What's with my new monitors???

M

microchip

New member
I just got a new pair of monitors for my computer mixing (Event PS-5s)...up to this point I have been mixing using my regular living room stereo for mixing (which are basically $70 3-way speakers with 10" woofer).

I have hooked up the monitors which I have been so excited about and have 2 issues to deal with now and need help...

1. The monitors seem to have little bass. I was using headphones to record with...then when I mixed on the regular stereo, the bass was usually way too high (because the headphones didn't pick up the bass). But if I don't hear much bass on the monitors, won't that create the same problem? I thought that the monitors would solve this!?!? (And when I mixed on the stereo speakers I did NOT turn up the bass or the treble...I kept all the adjustments at 0).

2. I am using Cakewalk as a multi-track recorder...but there are so many output volume adjustments available on the monitors, in the Cakewalk program, and on the software of my Delta soundcard. How am I to know if I am recording at a level that is what I want it to come out as? In other words, When I am aiming to record at a certain volume, what the heck should all the adjustments be so that what I am hearing is at the volume I want on the recording?

Thanks!
 
micro-

the most important thing is that you know your speakers. i know a few guys (including me shhh) that mix on decent stereo speakers for the simple fact that we know what good mixes sound like on them. if i know my speakers are harsh, i make my mixes harsh.. etc.

going out and spending 3-4000 dollars on Genelecs isn't going to magically make your mixes awesome overnight... until you get used to them.
 
Yupper. You need to "learn" your monitors. I.e., learn how a mix will translate from how it sounds on your monitors to other systems. Take a final mix that sounds good on the monitors and then play it back on various systems including car stereos, hi-fis, and small portables. Thus, you will be able to determine how the mix will translate to these mediums. You may then realize that, for example, you do not need as much bass or treble as you thought. Once you learn how your mixes translate, you will be able to do a better job of mixing on your new speakers.
 
Buttttt, if you're mixing on home speakers, you must perform EQ adjusting to under-compensate for the home-speakers natural boost in bass and midrange (as you well know, home-speakers are built to include slight more bass & mids) thus, if you are performing monitoring on home speakers and wind up adjusting certain frequencies in your recording that would normally need no boost/cut on monitors, your mixes will not translate well to other
forms of music reproduction such as, c/d player, car stereo, boom-box, and home stereo system of your 2-track mixdown.you will be performing double the work in the area of EQ tweaking/sound treatment after you record using home speakers rather than flat response monitors! Don't make the same mistakes that I did!
 
If the low is really missing , and your monitors sound like their drunk, it could be a phase problem. Check if their in phase.
 
You may also have room or placement problems causing standing waves and or phase cancellation. Obviously, you would not have noticed this with headphones.
 
Same thing happened to me when I got my PS6's. I plugged them in a the first thought was "Wow! I can hear everything!"

The second thought was (insert voice of the old lady in that commercial)

"Where's the bass?"

I'm sure my room and placement are having some effect, but I can't change that at the moment. Instead I played all of my favorite CD's through the monitors. Over and over. It was the only way to get used to how they sounded.

What a great excuse to pop open a tasty beverage and listen to some tunes, eh? I'm listenin to music through the ol' monitors as we speak. ;)

Take care,
Chris
 
Wheres the Bass...

Why can't a guy just add a subwoffer...then playing your cd's through your monitors would sound much better/normal, and you could adjust/turn it down when mixing?

Bone
 
I got PS-8s - Even they have no bass!

I went from KRoKits to Event's PS-8.
I went for them because the implied range goes down to 35 Hz.

After a year of working every night: I actually still miss my KROKits.
I also thought "Aw! I just have to "learn" the sound of the PS8s", but after really messing mixes up due to lack of bass I have hooked up an Equalizer to boost upthe 80-120 Hz around 3 to 4dbs.

It is not a question of not getting them "clearly" or "well-defined". They are simply not there!
Even the ROKits before could tell me what was going on on the lower ranges...

It is not as if I am not satisfied - At least I don't have the volume issue anymore.
Maybe I still have the hope I will learn to mix on them as well as I could on the RoKits.

My sad experience

Hans
Niamey
 
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