Tiring, Obelix mix

[pauli]

I don't know what you are using for monitors ?Do you reference over mixes?

I listen to my mixes on cheap Philips headphones, cheap computer speakers, less cheap 2.1 computer speakers and 12 years old Panasonic stereo.
Sometimes I reference over mixes. I think that this one sounds good but drums are a bit too loud.

Hey Obelix.

Based on what I'm hearing, I don't think a single one of your monitors is telling you anything particularly useful about your mixes, but I'm not terribly surprised based on what you're using. It's difficult to give you any useful feedback if we're not sure you'll be able to hear what we're talking about.

Referencing can get you a lot closer... if you A/B this mix against a similar commercial release, you'll probably find the vocals are way too loud in the mix. You're probably hearing the drums as being too loud because the small speakers you're listening to are hyping the high end, so the attack of the snare and the cymbal harmonics are most likely over-represented. It's also way too easy to mix a vocal too loud if you're doing mostly headphone listening... phones tend to over-represent the sides channel, so everything in the middle tends to get pulled up. Slowly turn the volume down and you'll find the band disappears completely a long time before you have any difficulty understanding the lyrics.

Anyway, I mixed on consumer speakers for a long time and was absolutely horrified when I listened to a mix of mine on more accurate equipment. You don't need anything expensive, but monitors designed for the studio and at least a little bit of acoustic treatment are necessary. Checking your mix out from time to time on cheap speakers/phones is a good idea, but only to make sure your mix still sounds decent on lowest-common-denominator systems.

Some would tell you to stop mixing until you have better gear, but personally I think that's ridiculous. Keep practicing, but reference EVERY MIX against at least one or two commercial releases, and keep your speakers at a low volume so the high frequency hype isn't distorting your perception too much. A real-time spectrum analyzer is probably also a good idea. As soon as you can, though, a hundred bucks on an inexpensive pair of monitors and a couple sheets of ductboard will make a big difference.