Can You EQ / Mix / Master Effectively...

[MikeyOhh]

Without monitors or a decent soundcard?

I recently lost my job, so getting decent gear seems slightly out of reach at the moment, so all I have is a pair of decent headphones (not really designed for production) and the soundcard already in my laptop?

[Volatile Psycle]

first two not so bad if you cross reference on different systems with other 'pro' tracks, but the latter will be real hard.

have you considered selling drugs to pay for studio equipment?

[MikeyOhh]

I've even considered selling my body, it just seems finding another job would be less demeaning for now ^_^

[daeMTHAFKNkim]

I produce on headphones and to make sure my mixes/eqing/mastering is good I do A/B comparison a lot and then also play a famous dubstep track I like and compare how clear it is to that. I'm getting closer and closer. Training my ear wellllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

[Electric_Head]

I have produced with headphones for many years due to sound restrictions.
In the last year I only used in-ear headphones.
I now have some Beyerdynamic DT990.
I have no monitors, I only reference my tunes on different systems.
When you become comfortable with your headphones you won`t have an issue.
Take a listen to the track in my sig or some of my previous work.
It`s all done on headphones alone.

Enjoy yourself and make the most of your situation.

[atticuh]

Without monitors or a decent soundcard?

I recently lost my job, so getting decent gear seems slightly out of reach at the moment, so all I have is a pair of decent headphones (not really designed for production) and the soundcard already in my laptop?

Yes. Sometimes how long you've used a certain set of speakers (or headphones) in a certain room also makes a huge difference. Theoretically, you can learn to mixdown well with what you have, but this is all conditional upon: 1) you mix reference well, which means with a variety of tracks, all stylistically different which you have heard millions of times 2) you know how your room is tuned 3) that you have the motivation to learn how to do things the hard way (self-taught). You don't NEED monitors, but get ready for a tough road. However, if you stick it out, you'll have learned more than most who can buy monitors on a whim. Quickly acquired and quickly forgotten; slowly acquired and rarely forgotten.

[e-motion]

Well I produced Psy trance for years using 30€ 2.1 speakers and an on board soundcard. My ears were trained like hell since I spent thousands of hours listening to music on those speakers. My last tracks with this setup were aproaching the standard quality and loudness for Psy trance at that time, and I mixed and mastered by myself on that setup. What my tracks lacked was crispy highs because those speakers were terrible in the high frequencies, but even like that, I almost got a release on my favorite label at that time.

But once you get something decent, it's a whole new level. I think if you want to get pro, you need at least a decent soundcard (doesn't need to be too expensive if you're not recording), decent monitors and a midi keyboard. But until you have those, just keep praticing and having fun.

EDIT: Forgot to add, keep in mind that that psy is MUCH easier to mix if you have good source sounds (good samples, good bass patches) which I had. In psy, you have have two channels below 200hz (kick and bass) and they never hit at the same time.

[MikeyOhh]

Thanks for the input guys, I've been doing it in the same room since about december and use it pretty much every day, so I'll take all advice on board thanks

[Sharmaji]

higher quality gear generally makes for an easier working enviroment.... generally.