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MONITORS
- Thread starter lefty
- Start date
Well, I don't really know what you consider expensive, or how many you want, but we have five Roland DS-50As (might be 90A, can't remember which now) in our station as monitors for what's being broadcast, and they reproduce everything very well. Double bass, nada problem, insanely low rap bass line? No sweat.
Ray
Ray
You may be looking over the head of these, but I've got some Fostex PM 0.5's, and I'm getting a pretty dang good mix out of 'em (I've also got a very small space). I've sent a disc of stuff my little prog-jam band did off to a friend of mine, who's got some records out with very good reviews- and he's telling me to put my own stuff out to market. Says it's "eminently listenable"...
You may take exception to that upon hearing it yourself! But point is, the Fostex are apparently working out so far... yo'll learn to use what you have whatever you get!
Rog.
You may take exception to that upon hearing it yourself! But point is, the Fostex are apparently working out so far... yo'll learn to use what you have whatever you get!
Rog.
I'll put in a vote for the Wharfedale 8.2a's. Just got mine a couple of months ago and they are great.
Yes, the Wharfedale's are pretty good. 
I use a range of monitors, ranging from the obligatory tiny NS-10's (to get that "transistor radio sound"
) to some big Westlakes, to get the full-on "big room" sound. In the middle, there's a set of Klipsch 3.1's (basically home stereo speakers, being used as studio monitors), and a pair of JBL 4311's, which are essentially control room monitors.
Regardless of what you use as monitors, I've found it pretty essential to cut some "test CDs", and play them on your home stereo system (or in your car, or whatever), to see how stuff "really" sounds. Even an excellent set of monitors like the Westlakes, aren't "perfectly" accurate. They do a great job on the bass though, and that's one area where it's really important to have good monitors. "Most" monitors are fairly accurate in the midrange, give or take, but it's really hard to mix the bass unless you have a good set of woofers.
Also, it's essential to listen through headphones, while you're doing your test mixes. I use several of those too, they all sound different.
Somewhere in the middle, between all those various options and sounds, you'll find your mix.
I use a range of monitors, ranging from the obligatory tiny NS-10's (to get that "transistor radio sound"
) to some big Westlakes, to get the full-on "big room" sound. In the middle, there's a set of Klipsch 3.1's (basically home stereo speakers, being used as studio monitors), and a pair of JBL 4311's, which are essentially control room monitors. Regardless of what you use as monitors, I've found it pretty essential to cut some "test CDs", and play them on your home stereo system (or in your car, or whatever), to see how stuff "really" sounds. Even an excellent set of monitors like the Westlakes, aren't "perfectly" accurate. They do a great job on the bass though, and that's one area where it's really important to have good monitors. "Most" monitors are fairly accurate in the midrange, give or take, but it's really hard to mix the bass unless you have a good set of woofers.
Also, it's essential to listen through headphones, while you're doing your test mixes. I use several of those too, they all sound different.
Somewhere in the middle, between all those various options and sounds, you'll find your mix.
Using several types is essential for good mixing. The output channels of my MOTU 828 go to the following:
1) My main monitors
2) My wife's old dorm stereo system, an AIWA with multiple levels of TURBO BASS BOOST and faux surround sound
3) A short range FM transmitter that lets me hear the mix over FM
Sonar makes it easy to jump between these three.
I have been using Alesis Monitor Ones as my main monitors for a few years now. I had one of them blow out in the middle of my last mixing project, so I'm in the market for a new set. One thing I've noticed about them is that the old ones like mine aren't magnetically shielded, which is okay since I use LCDs but was bad news when I jumped to dual CRTs. They also are horrible for bass reproduction (like most nearfields) which means I have to retweak a lot after listening to a mix on other systems and in other rooms.
I'm not sure what I'll be going with (and right now I'm leaning toward just building a set) but I'll check out the suggestions listed. Thanks to everyone who posted.
1) My main monitors
2) My wife's old dorm stereo system, an AIWA with multiple levels of TURBO BASS BOOST and faux surround sound
3) A short range FM transmitter that lets me hear the mix over FM
Sonar makes it easy to jump between these three.
I have been using Alesis Monitor Ones as my main monitors for a few years now. I had one of them blow out in the middle of my last mixing project, so I'm in the market for a new set. One thing I've noticed about them is that the old ones like mine aren't magnetically shielded, which is okay since I use LCDs but was bad news when I jumped to dual CRTs. They also are horrible for bass reproduction (like most nearfields) which means I have to retweak a lot after listening to a mix on other systems and in other rooms.
I'm not sure what I'll be going with (and right now I'm leaning toward just building a set) but I'll check out the suggestions listed. Thanks to everyone who posted.
I use a pair of Behringer Truths (the 2031A model) and a Sampson subwoofer. I'm quite happy with this combo, though Truth be told (pun intended) the Truths are quite high end happy, though this could be a function of my room setup.
Tash said:
From what I've read the Truth's are a little hyped in the lows and highs making them not exactly flat. I can't say that I have ever heard them so I don't know how true that is. As mentioned before, the most important thing is getting used to what you're mixing on and getting your mixes to translate to other systems.
I would suggest looking to Ebay for some yamaha ns-10's. I screwed with all kinds of monitors for my home set up and once I got the ns-10's I understood what everyone was raving about. Never looked back.
yes i was considering getting the yamaha`s and get a seperate power amp. it seems EVERY studio that has people who know what they are doing have these. i am just starting out and i was looking for simplicity and best bang for buck. i know i`ll propably end up getting some of the ns 10`s down the line and still might just go with some now, i`m just weighing things out.
NS-10s...
Unfortunately I can't find where I read it, but it was a discussion and comparison site of studio monitors. They said of the Ns-10:
It was very bad-sounding: it had screechy mids, no bass and little highs. So everyone cut the mids and boosted the lows and highs when mixing or mastering on the NS-10s. That's how the late 70's-80's disco sound came about, an the "disco smile" eq-ing.
Unfortunately I can't find where I read it, but it was a discussion and comparison site of studio monitors. They said of the Ns-10:
It was very bad-sounding: it had screechy mids, no bass and little highs. So everyone cut the mids and boosted the lows and highs when mixing or mastering on the NS-10s. That's how the late 70's-80's disco sound came about, an the "disco smile" eq-ing.
Edwcdc said:
It depends on which version. The older ones had a marked boost in the low and high areas, making them too flattering to most mixes.
Mine seem much much better, though they still bring out more highs than I would like. I've trained my ear to compensate for this though, which you will have to do no matter what you buy. They are also weak in the low end, which I compensate for by using a sub and setting the crossover just right.
Would I rather a nice pair of Events or Genelecs? Hell yeah, but the budget for my studio didn't stretch that far and most of it went to the Dual Proc G5 and Logic
Tash said:It depends on which version. The older ones had a marked boost in the low and high areas, making them too flattering to most mixes.
Mine seem much much better, though they still bring out more highs than I would like. I've trained my ear to compensate for this though, which you will have to do no matter what you buy. They are also weak in the low end, which I compensate for by using a sub and setting the crossover just right.
Would I rather a nice pair of Events or Genelecs? Hell yeah, but the budget for my studio didn't stretch that far and most of it went to the Dual Proc G5 and Logic
I've never listened to the Behringers, I just read that on a couple of recording forums. The important thing is to get used to whatever your mixing on.
I could have spent tons of cash on monitors but I decided on staying married.
Frank Martin said:
Mine seem to translate pretty well. NS-10's have been used for more than just mixing the 70's and 80's disco. I think that mine are a great tool for getting my mixes sounding good.
I think monitor choices are very personal and subjective. For me the NS-10's and an old set of American Acoustic bookshelf speakers are my A-B for 90% of the mix and I use some really old Bose 301's for checking stuff at high volumes since I do not have a proper set of 'Bigs' to go to.
Hope this helps.
Jim
