Mixing on headphones

1
Mixing on
stnetnoC fo elbaT

Can You Mix

Effectively On

Headphones
__
Headphones?

This short eBook is focused on helping you make the

best decisions while mixing on headphones. This will
include some tips, tricks & suggestions what to keep
an ear out for.

The answer is yes;

you can create a commercial-quality mix on
headphones – with properly calibrated
frequency response and a little know-how.

1.1. Coping With Acoustic Issue

For the small studio owner, achieving professional-quality mixes is an
elusive goal for many reasons, not the least of which, being inaccurate
budget monitors and acoustically problematic rooms. Even professional
mixers with access to the best equipment experience environmental
problems. It's fair to say that most home studio owners aren't going to
have financial resources or the work to spend multiple thousands of
dollars to perfectly treat and tune the room. The good news is that you
don't need to. Room limitations can be overcome easily and inexpensively
by mixing on headphones. Since headphones create an isolated
environment, room resonances and comb filtering effects, which
compromise your ability make proper tonal and spatial mix judgments, are
no longer an issue.

1.2. Flattening Frequency

Response For Flattering Mix
Decisions
With headphones, it's easy to hear subtlety and nuance, which is why
professional mixers use them to check fine details. For example,
headphones make it easier to hear small and quick audio dropouts, bad
edits, unnatural crossfades, and fader automation over/undershoots.
Ported budget monitors are another problem that plague small studio
owners. Ports are designed to compensate for lack of bass projected by
small woofers. On budget monitor designs, which tend to cut corners to
keep prices down, the bass reflex ports can create unwanted resonances
that combine with direct sound. These resonances extend into, and thicken
the low midrange, prompting you to cut low mids more than necessary. The
result is a thin-sounding mix that lacks punch.

1.3. The Devil Is in the Details...

and Low Mids
Based on the information so far, it may sound as though headphones are
all sunshine and puppy dogs, but they are not without conditions to
overcome. The most important one that needs to be addressed is their
frequency response as opposed to that of studio monitors. Speakers, when
properly designed and placed correctly in the room, provide a flatter
frequency response than headphones, which is crucial to making proper
mix decisions.

To overcome the limits of small transducers in headphone ear cups, the

frequency response of most commercial headphones tends to be
exaggerated in the bass, with varied performance throughout the rest of
the spectrum. This non-linear response makes them difficult to use for
effective mixing. Even studio oriented headphones are guilty of the same
habit!

As you can see in the illustration below, the frequency response of 10

popular professional studio headphones varies up to 10 dB at different
points along the spectrum, which will also adversely affect mix decisions.
Fortunately, a headphone calibration plugin, such as the Sonarworks
Reference 4, can flatten the frequency response of any headphone, making
them perfectly viable mixing tools.

To recap, if you are using budget speakers in an untreated room,

headphones not only enable you to take unforgiving room acoustics out of
the equation, they can take the place of expensive monitors, giving you a
flat frequency response across the audible spectrum (provided you're
using them with Sonarworks calibration software). The elimination of room
characteristics combined with the flat frequency response achieved by
headphone calibration ensures that sound quality and tonal decisions will
be more reliable across the board.

Mixing on headphones

2
How to Get a
Spacious Mix
Using
Headphones
__ Learn how to create a 3-dimensional mix with
reverb and delay and the advantages of doing it
with headphones.

2.1. Creating a Satisfying Illusion

for the Listener
The dimensionality of a mix is a very important concept that tends to
escape the amateur mix. A two-dimensional mix is not wrong per se, but a
three-dimensional mix creates the illusion of music occurring in reality
space, which is quite simply a more satisfying listening experience. And
yes, the title of the article is a nod to Doctor Who fans.

Our ability to perceive three-dimensional space with speakers is limited

due to physical characteristics of the room they're in. Reflections, distance
between the speakers, the natural reverb of the room, plus the position of
the listener, tend to smear our ability to hear a three-dimensional
soundscape on speakers.

With headphones, the "space," as some of your parents might have told
you, exists solely between your ears. By eliminating room reflections and
variations in your listening position relative to the speakers, headphones
make it easier to hear and control the spatial aspects of a mix.

To quote Dr. Richard Heyser, "The effect that modern sound reproduction
strives to achieve is the creation of an acceptable illusion in the mind of
the listener."

With headphones, since it's much easier to hear and control the three-
dimensional qualities of a mix, it follows that headphone mixing is the key
to creating an engaging and satisfying illusion of sound moving in reality
space.

2.2. Opening Dimensional

Doorways
To make a mix three dimensional, we have several tools to work
with.However, the most important in terms of the front-to-back placement
of sound in a virtual soundstage are time-based effects. Time-based
effects include reverb and delays. While we do have other means to bring
sounds forward or backward in a mix, such as volume, EQ, distortion,
transient modification, pitch shift, and enhancement, nothing creates the
illusion of 3-dimensional space like reverb and delay.

Beyond creating the illusion of space, reverb has a few uses, which include
blending instruments; thickening; creating size; making tonal changes; and
adding sustain to an instrument or voice. Reverb can also be used to create
rhythmic effects as well.

However, the most common use of reverb is to place an instrument in a

soundstage, since the first noticeable effect that reverb has on a sound is
to push it backward in a mix. The problem is that using reverb to move
sounds forward and back is not as effective as delays are due to its
masking effect, particularly when over used. Do not overlook the pre-delay
in reverbs to avoid masking the source too much.

2.3. Reverb, Delay and Pre-Delay

Reverb in its essence, is a very complex series of closely spaced delays,
based on sound reflecting off numerous surfaces in a room. The important
thing to note is that you can’t hear the individual delays. Reverb has
several components including the aforementioned pre-delay, which is a
measure of time before the first onset of reflected sound occurs. It follows
that pre-delay is a function of distance, which makes it the most important
parameter in reverb units (a sentiment shared by legendary producer Alan
Parsons).

If you think in terms of distance travelled from an original sound source to

the first reflection of that sound off a surface, the pre-delay control
determines how far the source is from that surface—generally a back wall.
It follows that a short pre-delay would move a sound back in the mix,
closer to the rear wall, a long pre-delay moves the sound forward, and no
pre-delay pins it against the back wall.

Long pre-delays have the added advantage of defeating the masking

effects of reverb, providing a more defined sound and a cleaner mix. Since
pre-delay is measured in milliseconds, a 20ms pre-delay puts the back
wall approximately 20 feet away. Keep in mind that in an actual room,
there’s no guarantee that sound is going to hit the back wall first.

However, don’t forget that sound between stereo speakers is an illusion,

and in our virtual space, since the reflections of reverb are so complex, we
don’t hear sound coming from one side or the other, but rather from front
to back, which is more clearly defined by pre-delay. Using pre-delay, we
now have a means to place instruments in different positions in the sound
field with the added advantage of clarifying them by allowing us to hear
the dry sound before the reverb sets in.

2.4. Creating a BackWall With

Delay
A single mono delay will create a "back wall" for a given sound source to
help you define the front-to back dimension of your virtual soundstage.
Since lead vocals are often the front-most focus of a song, they determine
the depth of your soundstage. Therefore, the place to start is to create a
back wall for your vocals. A common delay setting for vocals is to use an
8th-note mono delay timed to the song's tempo.

If you don't have the ability to select notes as delay values, though nearly
all delay plug-ins do, you can either find delay calculators online, or use
the formula, 60,000 / BPM = delay (in milliseconds). Keep in mind that this
formula will give you the delay time for a quarter note in 4/4 time. Sixty
thousand is the number of milliseconds in one minute, and a quarter note
equals one beat in 4/4. Therefore, at 120 BPM, a quarter note is 500 ms and
an eighth note would be half that, or 250ms. When setting pre-delays for
reverb, it's best to use shorter settings, say between 20-25 ms. If you don't
have a pre-delay setting on your reverb, just put a delay in front of it, et
voila, instant pre-delay.

Mixing on headphones

3
Referencing
Reverb On
Headphones
__ How to make proper decisions regarding type
and amount of reverb when mixing on
headphones.

3.1. Referencing Reverb On

Headphones
Nothing makes judgments regarding the application of reverb in a mix
easier than headphones. However, since you'll be able to hear those long
reverb tails clearly, you'll either be tempted to go overboard, because the
reverb sounds so good, or you might dial back the amount of reverb
because it's so clearly audible. What's a mixer to do? While both warnings
have an element of truth, they fail to mention that it's not just a matter of
quantity of reverb; it's also a matter of quality. "Quality" in this case refers
to the density or sonic texture of reverb decaying over time.

The parameter that controls density varies with different manufacturers.

For example, on Lexicon reverbs, "Definition" controls density, whereas on
the Sonnox reverb plug-ins, the control parameter is "Dispersion." What
you're looking for are low-density reverb tails. Think of low-density reverb
like Swiss cheese, with lots of holes in it, and high density like smooth
peanut butter. In nearly every case, with the exception of a desired special
effect, a low-density reverb is preferable.

3.2. Reverb Is Not Just for

Speakers
Reverbs in a mix don't live in isolation during playback over speakers.They
actually join with the natural reverb of the room. If you use a thick, creamy-
smooth reverb, it will combine with the room's reverb and pull its
associated instrument backward in the mix. The larger the room, the more
its natural reverb combines with the mix reverb. The holes in a low-density
reverb will be filled with the room reverb, creating a seamless join, and will
have the effect of bringing the parent sound closer. The isolation afforded
by headphones takes this phenomenon out of the equation, but it should
be taken into account in order for your mixes to translate properly to
speakers. Therefore, as a basic rule, stick with the low-density reverbs.

Another thing to consider is that long, smooth reverb tails require more
volume to hear, which in turn takes up more space in the mix, plus, they
have a masking effect on all surrounding sounds. Since we have limited
space in a mix, anything that isn't heard is just wasting resources—and
that provides a clue for determining the length of reverb tails. Once a
reverb tail is no longer heard in the mix, there's no reason for it to continue
beyond that point.

When deciding the length of a reverb tail, make sure you end it in a musical
fashion. For example, if a reverb tail continues for two measures, but is
only heard for one, end the tail on or slightly after the downbeat of the
second measure. Ending it before the downbeat will create an unmusical
empty space with the uneasy feeling of stopping short, but extending it to
the downbeat will have the effect of a wave pushing the rhythm to the next
measure.

3.3. Widening Effects of Reverb

A trick for adding stereo width to a sound with reverb is to create two aux
tracks in your DAW and use a different reverb plug-in on each aux track
with different types of reverb. Pan one aux reverb left, the other right, and
assign the dry sound source to each. You can further expand on this
concept by using three mono reverbs, which is based on a technique
created by 23-time Grammy-winning engineer Al Schmitt (Steely Dan, Toto,
Henry Mancini), who would take the mono live chamber reverbs at Capitol
Studios and spread as many as eight sends across the stereo field. (Hard
left/right, center, a couple mid left-center, and couple mid right-center.
More than likely, Al used as many as eight mono reverbs to mix large
ensembles, assigning different instrument groups to each send based on
their actual physical position.

Since we're mixing on headphones, it will be easier to hear the effects of

the multi-mono reverb trick, but before you go all Al Schmitt on your
tracks, try using the dual mono reverb to widen synth pads. Save the three
mono reverbs for vocals, with a spring reverb up the middle, large room on
one side, and medium room on the other. For a good jumping off point, set
a 50ms pre-delay on the center reverb, 8ms on the large room, and no pre-
delay on the medium room. Of course, you should experiment.

3.4. Bonus Tip: Abbey Road

Reverb
High-frequency tails of long reverbs can annoy and detract (unless it's the
effect you're going for). At Abbey Road studios, it's been a long-time
practice to filter high and low frequencies on the input side of reverb aux
channels, which creates a subtle, natural-sounding reverb. Try this on
vocals: Set a high-pass filter at a -12dB per octave slope to cut everything
below 600 Hz or so and a low-pass filter to cut everything above 4k-5kHz
plus or minus depending on the sound. Et voila, instant Abbey Road reverb.

The important thing to listen for is how the cuts to low and high
frequencies make you feel. For example, as you cut lows, apart from
increased clarity, pay attention to the emotional impact and feel. You may
find the vocal sounding not only bigger, more intimate and nuanced as you
increase the center frequency. With high-frequency cuts, remember that
4k-5kHz is just a ballpark number. You might want to leave frequencies up
to 6kHz for the sake of bringing out air in an instrument or breathiness in a
female vocal. Again, each sound is different and requires some
experimentation.

Mixing on headphones

4
How to Make
Panning
Decisions in
Headphone
Mixing How differences in stereo perception between
__ studio monitors and headphones affect panning
decisions ... or do they?

4.1. Better Hearing Through

Headphones
You might wonder why, in the early days of stereo, mix engineers went to so
much trouble to create a dimensional stereo mix, particularly when what
they heard in the studio was never going be heard the same way on the
available commercial playback systems. The reason was headphones.

In 1958, jazz musician John C Koss invented the first stereo headphones so
that home listeners could get the most out a newly burgeoning technology
called, "LPs." As music grew in the '60s to become the most dominant
force of expression for a generation, the use of headphones grew along
with it – particularly when it was discovered that headphones and certain
natural substances provided a most unique and immersive listening
experience. Today, headphones and ear buds have taken over as the
primary listening medium, which alone makes a good argument for mixing
on headphones.

4.2. Perception and the Illusion of

Stereo
As sound researcher, Dr. Richard Heyser* said; "The actual sound field in a
listening environment is not identical to the sound field which we may
perceive..." He also went on to say, "If we wish to understand how to
'measure' what we 'hear,' then we must deal with subjective perception
and the illusion of sound."

Dr. Heyser's observation particularly applies to the difference of stereo

perception between speakers and headphones. Due to cross-feed, which
is sound from a speaker on one side of the stereo field reaching the
opposite ear, we perceive the stereo field at approximately a 60-degree
angle from center position to left and right speaker (see the image below).
Headphones eliminate cross-feed, so that our perception of the stereo
field is 180 degrees, which in turn causes us to perceive the center image
inside our head. While it may be argued that the isolation of headphones
makes for an unnatural listening environment, keep in mind that stereo
coming from speakers is a non-reality as well. At the end of the day, all we
really have with stereo speakers are left and right. The center image and
everything in between is a ghost that becomes less substantial as you
move between speakers.

Since we perceive stereo sound differently in headphones than in

speakers, conventional wisdom suggests that one might pan instruments
differently, or even improperly, but it really doesn't have to affect your
panning decisions. Experienced mixers make panning choices based on a
pre-imagined soundstage, not the geometry of speakers. They "see" the
left-to-right position of instruments in their head and then make the
appropriate panning choices.

4.3. A Panning Schema That

Transcends Monitoring
There is a panning scheme used by professionals that completely obviates
concerns regarding panning decisions in either medium, which is LCR (left-
center-right) mixing. LCR mixing consists simply of panning all elements of
a mix left, center, or right. LCR mixing has been a component of hit songs
for decades and continues to be. For example, The Beatles "Strawberry
Fields Forever," "A Day In The Life," and Jimi Hendrix' "Purple Haze" are
examples of LCR mixing. A-list mixer Chris Lord-Alge also mixes in LCR.

The only exception in LCR mixing would be panning to mid center-left or

mid-center right in the case of background vocals or certain percussion
instruments. Mid center/left and mid center/right are products of level
differences between left and right, and as such, as we move closer to one
speaker or the other, instruments panned there lose their position in the
stereo field, sounding as though they're coming directly from the speaker
you're closest to.

4.4. Precision Panning

With large-format analog consoles, apart from issues of perception based
on position between the speakers, the variances in the response of pan
pots made accurate mid-left and mid-right positioning difficult. To
overcome these inaccuracies, precision panning was achieved by sending
a sine wave to designated left and right channels and adjusting the pan
controls until the levels matched.

These days in DAWs, precision panning assignments are easily made

numerically. However, physical movement between speakers can still
obscure the results, particularly if you're working in an untreated
environment. Therein lies another advantage that mixing in headphones
provides; you take the sweet spot with you wherever you go. What this
means to the headphone mixer is that you can more easily get the same
stereo results you would have to work harder to achieve with
loudspeakers. You can also hear the end game of your panning as you
work.

Mixing on headphones

5
What to look
out for when
mixing on
headphones
__ Make your mixing time on headphones worth
your while!

Take breaks!
There is no reason for you to work more than ~1 hour without taking a
break where you let your ears reset. Some might say that this is losing you
time, but it will actually save it. Why? When we're using our ears, they get
tired, like any normal muscle would and our brains are less sensitive to
what we're hearing. This is why taking frequent 10-15minute breaks can
help you spend less time hunting for ghosts and stay objective to the
decisions you make during the mixing process.

Reference as much as you can

This is a golden rule for every type of audio work and the best way to
ensure that you stay true to the end-goal. Cannot decide if that vocal delay
works? Does this snare need more reverb? Listen to a different mix with
similar effect to what you want to achieve and compare. Things will more
easily stand out if they don't fit into your mix when compared to a
commercial, well balanced mix. But make sure to have both your and
reference mix level matched!

If you follow the guidelines presented in this eBook and the two, I'd even
say, golden rules, there shouldn't be much to worry about when it's time to
mix on headphones. Specially, with Reference 4 Headphone calibration
applied, you can be sure that every decision you make, will be the right one.