When you record...

[wings]

Hi All! First post to the Taxi board! When you record, what output do you tailor your songs to? A headset? Surround Sound (7.1, 5.1), or to just "stereo" (2.1)? My concern is that I have a song that sounds just fantastic on "stereo", but really stinks in the headset (which the screeners listen to...).For example, I have a very good Cello sample that sounds very "gritty" in stereo, but is overbearing in the headset. What do I do?Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.Thanks in advance!~wings~

[chriscarter]

You should always mix to speakers. And unless it's a specific surround sound project, it should just be stereo.If your speakers are set up properly and your room is even just barely treated, a good mix on monitors should sound good with headphones (although, the reverse is NOT true). If you are having problems with your cello sound, it's probably because something isn't really setup right in your listening environment. OR... it might be that it sounds bad on speakers too, but for some reason you aren't noticing because of ambient noise, or you are sitting in a null, or something similar.What are your monitors?How are they set up (location) in your room and where are you sitting?What kind of acoustical treatment do you have in the room?What are your room measurements?chrisTAXI FORUM MEMBERS ONLY: 50% off mixing from July 1 through July 31. This is ONLY for my TAXI forum friends.

[wings]

Thanks for the response, Chris. Speakers are Altec Lansing Multimedia speakers with a sub-woofer. They sound really great for the room:Small room, carpet, speakers face the short side of the rectangle.I'd like to invest in some Bose shortly.Soundcard: Creative X-Fi Pro, 24-bit - Xtreme Fidelity.

[mojobone]

Welcome, Wings! I think you can forget Bose, they don't make monitors. My opinion is your speakers are holding you back-sub and satellite rigs typically have a hole in the midrange if they're not properly calibrated and managed. (midrange frequencies are the easiest for the human ear to pick up, which makes hearing them critical for tracking and mixing-and it just so happens the midrange is right where your cello problem sits) Consumer playback equipment is designed to make everything that passes through it sound better than it really is-to hide any flaws. What you need are speakers that are accurate and designed to ruthlessly reveal any deficiencies in your sounds.I recommend you obtain a pair of powered nearfield studio monitors, if you get a set with an eight inch or larger woofer, you won't need a sub. (and won't need to learn a whole lot about subwoofer placement and crossover frequency adjustments)You should spend at least $500 if you buy new, nuthin' any cheaper is worth a bucket of warm spit-but you might could find a good deal on a gently used pair, people are upgrading all the time. As Chris said, you'll also want to take a look at what your room is doing, and try to treat any obnoxious bumps or dips in it's frequency response.

[wings]

Very helpful, Mojo! Thanks for everything. ~wings~

[aubreyz]

Jun 5, 2009, 7:38am, mojobone wrote:You should spend at least $500 if you buy new, nuthin' any cheaper is worth a bucket of warm spit... Though I totally agree in principle, even a $300 pair of Behringers or Mackies would be such a different world than a consumer solution. I have a set of Behringers at home - they are not Genelecs, but they are not awful either.Aub

[mojobone]

I'm feelin' ya on that, Aub, and not everybody has the option to wait to make music 'til they can save up half a grand, but I haven't seen anything self-powered with 8 in woofers for any less than that. (for a pair)M-Audio BX8a, Samson Resolve A8 and Mackie's Tapco 8s start there. (Mackie's HR824 is pretty much equivalent to certain Genelec models, BTW, but they're north of $1200/pair)It's even more critical to have woofers that can move some air if you're recording bass-heavy styles like DnB HipHop, Jungle, etc., though it's true enough that a well-trained, experienced engineer can track and mix on dang near anything.Some of this is basic recording philosophy. I jes' don't believe in scrimping on transducers, cuz mics and speakers are often the only things in the modern digital studio that truly make a sound.

[slideboardouts]

Yeah, the altec lansings need to go. In my experience, even a good pair of headphones will give you a better mix than consumer grade speakers. All of those types of speakers that you get from best buy, circuit city etc. color the sound and it makes it really hard to get a good mix.I use a pair of KRK RP 6 and I'm happy with them. They are not genelecs or dynaudios but they are definitely good enough to give you broadcast quality mixes. I don't know what they are selling for now, but I imagine they are in the $400 range (I got a discount through a friend that worked at guitar center so I have no idea really).Also, don't go nuts spending tons of money on monitors and subs if you don't plan on treating your room at all. If you have a crappy sounding room, even the best monitors are going to give you less than desirable results. And, no matter what you do/get, you are going to have to learn your monitoring set-up. No matter how much money you drop there is going to be some trial and error so keep in mind that there isn't a "magic fix" for anything. More $$$ does not always equal better results (but more $$$ certainly does help )-Steve

[wings]

Thanks Steve, I'll keep that in mind!~wings~

[ernstinen]

I use 3 different monitor speakers. #1) The classic Yamaha NS-10Ms (with a sub to check the low lows occasionally). They are still the standard for midrange accuracy. The old saying is that "If you can make a mix sound good on NS-10s, they'll sound good on anything." Unfortunately, they don't make them anymore. Pairs are sold on eBay.#2.) KRK V6 powered monitors. Sound great, and almost TOO much lows for a 6" woofer!#3.) Definitive Technology "home" speakers which are pretty flat.Plus, my trusty Sennheiser headphones!HTH,Ern