# WTF!!!!!?????



## djmarcelca (Aug 2, 2012)

So I've recorded a cover. 
Done all the tracks, and so forth. 

Mixed them and they sound great in the studio monitors. 

Reyes the mix in my computer speakers..... needs adjustments. 
Made adjustments. 

Tryed in my truck....guitar sounds small and quiet. 

Tryed on Bluetooth speaker. 
Sounds good. 

Basically sounds good everywhere except my truck. (Factory sub and so forth) EQ set flat for this kind of listening. 

Any ideas?


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

How are you releasing the music and what system will it most likely be heard on?


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## djmarcelca (Aug 2, 2012)

Online, all normal outlets


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## ampaholic (Sep 19, 2006)

I had a similar experience and it taught me that I can't rely solely on one output source when determining that a project is finished and sounding the best it can. I was shocked to discover that my vocals sounded on pitch through my headphones but when played through speakers I was clearly out of tune in several places. I mistakenly thought that headphones would be best at showing flaws in my singing/playing/recording. Not so in this case at least.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

If its just your truck, see if anyone else you trust can try on their car stereo and report back.


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## Sketchy Jeff (Jan 12, 2019)

djmarcelca said:


> sounds good everywhere except my truck


there's a joke about country music in there somewhere but i'll try to leave it alone
have you tried it in other automotive systems? they're balanced to account for road noise and other operating noise in the mids so it could be the frequency range where your guitar richness and full sound is located is getting filtered off in some way so that the more audible frequencies punch through over the sound of the vehicle

i drive an older truck that was top of the line in its day and has a sub-vibrator thing right in the lower back area of the drivers' seat. it makes no sound at all just shakes your ass a little bit as you sit there but it completely changes the 'listening' experience compared to sitting in the passenger seat which doesn't have the shaker

j


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## djmarcelca (Aug 2, 2012)

Usually it's the vehicle sound systems that the hardest to make a mix sound good on. 

Computer speakers. Sounds good
Bluetooth speaker. Sounds good
Studio monitors....sounds awesome. 

Truck.....crap.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Did you try it with earbuds?


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## Grab n Go (May 1, 2013)

Are there any phasing issues with the guitar or anything else? That can mess with how things sound. There are some plug-ins like Waves that let you check if anything is out of phase.

Does everything sound right when summed to mono? I've had guitars planned hard left and right that just disappear when summed to mono.

How is it playing back in your truck? From your phone through Bluetooth or through a 1/8" stereo cable? (Or a burned CD? Oh wait, that's only me. ) The Aux input in my car sounds like crap in general, so I never use it. Worn out stereo cables can also make things sound weird.


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## djmarcelca (Aug 2, 2012)

I came home and sat in front of my DAW Swearing at it. 
Then I opened it up and started working.
I adjusted the Eq to Even MORE guitar mid range. 
Then went through the different output devices dance
Small bluetooth speaker
PC speakers
Studio monitors


Adjusting the EQ seems to have solved it. I didn't adjust the level of the guitar, boosting the midrange gave it more "Presence" in the mix

If it sounds good through bluetooth in the truck tomorrow morning on the way to work...we'll call it good. 

Not going down the rabbit hole of finding the "Perfect mix" again.


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## djmarcelca (Aug 2, 2012)

FML! 
Over adjusted the guitar. 
Now is slightly overpowering the singer. 

Thought I had it yesterday.


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## tonewoody (Mar 29, 2017)

Why set your eq flat in the truck? 

Set your truck eq with a commercial cd (similar style) and compare your mix.


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## djmarcelca (Aug 2, 2012)

I set it flat so the Sound system doesn't add frequencies that I might have missed in the studio monitors. 
that way I just get a louder playback that I'm sitting in the middle of.


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## djmarcelca (Aug 2, 2012)

Here's hoping this got it. 

I was very happy with the overall tone of the guitar, after my eq changes. 
However it made it overpowering in the overall mix. 

So I chopped up the track I took the verse sections where there's singing and moved that to another track. 
Copied and pasted the Effects chain.
Then lowered the volume of those sections to better sit in the overall mix and allow the vocals to be on top. 
I left the main riff guitar and guitar solo at the slightly higher volume when the riff and solo need to be featured in the listeners ear. 

I listened to it in my Old DJ headphones and it's good
Bluetooth speaker - good.
Desktop speakers - good. 

Pretty sure this is the final time I need to adjust this song. 
I was really close before these last adjustment session.


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## djmarcelca (Aug 2, 2012)

NAILED IT! 

Chopping the guitar track was the trick. 

I believe there's a way of doing that automatically, but not sure how to yet.


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## Midnight Rider (Apr 2, 2015)

What does your mixing environment consist of? Are you using a quality set of near-field monitors,... are they spaced properly to the distance and ear height you are listening from? Has your mixing room been tested for problem frequencies that may create unwanted reflections resulting in problem axial, tangential or oblique room modes? Is there adequate acoustical treatment to tame the problem areas?

I had similar issues when entering into the recording and mixing world many years ago and learned that all the above are crucial factors that determine if a mix will translate well outside of the studio mixing environment.

Link: Room Mode Information


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