Mixing for on-the-go listeners and mastering for vinyl.

[SaggyBalls]

So...Walkman phone, noise cancelling headphones, great intentions, and an "I need to finally listen to these tracks" mentality were all packed and ready to go this weekend.

I was at the lake, tent on the ready by the beach, late at night...almost perfect time and place to listen to music, right?

Almost. Most of the music on my Walkman were mixed for loudspeakers and not for headphones. Great to pick apart guitar parts and sweetening, but the stereo image made me want to turn my head now and again.

So here's a question: Are any bands specifically mixing tracks for their on-the-go and headphone listeners? Binaural approach to the album/EP? Are any bands admitting to mixing mostly on headphones and then just referencing in monitors to set levels for listeners into loudspeakers?

I often wondered why I'd keep listening to albums over and over again when I have so much other new music (that I haven't even heard yet) and I think it's mostly because of this. Of course this may change come the fall, but with more time commuting maybe not.

With bands releasing vinyl and giving digital downloads and CDs away with the records, would it not be reasonable to have another mix for headphones as the giveaway?

Also, I was recently reminded that music for vinyl needs to be mastered appropriately. Has anybody ever had their needle jump out of the track because it was mastered for CD by mistake? (It's alright to admit you've put cheap indie records on your hi-fi spread)