When you record...

[ciskokidd]

Jun 29, 2009, 4:47pm, jude3 wrote:Jun 29, 2009, 4:38pm, wings wrote:Well, fwiw, I do use different speakers and headphones, and car speakers to get a feel. I tend to drive a lot, so I cut a CD to hear how it sounds on the road too. I posed the question to see what others were doing out there. Quite interesting. All good info here. Thanks! ~wings~Yes, that is the way you do it.Until you get a pro room with pro equipment you will have to do it that way.I think if you have 4 to 6 different references then that should do it.If they sound good in all of them then you are pretty much safe. Even if those references are $20 dollar ones.I own a pair of Genelec, Adams and Event 20/20's. That is over $10,000 worth of monitors! NONE of those references helped me in a bad room. I might as well of been using laptop speakers.They sound great! But that has no bering on if you can make a mix that translates. I would learn more mixing skills and what constitutes a good mix. and good mixing procedure. These have far more Bering on you making good mixes that translate.While you are correct that getting your mixing skills in better shape is the best thing that can be done to drastically improve your mixes, the problem is that takes a great deal of time to develop.As a pro engineer you know full well what it takes to get your ears in shape for making mixes on speakers as bad as the ones the OP is using. Only engineers with razor sharp mixing skills can mix on those pieces of crap. A seasoned engineer can mix on almost anything - even NS10s with tweeters blown out - shout out to Matto here! Name me one engineer worth their salt that would mix on those Altec Lansings anyways - maybe for checking a mix to see if it translates but that's about it.Right now he is surely having the problem that most inexperiened engineers have and that is that they cannot distinguish the frequency ranges properly and it all sounds like a muddied mess when they are finished. Buying another few sets of crappy speakers is only going to fuel the fire.As Steve pointed out, a good pair of entry level near fields will make a world of difference to someone in the OPs position. If the room is an issue he can check his mix at lower volumes and it will be way better than using those crapolas.Best,Cisko

[jude3]

Jul 2, 2009, 3:52pm, ciskokidd wrote:Jun 29, 2009, 4:47pm, jude3 wrote:Yes, that is the way you do it.Until you get a pro room with pro equipment you will have to do it that way.I think if you have 4 to 6 different references then that should do it.If they sound good in all of them then you are pretty much safe. Even if those references are $20 dollar ones.I own a pair of Genelec, Adams and Event 20/20's. That is over $10,000 worth of monitors! NONE of those references helped me in a bad room. I might as well of been using laptop speakers.They sound great! But that has no bering on if you can make a mix that translates. I would learn more mixing skills and what constitutes a good mix. and good mixing procedure. These have far more Bering on you making good mixes that translate.While you are correct that getting your mixing skills in better shape is the best thing that can be done to drastically improve your mixes, the problem is that takes a great deal of time to develop.As a pro engineer you know full well what it takes to get your ears in shape for making mixes on speakers as bad as the ones the OP is using. Only engineers with razor sharp mixing skills can mix on those pieces of crap. A seasoned engineer can mix on almost anything - even NS10s with tweeters blown out - shout out to Matto here! Name me one engineer worth their salt that would mix on those Altec Lansings anyways - maybe for checking a mix to see if it translates but that's about it.Right now he is surely having the problem that most inexperiened engineers have and that is that they cannot distinguish the frequency ranges properly and it all sounds like a muddied mess when they are finished. Buying another few sets of crappy speakers is only going to fuel the fire.As Steve pointed out, a good pair of entry level near fields will make a world of difference to someone in the OPs position. If the room is an issue he can check his mix at lower volumes and it will be way better than using those crapolas.Best,CiskoYeah. I agree, but as a professional engineer I know I spend 80% or so of my time listening on all the monitors BUT those good ones.I don't think it will help him. There are too many other factors.But I am not etched in stone about it.They would sure sound better. But that does not mean it would help him mix better. If he has the money, sure. Go for it!

[mojobone]

The point of having dedicated monitors is not 'making anything sound good'; it's hearing exactly what it is that you're adding or subtracting in a mix. Without decent imaging and a wide, flat frequency response, an inexperienced engineer can't even begin to learn to identify specific frequencies. Consumer speakers are designed specifically to hide flaws in recorded music; monitor speakers are designed to reveal them. Of course mixes should be auditioned on typical consumer gear, as many sets as is practical until the mix space and monitor setup become a known quantity. You can get anything to translate to anything, given enough tweaking and time; but especially in commercial studios, time is money.Given a few well-worn reference CDs and ears that have worked in dozens of professional rooms, an experienced engineer really can mix on almost anything, but a pair of computer speakers featuring 3 in woofers and about $8.00 worth of parts ain't a great place to start learning how to mix.

[jude3]

Jul 2, 2009, 10:09pm, mojobone wrote: You can get anything to translate to anything, given enough tweaking and time; but especially in commercial studios, time is money. Thats right. This is my point.And I believe this person is not a professional studio. So, if they want to spend the $300 or what ever you suggested, surely they can.I just don't want them to think they have to to get it good.