Mixing With Headphones Options

[japanarian]

I dont have the $$$ for good monitors yet, so I'm working with a pair of headphones for the time being. Anyone have any tips on how to make up for some of what is lost working without them?

Thanx,
The J.

[AlexeyMohr]

Hey, glad to hear you got some monitor speakers!

A few points about bass:

- our ears are much less sensitive to low frequencies than high frequencies; additionally, the amount of difference changes with the overall volume. At louder levels our hearing becomes more even (although it's never ruler-flat by ANY means!). So if you're mixing quietly, you won't hear the low end accurately.

- most consumer systems can't reproduce bass frequencies below approximately 35-50Hz, so if you're busy pumping up the EQ around 20Hz you won't be accomplishing much.

- to make things punchy and thumpy, you'll want to add some boost around 80Hz. To make a bass guitar more melodic and clear, you'll need some boosting around 150 - 250Hz. Be careful though, as 250Hz - 1000Hz can be a really muddy area.

- be careful not to over-do the low end, as it can easily push you into the red without really helping your mix. What's worse is if you're going through a limiter on your master output, excessive bass will pump it and make your whole mix sound wonky. As Aristotle says, everything in moderation