We'll talk about it all tonight (Sano mix)

[The_Metallurgist]

I think a lot of the overly bright mixes on the forum are the result of the same situation... limited mixing time, leading to fewer breaks and lost perspective.

yes, we've all been there, and i'm as guilty as much as the next chap. however, i've come across far too many situations where feedback has been brimming with superlatives, but my ears were smoking from the burn, and some of those giving feedback were "senior members" who are most likely to have suffered from long-term hearing damage - drummers, live mixing engineers, electric guitarists, singers, night club bar staff(!), table-top dancers(!!) etc. this has nothing to do with limited mixing time, fewer breaks nor a lost perspective because it's the reviewer we're talking about in such examples, not the person who submitted the mix. Pauli, there's an epidemic going on out there which is correlated to a change in leisure habits. the problem, and the danger, is that people aren't sufficiently informed.

i mentored a teenager for a few years. he was a slow learner, but let me tell you this, he was mighty quick at learning that hearing impairment could mess his career up! his mates thought he was an idiot, and that plugs were uncool. however, during their next band practice, they were all wearing protection. it's hearing aids that aren't cool.

SPL meters are great for the studio, essential even. however, we can't put an SPL meter in headphones, nor ear buds from iPhones and i've never seen any musician sporting a meter during a gig. most importantly of all, SPL meters don't measure exposure time and it's this combination of loudness levels and duration of exposure that people are unaware of.

let me ask you this:
"if you are the lead guitarist in a band, and the sound level where you are standing is 120dBA, how long will it take before you begin to experience irreparable hearing damage?"

Mike makes a brief mention about watching out for monitoring levels, but in my view, it was totally inadequate. people who mix are generally musicians...and musicians are exposed to problems outside the studio but it impacts what they do inside it!

most of us are learned enough to keep the level low and not to push it for too long (I have an SPL meter myself), but one loses perspective long before hearing damage is really a concern.

many mixers here are musicians. musicians are exposed to levels of loudness that can impair hearing over time. it's a slow process, slow enough for people not to notice until it's too late. sure, mixing is a risk too, but to many the real risks of exposure occur outside the studio.

Only takes me about 30 minutes before I have to "clean" my ears... which is why lately I post a rough draft followed by several revisions, which is usually how the pros do it, too. Alan made a good point in that we only hear their best mixes.

for me, the quickest loss of perspective occurs when trying to fix the EQ on bright material. i find acoustic guitars to be a total nightmare, for example - i can suffer serious discomfort from these things. also, just sweeping a frequency can be enough, then when you put the notch in it doesn't sound right? i now tend to sweep with a cut, not a boost, then i don't suffer but it's a bit tricky if you're not used to working this way.

this beast of a multi, though, has so many low end issues that everyone's been pushing the brightness trying make up for it... my latest take has a harmonica that'll melt your earwax (lol)

i'm already looking for the emergency exit

take care guys, inform yourselves. even with a loss of perspective after a long mixing session, there's still things that can be done to run quality checks before printing which takes the ears out of the equation.

this was a random link which some might find informative:
http://www.medic8.com/ear-disorders/hear...music.html

let's make this a fatigue-free zone and help others to mix with this goal in mind?