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Mixing/Mastering on/for Headphones?

24

Comments

  • @jolico said:

    @modul8ar said:
    Mixing and mastering purpose is that final touch that a song receives for a good representation on every medium.There is not such thing as headphone music.I know that a lot of music has so much detail and also some nice stereo dynamics but it was probably mixed on Monitor speakers and maybe verified on Headphones.
    Yes it can be done in theory on headphones but there are some problems with bas.For me it was a problem .I always end up with much more bass than i wanted.I prefer a room very good treated and Monitors

    https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tb-morphit/id1487595036

    I have good headphones.I was talking about the perception of sound.Since bass is omnidirectional and higher frequencies are more linear regarding spread i think thats the reason.But than again if some people can work like this they should go for it.Not for me though

  • @modul8ar said:

    @jolico said:

    @modul8ar said:
    Mixing and mastering purpose is that final touch that a song receives for a good representation on every medium.There is not such thing as headphone music.I know that a lot of music has so much detail and also some nice stereo dynamics but it was probably mixed on Monitor speakers and maybe verified on Headphones.
    Yes it can be done in theory on headphones but there are some problems with bas.For me it was a problem .I always end up with much more bass than i wanted.I prefer a room very good treated and Monitors

    https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tb-morphit/id1487595036

    I have good headphones.I was talking about the perception of sound.Since bass is omnidirectional and higher frequencies are more linear regarding spread i think thats the reason.But than again if some people can work like this they should go for it.Not for me though

    I also have good headphones (Sennheiser HD-600), but this makes them sound much better.
    It flattens the frequency response.

    It works really well.

  • Yeah I love TB Morphit, although seeing this thread resurrected has made me crave for another feature to be added to it: crosstalk. That would make the plugin even more useful. Could that ever be a possibility @DJB ?

    I always find it's really hard to properly gauge reverb on headphones, so that it is one thing I always have to check on speakers.

  • RIP Canopener

  • edited February 2020
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • I live in an apartment and can’t really use monitors so I always use headphones. I got myself a pair of Sony 7506 headphones and I’m usually able to get good results but I still like to use Morphit and listen to the mix in my car as well just to make sure things are balanced and there isn’t any unwanted stuff. My headphones have been really good for the job though

  • I’m not great at the whole finishing touches part but one piece of advice I heard somewhere along the way was to listen to it as many ways as you can before finishing your final mix. Listen in car, on phone, with headphones, through HiFi, etc... and if it sounds good on all you’re good to go.

  • @Poppadocrock said:
    I’m not great at the whole finishing touches part but one piece of advice I heard somewhere along the way was to listen to it as many ways as you can before finishing your final mix. Listen in car, on phone, with headphones, through HiFi, etc... and if it sounds good on all you’re good to go.

    Or just use this:
    https://forum.audiob.us/discussion/34414/mastering-secret-don-t-tell-anybody

    :smiley:

  • I can’t remember who but somebody I was reading (a big name), was doing a version on their mix on Apple cheap white earbuds for their music they submit to Apple music.

  • Definitely think it’s possible to master using headphones, but I’m hesitant to recommend limiting yourself to a single output.

    I haven’t really done much mastering for my lo-fi stuff because, well, I feel like that kind of defeats the purpose. But once I really start finishing up some of my other stuff, I plan on using my two sets of headphones, earbuds, Bluetooth bathroom speaker, and Bluetooth through my car. Figure that pretty much covers my bases.

  • Andrew Scheps said he does 100% of his mixing in Pro Tools on a laptop with Sony 7506 headphones. And he's mixed songs and albums for dozens of the biggest acts in the world. (I don't think he does any mastering, just mixing). He has a couple of studios worth of professional gear that he doesn't use anymore

  • It's a matter of 'being used to' a certain pair of quality cans.
    Listening to all and everything on them, your brain subconsciously extrapolates the response.
    While a track in fact doesn't sound identical to speaker playback, the mix will work - because you've listened to countless 'great mixes' from commercial releases on those cans.

    It's similiar to the common 'high frequency loss with age' phenomenon: your hearing adapted to that slow natural process over years.

    That's why I'm completely against altering the system's response to a 'more linear' for momentary checks - you loose your personal reference.

  • @JonathanMac said:

    @richardyot said:
    Yeah I love TB Morphit, although seeing this thread resurrected has made me crave for another feature to be added to it: crosstalk. That would make the plugin even more useful. Could that ever be a possibility @DJB ?

    I always find it's really hard to properly gauge reverb on headphones, so that it is one thing I always have to check on speakers.

    Is there a way to simulate crosstalk with Auria Pro or another DAW? Got an idea from this article... https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.pro-tools-expert.com/production-expert-1/2019/3/5/not-many-audio-professionals-know-this-fact-about-mixing-on-headphones?format=amp

    Send a small amount of signal via an Aux send to another stereo track and add a small delay on it. Would need to flip L and R to pan the left speaker into the right side and visa versa. Not sure this is possible with Auria

    It should be possible to do this in Auria, I'll try and look into it.

  • edited February 2020
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  • edited February 2020

    In addition to your regular mix:
    duplicate the stereo track and split it into 2 mono files, representing left and right part.
    (not shure about Auria's functions in place, but Audioshare' converter tool does this)
    You can pan these parts as you like and apply delay.
    (or just shift them for the amount of milliseconds desired - resulting in a single tap delay)
    For multiple taps with feedback, you'll need an fx-plugin.
    Watch out: the delay time is a crucial feature of the effect, it's important to get it 'just right'.

    ps: the plain repetition of the (split) source track may mud things up or get a little boring - a modulated filter in sync with the beat may spice things up.
    Some delays have this as a parameter within their feedback settings.

  • edited February 2020
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  • it is possible to mix/master on headphones, but you must:

    1/ know your headphones, know where are their weak places. Lesrn them by listening officisl music analytically, with EQ/spectral analyser.
    2/ listen on very low volume (on high volumes ear adds harmonic frequemcies to sound and slight natural "ovedrive" - which means you hear something which is really not there
    3/ sometimes switch to other headphones (at least one other headphones, ideally 2)
    4/ use spectral analyser a lot. Sometimes you can't rely on what you hear, but you can always rely on what you see
    5/ use reference track. Compare your music with some officisl track often
    6/ at least at the end, listen your tune on some speakery, and in mono - to check if there isn't too much bass (oten happens with headphones) and if there is good mono compatibility

  • @JonathanMac said:
    Ok @richardyot think I’ve got how to set it up in Auria in a live mix, no mixdown. JAX Stereo Tool app is needed. AUM could be used as well.
    1. Add a stereo track. Name it “crosstalk”. Set input to AUX 1
    2. Add JAX Stereo Tool as insert on Crosstalk channel. Select “invert channel”
    3. Also Add Volcano. Set Clean preset. Set delay to some ms setting. Maybe 5ms?
    4. On the other channels, dial in some level of AUX send to the crosstalk channel.

    The effect is very subtle. I have no idea what level of AUX send and ms delay is proper for the crosstalk simulation. I’m guessing the crosstalk delay of 5ms and crosstalk channel overall level of -15db is good? Maybe my ears aren’t good enough to hear the difference while “A/B-ing” (muting, unmuting the Crosstalk channel).

    AUM could be setup in a very similar way with using a different plugin for the delay.

    Thanks, I'll give it a try in Auria when I get the chance.

    If you want to evaluate your results against some actual reference, there is an app called Neutron Player that offers 3 different flavours of crossfeed:

    https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/neutron-music-player/id766858884

  • @richardyot said:

    @JonathanMac said:
    Ok @richardyot think I’ve got how to set it up in Auria in a live mix, no mixdown. JAX Stereo Tool app is needed. AUM could be used as well.
    1. Add a stereo track. Name it “crosstalk”. Set input to AUX 1
    2. Add JAX Stereo Tool as insert on Crosstalk channel. Select “invert channel”
    3. Also Add Volcano. Set Clean preset. Set delay to some ms setting. Maybe 5ms?
    4. On the other channels, dial in some level of AUX send to the crosstalk channel.

    The effect is very subtle. I have no idea what level of AUX send and ms delay is proper for the crosstalk simulation. I’m guessing the crosstalk delay of 5ms and crosstalk channel overall level of -15db is good? Maybe my ears aren’t good enough to hear the difference while “A/B-ing” (muting, unmuting the Crosstalk channel).

    AUM could be setup in a very similar way with using a different plugin for the delay.

    Thanks, I'll give it a try in Auria when I get the chance.

    If you want to evaluate your results against some actual reference, there is an app called Neutron Player that offers 3 different flavours of crossfeed:

    https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/neutron-music-player/id766858884

    Neutron player is fantastic.
    It's also one of the very few that supports fully parametric EQ corrections on a live music stream. Great for events with lower quality loudspeakers.

  • The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • Hdtracks.com for more popular stuff, or bandcamp/beatport for dance and electronic stuff is usually where I go. If I like the song enough to think of it as a reference Id probably try for a CD version too.

  • Question: if i have these headphones do i have to select this model from the headphones list drop down? And after that do i need to select “Correct” on the processing drop down list? Please advice thanks!☝️👍🏼🙏

    @jolico said:

    @modul8ar said:

    @jolico said:

    @modul8ar said:
    Mixing and mastering purpose is that final touch that a song receives for a good representation on every medium.There is not such thing as headphone music.I know that a lot of music has so much detail and also some nice stereo dynamics but it was probably mixed on Monitor speakers and maybe verified on Headphones.
    Yes it can be done in theory on headphones but there are some problems with bas.For me it was a problem .I always end up with much more bass than i wanted.I prefer a room very good treated and Monitors

    https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tb-morphit/id1487595036

    I have good headphones.I was talking about the perception of sound.Since bass is omnidirectional and higher frequencies are more linear regarding spread i think thats the reason.But than again if some people can work like this they should go for it.Not for me though

    I also have good headphones (Sennheiser HD-600), but this makes them sound much better.
    It flattens the frequency response.

    It works really well.

  • My upgrade from superlux hd681 to 681 evo are definatlely panned or a combination of going deaf in an ear.

    The deaf musician.

  • edited August 2020
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  • edited August 2020
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • edited August 2020
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • @Tones4Christ said:
    Question: if i have these headphones do i have to select this model from the headphones list drop down? And after that do i need to select “Correct” on the processing drop down list? Please advice thanks!☝️👍🏼🙏

    Yes that’s exactly right.

  • @Max23 said:
    I guess it depends very much on the genre of music
    if mixing and mastering can be done on cans or not

    for bass heavy music this won't work
    you get big surprises if you play what was good on cans loud on a big system :o :#

    for bass heavy things rent a studio for a few hours
    mix the low-end on their big system in their acoustic treaded room
    and dont touch the low-end after that again ;)

    Actually good headphones are in fact far more reliable than even the most expensive speakers when it comes to bass reproduction.

    At frequencies below 150hz there will always be some interaction between a room and a speaker system. Room treatments can mitigate this to some extent, but never completely eliminate it.

    You need a combination of room treatment, speaker and sub placement, and calibrated EQ compensation to eliminate standing waves.

    Headphones don’t suffer from any of these issues and are far more likely to give you accurate bass.

    The reason you might get a surprise when checking a mix on speakers is because the standing waves in the room are messing with the mix. But those waves only apply to that room, so if you EQ the mix to fix them then you’ve fixed it for that one room. In a different space you might get resonances in completely different frequencies.

    I recommend this book to anyone who is curious about the subject:

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sound-Reproduction-Psychoacoustics-Loudspeakers-Engineering/dp/113892136X/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?dchild

  • edited August 2020
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • @Max23 said:

    @richardyot said:

    @Max23 said:
    I guess it depends very much on the genre of music
    if mixing and mastering can be done on cans or not

    for bass heavy music this won't work
    you get big surprises if you play what was good on cans loud on a big system :o :#

    for bass heavy things rent a studio for a few hours
    mix the low-end on their big system in their acoustic treaded room
    and dont touch the low-end after that again ;)

    Actually good headphones are in fact far more reliable than even the most expensive speakers when it comes to bass reproduction.

    At frequencies below 150hz there will always be some interaction between a room and a speaker system. Room treatments can mitigate this to some extent, but never completely eliminate it.

    You need a combination of room treatment, speaker and sub placement, and calibrated EQ compensation to eliminate standing waves.

    Headphones don’t suffer from any of these issues and are far more likely to give you accurate bass.

    The reason you might get a surprise when checking a mix on speakers is because the standing waves in the room are messing with the mix. But those waves only apply to that room, so if you EQ the mix to fix them then you’ve fixed it for that one room. In a different space you might get resonances in completely different frequencies.

    I recommend this book to anyone who is curious about the subject:

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sound-Reproduction-Psychoacoustics-Loudspeakers-Engineering/dp/113892136X/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?dchild

    For bass you need to have distance from speaker so the complete wave hits you ;)
    And bass is very physical you can feel it not only hear it,
    Forget headphones for bass heavy music ;)
    Your latest techno production that was good on your headphones will be weird in a club
    I promise you that ;)

    Two slightly different things though.

    Sure to actually feel bass you need big speakers (or a sub woofer), but that doesn’t mean the bass is accurate.

    And club PAs are not likely to be calibrated, so there will be uncontrolled standing waves all over, but each room will react differently to different sets of frequencies.

    Reasonably priced headphones are going to give you much more accurate bass than even very expensive speakers, but I’m not denying that it’s a different experience.

    To get really accurate bass that you can also physically feel you will need a very expensive combination of speakers and room treatment, the kind of setup found in a mastering suite.

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