My music sucks 'cause my headphones

[Mystery-Moon-Pie-Aud]

I...just noticed today.

I make music with my nice big skullcandy headphone. They are great quality. They aren't Bose or Sennheiser, but they are good quality. And now I didn't want to unravel my Skullcandies, so I took out this pair of earbuds that's about 8 bucks, crappy little headphones, haven't used in a while, but they do the job.

But I'm listening to my music on these little earbuds, and my music sounds crappier than it is. Low quality = chopped, distorted, and unaudible details.

So now I see why my music is not so enjoyable. I didn't see it until now, not everyone have great headphones.

Just wanted to say that. Anyone else ever had a revelation like that?

[Khuskan]

Skullcandy
Good quality

hahaha oh wow.

Skullcandies are what's known as a 'massive joke' in the audio industry. Overpriced, mass produced generic headphones that cost more because they've got pretty patterns printed on the plastic.

Your music sounds rubbish on the earbuds probably because they're better quality than the headphones, making distortions and clipping more obvious.

Also a rule of thumb: Master on the medium that your listener will be using.

[jarrydn]

At 7/30/09 03:16 AM, Mystery-Moon-Pie-Aud wrote: I...just noticed today.

I make music with my nice big skullcandy headphone. They are great quality. They aren't Bose or Sennheiser, but they are good quality. And now I didn't want to unravel my Skullcandies, so I took out this pair of earbuds that's about 8 bucks, crappy little headphones, haven't used in a while, but they do the job.

But I'm listening to my music on these little earbuds, and my music sounds crappier than it is. Low quality = chopped, distorted, and unaudible details.

So now I see why my music is not so enjoyable. I didn't see it until now, not everyone have great headphones.

Just wanted to say that. Anyone else ever had a revelation like that?

Ehhh, I'd say the reason your music sucks is more your Skullcandy cans fault, and not your cheap earbuds. If it was a good mix, it would sound fine on the earbuds.

Skullcandy headphones aren't really that good for music production :[

[Gravey]

At 7/30/09 03:16 AM, Mystery-Moon-Pie-Aud wrote: I...just noticed today.

I make music with my nice big skullcandy headphone. They are great quality. They aren't Bose or Sennheiser, but they are good quality. And now I didn't want to unravel my Skullcandies, so I took out this pair of earbuds that's about 8 bucks, crappy little headphones, haven't used in a while, but they do the job.

But I'm listening to my music on these little earbuds, and my music sounds crappier than it is. Low quality = chopped, distorted, and unaudible details.

So now I see why my music is not so enjoyable. I didn't see it until now, not everyone have great headphones.

Just wanted to say that. Anyone else ever had a revelation like that?

I suggest getting new headphones. I recommend the SR-80s from Grado Labs. They have been a staple in professional studios all over the world for years. I've had my pair for over five years now and have yet to find a better quality pair for the same price.

These headphones do not color the sound at all, which is why I love them. A lot of times headphones have a sweet spot in the audio spectrum that they bring out due to their design. It is often referred to as the headphones "coloring" the sound a bit. This means that you can get certain types of headphones that are better for certain types of music.

But for producing, you want as little coloration from your headphones as possible. Because then you truly know what your song lacks dynamically across the audio spectrum. The SR-80s are a purely wonderful representation of the entire audio spectrum.

They have a very light and dry sound at about 5K and up. And the bass is nice and full when you want it to be, and crisp and clear at other times.

The best part is they come with a lifetime warranty. Or at least they used to, I know mine did. And I was told that no matter what happens, they will replace my broken/busted pair if I ever need. (I have to turn in the broken/busted pair of course. So if they get stolen, the warranty doesn't do you any real good.)

They should help you with mixing and mastering your future songs.

Mah Babies

-Gravey-

[unowned]

lol at your latest song/mix^

[jarrydn]

At 7/30/09 04:38 AM, unowned wrote: lol at your latest song/mix^

play nicely.

[Phoog]

At 7/30/09 03:30 AM, Khuskan wrote: Also a rule of thumb: Master on the medium that your listener will be using.

You mean, reference on the medium your listener will be using.

[M12Productions]

Like the people before me said master on speakers that the average person would have at home.

I have this Sony boom box thing like most people have in their house that i picked up at a youth ranch and i only use it to listen to the final cut. I have them hooked up to my 2nd headphone port and I turn it up and listen to it on there. It has like 5 or 6 inch subs and its decent.

And when you mastering your song play at FULL volume. Thats at least what i do. it helps you hear mistakes better.

[ZStriefel]

At 7/30/09 08:18 AM, M12Productions wrote: And when you mastering your song play at FULL volume. Thats at least what i do. it helps you hear mistakes better.

also a great way to develop tinnitus!

[Rawmin]

At 7/30/09 03:16 AM, Mystery-Moon-Pie-Aud wrote: I make music with my nice big skullcandy headphone.

Oh, oh, there's your problem!

[gregaaron89]

At 7/30/09 08:18 AM, M12Productions wrote:

And when you mastering your song play at FULL volume. Thats at least what i do. it helps you hear mistakes better.

That is the worst fucking advice I've ever seen on this forum.

[TMM43]

At 7/30/09 11:33 AM, gregaaron89 wrote:

And when you mastering your song play at FULL volume. Thats at least what i do. it helps you hear mistakes better.

LOL WHAT?! I think it's just the opposite. You can hear less.

[Rawmin]

At 7/30/09 08:18 AM, M12Productions wrote: And when you mastering your song play at FULL volume. Thats at least what i do. it helps you hear mistakes better.

When you mastering your song play at FULL volume, so you can go totally deaf, not just kinda deaf. Thats at least how i go deaf. it helps you make your ears bleed better.

[Hades]

I've just had a similar problem: finished the song, sounds beautiful on my massive headphones. Switch it over to my mp3 - nothing's eq'd properly, not enough reverb, panning completely fucked up... I hate the goddamn fact that I have to use crap in order of getting near a sound that isn't crappy.

[Envy]

I use skullcandys and they work just fine o.o

[iceblueglow]

At 7/30/09 08:18 AM, M12Productions wrote: Like the people before me said master on speakers that the average person would have at home.

I have this Sony boom box thing like most people have in their house that i picked up at a youth ranch and i only use it to listen to the final cut. I have them hooked up to my 2nd headphone port and I turn it up and listen to it on there. It has like 5 or 6 inch subs and its decent.

And when you mastering your song play at FULL volume. Thats at least what i do. it helps you hear mistakes better.

well it is that if you crank up the volume you hear more faults but that doesnt mean you have to kill your ears damnit.

ON TOPIC: i used my sweet pioneer speakers that gave another display of the sound. headphones of philips for 12 euro's (im dutch :D) do the trick pretty well. i hear there made for rock but that doesnt botter me that much because its pretty close to the standard

[Gravey]

At 7/30/09 11:42 AM, Rawmin wrote:

At 7/30/09 08:18 AM, M12Productions wrote: And when you mastering your song play at FULL volume. Thats at least what i do. it helps you hear mistakes better.

When you mastering your song play at FULL volume, so you can go totally deaf, not just kinda deaf. Thats at least how i go deaf. it helps you make your ears bleed better.

I second this advice! Bleeding ears are the best to have when trying to mix down and then master your song! The blood "colors" the sound and makes it all sparkly sounding.

Psych!!! (Remember when that was the cool thing to say?!?!)

-Gravey-

[nathanallenpinard]

And when you mastering your song play at FULL volume. Thats at least what i do. it helps you hear mistakes better.

No...both volumes quiet and loud, not just one.

And your comment about hearing mistakes better at full volume is actually incorrect, because with load volumes the nuances will be hidden. Both volumes are recommended. Quieter to hear the overall mix, and any subtle problems. Louder to hear the overall impact to the ears (whether it actually DOES make them bleed) and bass response. Not to mention....just because.

[DanceNation]

At 7/30/09 03:30 AM, Khuskan wrote:

Also a rule of thumb: Master on the medium that your listener will be using.

YES. Today I learned the hard way, that my music sounds distorted (mostly the bass), with my ipod earphones, but with my usb, (production?) earphones, its not distorted, i'll probably be doing my mastering with both sets, and i will try to get my mastering to agree with both headphones..

[Rawmin]

At 7/31/09 01:01 AM, DanceNation wrote: YES. Today I learned the hard way, that my music sounds distorted (mostly the bass), with my ipod earphones, but with my usb, (production?) earphones, its not distorted, i'll probably be doing my mastering with both sets, and i will try to get my mastering to agree with both headphones..

^^this. Mastering so that it sounds good across mediums is key.

[Envy]

Also... although alot of people probably don't do this, I like to listen to the song in mono too sometimes. Sometimes you can notice some crazy phasing or something in mono that you wouldn't hear in stereo.

[MoniMC]

At 7/30/09 11:33 AM, gregaaron89 wrote:

At 7/30/09 08:18 AM, M12Productions wrote:

And when you mastering your song play at FULL volume. Thats at least what i do. it helps you hear mistakes better.

That is the worst fucking advice I've ever seen on this forum.

LMFAO

[MoniMC]

At 7/31/09 01:25 AM, Rawmin wrote:

At 7/31/09 01:01 AM, DanceNation wrote: YES. Today I learned the hard way, that my music sounds distorted (mostly the bass), with my ipod earphones, but with my usb, (production?) earphones, its not distorted, i'll probably be doing my mastering with both sets, and i will try to get my mastering to agree with both headphones..

^^this. Mastering so that it sounds good across mediums is key.

EXACTLY. you should try to make you music song good on everything. the best place that almost anyone can test a song they make is in a car

[nathanallenpinard]

^^this. Mastering so that it sounds good across mediums is key.

Yes, it's key, but mixing/mastering on a sub-par system isn't going to help that.

What you do is this:

1. Mix/Master your song on whateever higher quality speakers you have, make it sound as best you can with those speakers.
2. However, during the process, listen on a pair of headphones, and a set of reference speakers (such as lower quality speakers like computer speakers)
3. When the mix is done, burn a CD, and listen to every stereo system you have access to.

The key things you're going to notice are:

The 5k frequency range. Too loud/Too soft
The dynamic range, whether the system can even turn up enough to hear a given part to a song (this is why the loudness war exists, because back in the day people that listened to music had quadrophonic stereo systems, today we have small ipod players and other crappy systems with no real gain)
The bass response. Possibly the biggest factor, because not everyone is going to hear your bass, if you do a high cut of 100k so your bass dominates only the sub frequencies.

[Swerve]

At 7/31/09 01:28 AM, Envy wrote: Also... although alot of people probably don't do this, I like to listen to the song in mono too sometimes. Sometimes you can notice some crazy phasing or something in mono that you wouldn't hear in stereo.

This is actually really a helpful tip. There are some professional artists of which I know they do this, (e.g Laidback Luke), I do it sometimes too. (Though I am not as professional hehe)

[TMM43]

At 7/30/09 12:08 PM, Envy wrote: I use skullcandys and they work just fine o.o

That explains a LOT!

[B0UNC3]

At 7/30/09 12:08 PM, Envy wrote: I use skullcandys and they work just fine o.o

They might work just fine for listening, but for monitoring they aren't sufficient enough to give you an actual presentation of the sound. I tried skullcandy last week and I thought they sounded like tin cans personally.

I haven't slept for 2 days so 'scuse my rambling.

[Mystery-Moon-Pie-Aud]

Thanks everyone for the advice. Unfortunately, I can't play my music supremely loud on full blast because I'll get hell from my father that I'm running up his electric bill even more.

And as far as advice for my skullcandie tins, it's what I've got. I don't have a studio or lots of nice audio hardware. I have a computer, my headphones (which are the best quality I have), and some speakers I have no idea what the name are.

Besides, don't hate on skullcandies, they ARE good eye candy, even if you think they suck.

[Mystery-Moon-Pie-Aud]

Everyone, no need to post anymore. I realized it sucked cause I suck.

[gregaaron89]

At 8/1/09 05:32 PM, Mystery-Moon-Pie-Aud wrote: Everyone, no need to post anymore. I realized it sucked cause I suck.

That attitude will get you far in life...