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I am working on a song (multiple, actually) that sounds alright, except for the snare.

The snare is very prominent on phones, as it takes up the higher regions of the audio spectrum, and can tend to drown out the other instruments. On my computer, I made the volume of the snare just right, so it isn't too prominent, but when I play it on my phone, it is much louder, as phones tend to play the higher end of the audio spectrum louder (at least, that's my experience).

However, when I lower the volume of the snare for it to sound better on phones, it becomes too quiet on the computer. What do you recommend I do so that it sounds good on multiple devices?

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  • You could just be EQing it too bright, but without a snippet to listen to it's almost impossible to guess.
    – Tetsujin
    Nov 19, 2020 at 10:35
  • @Tetsujin There is no EQ on the snare, but boosting the low-end would take the punch out of it
    – violetorigin
    Nov 19, 2020 at 17:05
  • Then the mic placement may be wrong. Without hearing it, really, no-one can guess.
    – Tetsujin
    Nov 19, 2020 at 17:12
  • Its electronic. I'll see about uploading the song
    – violetorigin
    Nov 19, 2020 at 17:14
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    Find your reference system and mix there, the final product will be judged by how good the reference system translates to other systems. Achieving a good and balanced mix that translates is an art itself and not a simple task of just moving the fader on a snare.. You can make small adjustments if something is really off in other systems, but you have to have your reference/mixing point where it all begins. After a long time you will have a better understanding on what you have to do beforhand in order to achieve a mix that translates (again it all connects to your mixing system - speaker/room)
    – frcake
    Nov 20, 2020 at 12:31

1 Answer 1

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This is a general problem with every audio file - it will sound different on every system you play it.

The solution - when creating your mix, you need to play it on a wide range of outputs to see how it sounds, and decide on a final balance that works "best" across the media you care about. That may be for car audio with it's enclosed space providing overwhelming bass, or for mobile phone speakers, which are tinny, etc., not just for your flat spectrum Genelec monitors in the studio.

And it is an art - one that is incredibly subjective.

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2
  • Anecdotally, I could never get a portable mix on Gennies, I had the 1032A. I eventually swapped them for DynAudio BM6A & never looked back ;)
    – Tetsujin
    Nov 23, 2020 at 7:46
  • Yeah - always too bland on Genelecs. I agree.
    – Rory Alsop ♦
    Nov 23, 2020 at 8:06

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