're now cheap! You can get a good SB Audigy2 ZS for under $100,00!!

Hope this helps? Keep them coming please!

Isnt it amazing how differently our recordings sound thru different speakers? I spend so much more time fretting over the mix than I do singing the song.... Looks like alot of you guys do too.

Ah...but the love for singing...just keeps us keepin on...
Thanks for all the input.... this mixing,,is really an art in itself,,,and we all just keep striving for the best sounds...I dont know that Ill ever be totally happy with my mixes,,but..we are our own worst critiques,this is true.

I say...happy singing..and to heck with the mix...
(but when I listen in the morning to what ive recorded today,I wont say that will I? )

hahhaa.....love all the input guys..it realy does help....thankeeesss!! hugss

i usually listen to my final mixes on my car stereo...i dont know why but it seems to be the mid point between a home stereo and headphones...i wish everyone would use headphones when they listen at home...most computer speakers are crap...(unless you eq them for each song)...i learned a great lesson from one of the best engineers in california back in the eighties....he would record a band like dokken , then mix it down and would immediately take it out to his second hand car with a standard stereo and listen to it there...reason being he knew that the majority of listeners would listen to it in there cars.....so i guess the answer would be use your headphone mix cause thats what we are all listeninmg to you with......

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Gladly helping Kappy to become cyber immortal !!

i have noticed many many people worry over the mixing on this site and i am quite baffled as to why....firstly its about the vocals more than the mix...people are listening to the vocals more than the mix...or at least i think hopefully are cause if thats the case and they listen cause of mixes then no bugger should listen to my subs hehehe....i think sound as well as music comes down to personal choice some like more bass than others some like more treble, some prefer to have backing music quieter etc etc as with the songs themselves what i would call a stunning performance and would blow me away another person might think nahh it was only ok.... so tammy...your sounding wonderful to me i listen using headphones and i also record using headphones...sweetie don't worry too much about the mixing as long as your vocals are clear and its the right volume etc i think anyone that rates (for those that rate) or anyone that leaves you comments should be because they love your voice/performance not to dig at you for not getting a mix sounding good .. if something is sounding pretty bad and the vocals are muffled or distorted due to a bad recording then i will comment and perhaps suggest adobe or cool edit...anyways thats my little bit ...keep going tammy and everyone else i think your all doing a lovely lovely job and i am pleased i am now part of your family

I disagree. the performance of a song is NOT about the vocals, but about how well the song sounds. The mix of music VS the singer, and how they go together is to many of us, what's important.

I try to imagine hearing the song sang on the radio.

I do share knightshow's view on this!

I have a question...I have surround sound speakers with no headphone plug so currently have my headphones pugged into the karaoke machine and do use them for recording, but when i begin doing this properly, (multi-tracking) is there a headphone plug on the computer somewhere? or how can I listen with or record with headphones??...No laughing stinkers, I am a baby at this....How much do those studio speakers set one back????

TY for your help..

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When I was young, I used to believe in the concept of one best friend,  then I became an adult  and  realized  that if you allow your heart to open up, God would show you the best in many friends...

Connie...I belive you can plug your headphones right into the back of your sound card,you have front and back speakers plug ins back there,I use my headphones,thru the "Front" one on mine,you may need to get an adapter,if you need a different plug in end.
Then of course you'll have to set your creative mixer,to 4 speakers instead of two. Someone speak up if Im in error. But I think thats what you were asking?

~Tammy

I generally agree with Knightshow on this.

While I feel submissions should be graded largely on vocal ability it's important to insure the mix of music and vocals is appropriate as well. If you sing a beautiful aria perfectly - to the point of bringing tears to everyones eyes who listens to it - what good would it be if you can't hear the vocals because the music overwhelms it or if you turn down the music to the point you don't gain the enjoyment of the accompanying musicians that complement the vocals.

It's a fine delicate balance and it's easy to over do it. If you crank up the reverb to the point the vocals are horribly munched, misadjust the eq to the point you don't hear any of the bassline, or tweak the recording level to a constantly clipped signal it detracts from the submission. It's about learning to balance the effects, sounds, and recording medium to create the best performance possible. Yes, vocals is a big part of the performance but the rest can just as easily destroy the performance with poor mixing.

Remember, it's magic to make a bad singer sound better, a crime to make a good singer sound poor.

I'm going to let you folks in on something...
lately.. the last week that i have been back... I have not used the studio monitors at all... I have done all the production off my sony headphones... just keeping things real simple... not any real neat & fancy plugins.. all the simple ones that come with Audacity and used alot of EQ, and Compression... and used my head & ears alot..

No big secret there.. oh and by the way.. I do use a Tube condenser mic now..

That only cost me 100 bucks. Lon can appreciate this.. I got that at a Guitar Center..

Now I'm recording great.. but cheap also.

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Brian D.
(BHB)

Definitely headphones, most computer speakers do not have the sound reproduction capability of even mediochre headphones, plus their placement is usuall less than ideal... subwoofers are also problematic IMO