Monitoring Practices

Reference Recordings

• Instant reality-check by comparing your recording against another (good) one.
• It's there to compare, not copy.

Taking Breaks

• Our ears fatigue, leading to making things louder.
• Your ears will adjust to create a 'new normal.'

Translation

• How your work sounds on different speakers, in different environments.
• Your recordings have to sound good everywhere.
• Use speakers you know well and trust, then check on lots of different systems.

Comparisons

Volume-Matched 

• You will think the louder option is 'better'
• Use loudness (perceptual), not peak level (objective)

Switch Quickly

• We have very short sound memory
• Switch without pauses or silence
• Sometimes called Solo Exclusive or Solo X-OR

Limit the Variables

• Change one thing at-a-time
• Keep things as simple as possible