Hi, guys!! I'm just wondering what some of you guys do to overcome tired ears after hours of mixing/monitoring tracks? I tried taking a break for half an hour and come back but its just not working for me. Cos sometimes when i come back and listen to my track after hours of mixing, i found out my guitar track was louder than the rest of the tracks, or my vocal track sounds so soft & so far away that i couldnt even hear it!! And i dont remember raising the guitar track fader before i took a break!! It's like my mind & my ears were playing tricks on me!! And sometimes, i remember mixing my tracks one night and everything doesnt seem to sound quite right & horrible and i decided to turn off my computer and go to bed but then the next morning i woke up & listen to my track again and it all sounds incredibly awesome!! I mean, what the hell is goin on??? Do i need to get a new pair of ears??

 

Give'em a rest. And while resting listen to some other stuff but listen at a quite low level. And when you are mixing also try to keep level low, if you increase the volume your ears get tired very quick.
I'm usually able to have about 12 hours sessions, without realizing on the next day that I've set levels wrong or that hihats are ear-piercing or whatever.

 

How funny sounds this topic !!!
Sorry I’m a hobbyist, although I’m sitting long hours, my levels must be all crushed and my ears nearly screwed up !!!
The side effects are for my neighbours too. Everybody thanks me every time I go for a walk

 

The only cure is to take some rest, not listen to music. Walk is good

 

heres a good youtube video on this topic http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciXeZ2pSZoU

 

have a smoke, watch t.v., walk, eat...

Just get away for a while to get a fresh head on your shoulders.

 

Once I heard a very good advice on that subject. Whenever you start mixing (it's not that crucial at the composition or sound design stage), take a break every hour or so (maybe even every half an hour). Our ears are most sensitive during first 45-60 minutes of the session and then get tired. So it's better to make a break before ears would get tired.
The best option of course is to make long breaks, but it's not very productive.

PS: As another alternative, try working on the several projects at once, switching between projects. This will prevent ears getting used to the same sound of one project.
PPS: And never forget to use reference tracks (e.g. some commercial records in the style your working with), that always greatly improves quality of mixes.

 

interesting, I'm not in a rush as that's just a hobby and that's actually what I do naturally...after 45 minutes I feel like I have to stop for about 15 minutes...cuz otherwise I just cant concentrate enough on what I'm doing...but as you say, I would definitely be able to switch to another project if I had to be productive, the problem is definitely getting too used to the same "sound"...which in the end makes it like all blurred.

 

To the all advices above try (after a short break) listen to your monitors off the direct axis. For example, go out of your seat, turn your face to 45...90 degree to sound position, listen to almost from the door (open though). Then continue to mix normally. Sometimes it helps. And the best truth was said by mrcaze - keep your level as low as possible.

 

Tired ears are tired ears. No getting around that fact. All senses become dulled after prolonged use. It's part of being a living, breathing entity.

You must come to know your limits in all thing before you can use them to full potential..

More helpful info:
Secret tips to improve your mix by avoiding Ear Fatigue
http://okkana.com/musictheory/how-come-my-tracks-dont-sound-like-a-commercial-release-part-1-ear-fatigue/

How Has The Loudness War Affected Music Production – Part 1
http://www.open-road.co.uk/?p=1

 

(Tired ears are tired ears. No getting around that fact)

So thrue even if you take a short break like someone here mention you are still tired.

I have experinced many many times that when i come back fresh to a project that i haven´t listen to in weeks or wven months and why not years.

That it didn´t sound as good as i "believed" it did when i listen to it the last time.

And all those are facts that i had to finished the project before deadline and mixed for several hours in a row.

So if you have the time leave the project for a day or even better a week then came back with fresh ears and finished the project.

Oh and i forgot i ALWAYS mix with a level so low i can make a conversation in normal conversational manner without screaming or yelling

 

Good monitoring dBSPL is most important. Google 85dBSPL, pink noise @ -20 dBFS, C-weighted, or similar "standards". The most damaging thing you can do to your ears is to listen too loud for longer periods of time.



Some speakers/monitors also are more ear-fatiguing than others (Yamaha NS10 anyone?), as they might be more "evil" around the ear's own resonance, at 3kHz.

Take 5-10 minute break every hour. Take a piss, sandwich, tea/coffee/coke, etc.

 

Break itself is often not sufficient to achieve a satisfactory effect. It is best used with a break some of relaxation techniques. Do what you reliably relaxes and reduces anxiety. It often helps a walk in the park or along the coast, with a review of what you want to achieve, what techniques, what you want to emphasize, what feeling you want to achieve what others would do so were you etc. Change the way you look at what we currently do often brings unexpected effects and ideas that you can balance and refresh. The human ear is not an ordinary tool, the mood affects the very human audibility, in other words we often hear what we expect. If you are dissatisfied with the sound that does not mean that he is really bad, it is often a signal that perhaps the initial idea is not what you expect. We all live and work in the narrow passage of time, we have limited short deadlines, and we forget that human creativity is far from the passage of time. Creative state of man is like child play, there is no pre-given rules, time does not flow, there is only focused. Of course, it is always difficult to draw the line between what we do for money and what we do for personal satisfaction. Experience and routines over the years, reducing the need for experiments as an integral part of creativity. There are only a precisely defined procedures to follow, because we have successfully done a thousand times...
I hope I helped a little bit ...

 

special lol for the "metal concert" on photo ;)