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Mixing at low volumes is a common practice used by professional engineers everywhere. This technique is one of the most crucial ways your mixing can improve right away!⁠

By low volumes, we're referring to the level through the monitors that you control with the volume knob on your interface/mixer/console. This particular tip isn't referring to headroom within your mix; that's super important too, but that's a different video for a different day lol.

Usually, the best approach is to set your volume to be at a "conversational level." Meaning the volume is at a level that ideally you should be able to have an audible conversation that you can easily hear while the mix is playing in the background. Hopefully, nobody enters into the studio & strikes up a conversation with you while you're trying to mixing though 😅

Personally, I do about 90% of the mix at lower volumes & then I periodically check how the mix sounds at louder volumes. Checking the louder volumes can let me hear if any of the sounds are going to distort or cause harshness when the volume is cranked & also let me know how much the sub frequencies will have an impact.
But here are 5 reasons why I mix at low volumes for the majority of the mix!
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1. You'll hear volume imbalances a lot better. At lower volumes, you'll be able to hear if some instruments are too loud & what's sticking out too much. Mixing at lower volumes can really improve your overall volume balance.⁠
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2. You'll hear dynamic processing better. Lower volumes make it more apparent what a compressor is doing. At loud volumes everything sounds in your face; however, lower volumes will show us what's being too compressed & what's not being compressed enough.⁠
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3. Louder volumes can trick us! When the music is loud, everything sounds better! Things appear wider, drums knock more, bass hits harder, & vocals cut through better. When mixing at loud volumes, it can really trick us into thinking the mix is better than it actually is. Mixing at low volumes will keep our ears true to what's really going on.⁠
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4. Better EQ accuracy! You'll make better EQ decisions because not everything is blasting through the speakers. Louder volumes also make the bass sound more prominent than it really is, so a lower volume will help you balance the low end better & get all your EQing down there figured out. Louder volumes can also trick you into thinking something needs more cutting than it really needs, resulting in a hollow-sounding mix.⁠
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5. Less ear fatigue. With a lower volume, you'll be able to mix for longer periods of time & you'll have more clarity while mixing. You'll also protect your ear health over time!⁠

Realistic is a Producer/Engineer located in Atlanta, GA specializing in Hip-Hop, R&B & Pop music. Realistic has been involved in the music industry for over 15 years. He has worked on projects for Rick Ross, Future, Wale, Tory Lanez, The Game, Talib Kweli, Just Blaze, Musiq Soulchild, Pharoahe Monch, NBA 2k, DC Films, CW, Skyzoo, BJ The Chicago Kid, Madlib, Ayo-N-Keyz, Billboard Hitmakers, Atmosphere, Brother Ali, Rhymesayers, Hamburger Helper, & LoveOfPharaoh.

#Mixing #MixingTips #EQ #HowToMix #MusicProducer