Monitors

[nickbatzdorf]

The picture is big, so the screen resizes to fit that in. But I'm too lazy to resize the picture. And Ted Kennedy's head is wide, but I like what's in it.

[zink]

Ahh Ted Kennedy, this reminds me of a story....A couple of years back, I was driving through Massachusetts. I was on allergy medicine, thus my driving was a little erratic, and I got stopped my the Massachusetts State Police. The cop walked up to the car and said "Do you know what the penalty is here in Massachusetts for drunk driving?" I said "Re-election to the Senate?"

[normbowler]

Hi David. I'm using the M-Audio BX5a's -- Don't know what the difference is between them and the (older?) BX5's, but I think they're good little monitors. The first thing I did was set them up as recommended in the manual -- the baseline of a triangle whose apex is my head. My monitors are about 4-5 feet apart at the back of my studio desk, angled in slightly to create the sweet spot where I normally sit.The owner's manual also says to put the top of the woofers about level with your ears, so I have elevated them a little, using 8x8x8 concrete cinder blocks as speaker stands. The mass of the cinder blocks plus the thin foam pad between them and the speakers help acoustically isolate them from the tabletop. I'm not much on acoustics, but I have heard the speakers develop more bass when elevated also.I also recently did an informal calibration run on them, something I realized I have never done. I took some commercially produced CDs that I know were mixed well -- not burned CDs or MP3s, but the original label-produced CDs -- and listened to them with flat EQ through my monitors (my list is below if you are curious). One complete song from each CD.After listening to them all, I realized that there was a consistent presence peak about 1kHz I didn't like. So I patched in a graphic EQ and tweaked it, again referencing my "gold standard" CDs. Now I'm even happier with my BX5as.The cool thing about this system, is that it takes every link in the chain into account -- the room, your ears, your tastes, your amp and speakers. You make a gold standard album sound right to you, then mix your own music so it sounds right to you. So if A = B = C, your mix may have approximately similar sonics to the well-mixed albums you used as a baseline.BX5a's might be completely flat, and I just happen to like my music with a mid scoop around 1kHz. Which is true? It doesn't matter.I mixed my first album on *awful* speakers this way and got surprisingly good results.Before you invest large money in a new monitor setup, you might try investing medium money in premium signal cables and a 15-band stereo EQ, and judiciously tweak your monitors' response using trustworthy commercial mixesHappy Mixing! Sign me up for your next CD -- I loved RadioOctave. My gold standard...Shawn Colvin / A Few Small Repairs / Sunny Came HomeBruce Cockburn / Dancing In The Dragon's Jaws / Wondering Where The Lions AreSteely Dan / Aja / PegJoni Mitchell / Court and Spark / Help MeSeal / Seal (1994) / Bring It OnPeter Gabriel / So / Red RainThonas Dolby / The Golden Age of Wireless / She Blinded Me With ScienceNirvana / Nevermind / Smells Like Teen SpiritThe Crystal Method / Tweekend / PHDNorm

[normbowler]

-- And here's my modest home studio with my BX5a's on hi-tech stands. To hear what it does, go to www.normbowler.comnb

[wheelingwv]

Hi David,I couldn't agree more that knowing your speakers/room is one of the most important-if not The most important--factors in successful mixing. Regardless of the accuracy & general wonderfulness of your monitoring enviromnent, you need to develop a firm point of reference to work from. Especially in the beginning (once you've chosen your gear & tuned your room), listen to your mixes in as many different places as possible and pay attention to the details of how they sound on other systems. I have a couple different pairs of speakers and a boombox (in addition to my primary monitors) and I always check my mixes in my car as well before I send out a final mix.The comparison process will probably drive you insane at first, but you will eventually begin to develop a sense of what the usual problem areas are and how to adjust your mixes accordingly.

[stick]

Quote:The comparison process will probably drive you insane at first, but you will eventually begin to develop a sense of what the usual problem areas are and how to adjust your mixes accordingly.Oh no, this is CRUCIAL to your mixes sounding like whatever else is out at the time. I'm often hired only to mix, and I ALWAYS reference to commercial CDs, multiple sets of monitors in the studio, and the car. It's very easy to lose track of what "right" is as you work on a mix. If you're concentrating on the low end of your mix, it might get to be too much because you're trying to hear what's going on, so you turn it up. Same with high-end. Constantly flipping back to something you know sounds right is the only way to stay "grounded". I once had a track I produced mixed by one of the LA "Big Guns" mixers in a big time studio with amazing perfectly tuned monitors and he did exactly the same thing. He had a CD player running all the time that he'd flip to every so often.

[emusic]

For 999 USD you can get a pair of Adams A7 (http://www.adam-audio.com/studio/).Thats my next monitor. I´m currently using a pair of Fostex PM-1´s.

[wheelingwv]

Quote:Quote:The comparison process will probably drive you insane at first, but you will eventually begin to develop a sense of what the usual problem areas are and how to adjust your mixes accordingly.Oh no, this is CRUCIAL Stick:I think I was unclear in my last reference to the comparison process--I actually AGREE with you wholeheartedly. As I said above, I always check my mixes on a variety of speakers. What I mean is that, for someone who has not worked in a variety of rooms on a variety of speakers, coming to terms with the differences that jump out when you begin to listen to your mixes in many different places can be a confusing process at first. It takes time to develop a sense of where your room/monitors fall in relationship to the rest of the world. Once you have that sense, it becomes an important point of reference--but not the ONLY point of reference--from which to work. It goes back to the Zappa quote about mixing on crappy speakers: "Because I know what they sound like..." I totally agree that you have to compare constantly--but it's also important to develop a sense of where home base is.