what sounds good

[Marco Raaphorst]

what sounds good is a comparison to a norm. the norm is vaque, but it's a balance. what sounds good is very subjective.

it's what we consider as sounding normal. it's sound sanity.

I have a reference playlist for stuff I think sounds good. but I recently found out that maybe using a yearly playlist of tracks I like, not especially sorted on stuff that sounds good but simply music I like, works maybe even better. because I no longer am hearing what I like I am also aware of what I don't 100% like sound wise.

[MrFigg]

Hmm. Sounds good.

[Loque]

Hmm... Sounds confusing.

[diminished]

So... you broaden your spectrum of things to listen to and at the same time learn about the sound you don't want to incorporate into your own stuff, am I getting this right?

Hmm. Sounds logical.

[MrFigg]

Hmm... Sounds confusing.

The Sound of Confusion

[reasonsuser88]

Saturation

[rgdaniel]

What sounds good to me, increasingly, is silence. When I lived in the city, and was in a working environment, I had to have music (or TV ) going ALL the time. In the car, at home, even (via headphones) at work. After moving to a small town over a decade ago, and soon after, retiring, I find I only listen to music occasionally. I dropped cable TV and only watch Netflix, YouTube etc. intermittently (compared to "on all day"). The sound of silence is the sound of sanity these days, for me. Except the News, which makes me crazier than ever...

[selig]

Many have suggested your reference list should eventually come from your own work. Sure, when starting out you have to use other folks work, but as you progress it actually does make sense to start using your own work for mix references.

That being said, I still grab a few outside mixes that really move me from time to time, which are typically referencing one aspect (great low end, punch drums, vocals sitting well in a mix, etc). There isn't often one song that would work across a broad spectrum of mixes. But if you are a self producing artist, you're probably more focused on your genre than someone like myself that works not only on my own music but also on a variety of outside projects. Hopefully what I said makes sense…

[Marco Raaphorst]

So... you broaden your spectrum of things to listen to and at the same time learn about the sound you don't want to incorporate into your own stuff, am I getting this right?

Hmm. Sounds logical.

yes. and adding more "normal" stuff to the listening list. just recent music I like. I think that's sound wise more divers than my reference list. for me now it's as important as to listen to what I like as well as what I don't like. I must say most music I love is not perfect in any way. the stuff that sounds great sound wise is not the best music, it's good music.