Your ears is the best tool you got when you are mixing. If your ears is out of shape your mix is going to be out of shape. So here are my 4 tips on what I like to do to keep my ears fresh all of the day.
1. Take A Break
The ear is like any other muscle in your body. It can get tired when you are putting to much pressure on it. It is like when you are hitting legs on the gym. When you get lactic acid in your legs you are not going to preform so good and you need to rest for a while. It is the same thing with your ears. Set a timer every two hours and take a short break. To rest your ears every two hour should be a standard routine, no matter how close you are to finish off the last details of the mix.
2. Take It Easy On The Volume
It is easy to pushing up the volume when you are mixing because things appears to sound bigger, better and fatter. Find a reference volume that you can work with for two hours without getting tired. If you can manage to get things to sound big on low volumes, imagine then how good things will sound when you play it out loud?
3. Listen To Something Else
Listening to just one song over and over again can be a bit confusing. I like to have a reference track in my session so I easily can A/B my mix. I am tending to save time this way if I am after a certain sound, structure or style. This is also a great way to keep your clients happy. They give you a reference track and you just need to follow it. Simple.
4. Always Keep Your Earplugs With You
You never know where you will end up in the end of the day. Sometimes you need to protect your ears from loud and disturbing sounds. And there is nothing worse than spending a whole evening out being nervous about your ears.
What are your tricks to be able to mix all day? Leave a comment below.