Quick Tip: The “Car Test”

Have you ever listened to a track on your ear buds and then listened to the same track in your car and noticed an instrument you never noticed on the ear buds? Or you listen to your own track with your studio headphones then noticed on your bluetooth speaker that the bass is WAY too loud? 

This is a common problem and can be really frustrating when you've put in a ton of time mixing and mastering. You might hear musicians and audio engineers reference "The Car Test" which is their way of making sure that their mix works as well as possible across multiple different types of speaker systems and headphones. 

When you finish the first draft of your mix bounce the track and take it around to as many speakers as you can to make sure the mix is working well. If you're working on a track for media where folks may be watching on a TV or laptop prioritize getting the mix at its best for those speakers. If your audience is primarily going to be listening on streaming they will likely be listening in the car, on bluetooth speakers, and a variety of (typically cheaper) headphones and earbuds. Bluetooth ear buds in particular are very popular right now. 

You'll still want to make sure that the track sounds good on other speakers as well, but if you have to prioritize some speakers over others keep that in mind. 

It does take a bit of time to complete this phase of mixing but it is definitely worth it!