In the last few videos, I’ve looked at the steps I’ve taken to try to ensure that the gain structure of my mixes is such that I have plenty of headroom when I’m mixing, without running the risk of clipping the master output buss all the time. That’s all well and good, but it’s easy to undermine all that good work when your single emerges into the real world and has to ride the Fletcher Munson curves. Setting a predictable level in your studio so that you know what is too quiet and too loud is as important as not overdriving your output bus. Equally important is knowing that what you’re hearing is the same volume whether it’s on different speakers or headphones, so that you don’t kid yourself into thinking your mix has improved when it’s just got louder. With that in mind, (and a handy little app for your phone), here’s how I set up my studio.
