Listening fatigue on day six of a mix
On the difference between hearing and noticing, and why my reference tracks stopped working on Thursday.
On day six of a mix I lose the ability to hear what I am listening to. Not the ability to hear — that is fine — the ability to notice. The two are different and I keep forgetting.
On day one, every decision is a decision. The reverb is too long. The vocal is sibilant. The bass is muddy. I make a list, I make changes, the mix improves.
On day six, the mix sounds correct. The reverb does not sound long. The vocal does not sound sibilant. The bass does not sound muddy. None of this is because the mix is correct. The mix has the same problems it had on day one. I have stopped noticing them.
Reference tracks are supposed to fix this and they don’t, because by day six my reference tracks sound wrong. The reference tracks have not changed. My hearing has not changed. My noticing has.
What works: putting the mix down for 36 hours. Listening on a system I have not used for the mix. Listening at a volume I have not mixed at. The discontinuity resets the noticing.
What does not work: more coffee.