untreated room, + referencing in other setups: home stereo, car stereo, ear buds, etc+.

headphones are a good reference but they have just as many EQ anomalies as untreated rooms do. you need to get up into the big bucks ($2k+ systems) to start getting a flat frequency response.

if you do mix on ...

this can come in handy:


http://www.voxengo.com/product/lfmaxpunch/

No problems here. 9 is just like 8 only with the new features added. If you need the new features, get it. Personally Flex, 'bounce in place', and slicing loops to EXS24 make it worth it to me but it just depends what you use.

if you're on Logic, Klopfgeist
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2A9NvBQmDN0

this is the reason I no longer live in apartments

word, quantizing automation is a great tip. i've been fiddling with that manually forever and it's a pain

Dubstation is nice, only $40
http://www.audiodamage.com/effects/prod ... ?pid=AD006

You have to have a proper listening environment first off, or everything you try to get sound right will be skewed.

Mostly it just boils down to EQ though, making everything sit balanced in the mix by cutting and boosting specific frequencies in each of the sounds. For instance you might want to ...