this track is now closed. this is the first time i've uploaded an instrumental version of the track, meaning i'm finally over the hump and moving forwards again.
this is not the file i rendered on july 20. however, i have not modified the cubase file since then, either. i was unable to create a null...
the common theme in being unable to recreate the output seems to be when i'm doubling tracks and rendering before i re-open the save. i'm going to guess that it's essentially a cascade of run-off and floating point errors; stuff ends up phased differently, routed differently, etc. i might be able to recreate the exact output if i stripped the project down completely and tried to recreate my steps, but...
...i can't hear the difference in an a/b, anyways. so i just rerendered.
regarding the phones...
i was testing with this track for quite a while this evening and led to the conclusion that it needs a bit of a boost in the high end, and a bit of a cut in the low end. but, before i actually saved over the project, i swapped back to the old phones to verify....and realized i was compensating for the exaggerated bottom end.
it would have been a mild cut - a db around 100 hz. but, it's enough that my ears picked it up, and i'm consequently swearing off mixing with them.
i don't want to reflect overly badly on the new phones. they otherwise sounded great. but the 440-IIs are just flat as saskatchewan, and the difference really was immediately noticeable. it's more that i'm used to mixing with very flat phones. like i'm a real producer or something.
the reality is that almost everything sounds better with a bit of a boost on the bottom, especially material that's been compressed to mp3. i will find a good use for these phones. but, i can't go from what would be $500+ studio phones today to $150 consumer phones and not notice the difference.
i knew that. i was just hoping i could maybe double with them in a pinch. and, i think i still might be able to. but i need to finish this project with my tinfoiled over archaic babies and hope a new cord fixes what ails them...
initially written in 1996. recreated over 1998 and finalized in dec, 1998. reclaimed july 20, 2015. corrected to control for malfunctioning electronics on dec 27, 2015.
https://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/track/suicide-is-a-personal-choice
i mean, i gotta be clear...
the record sounds very dynamic through the new phones. it's a bass-heavy disc, and they do a good job of stretching it out without losing the rest of the spectrum. i'd recommend it, even.
but i can't mix with them, because they're not flat.
or, at least, i'd have to spend a long time getting used to them. and i'd rather fix my flat phones.
it's just a question of what the proper application is for a tool. you don't hammer a screw, right. and you don't mix with bassy phones. well, unless you make particularly lame hip-hop.
i think the proper application for this pair is stationary listening to material that has already been mastered, probably while reading or daydreaming. they really seem to be orthopedically designed for reclining. so, you'll get your extra db or two of bass without killing the rest of the signal, and it will mostly sound good.
but if you want totally flat phones, they don't do that.