Chris Tondreau
Member
Okay, so I'm thinking about what my next purchase should be. I'm at a place where my weak spot is getting less and less obvious.
Okay, my most obvious weak spot is my physical space - the size of my room. It's about 8' x 9'6" and 6'10" high. As it is, it is fine for tracking vocals, guitar, etc. Once I added absorbent panels, it went from "impossible to mix in" to "fine enough for mixing in."
I have a larger room that was "the studio" until I built the new room. It was torture to mix in but I get decent drum sounds in it, and there is enough room to track a full band in there. There are plans under way later in the year to finish this room (so it will also double as a family room), and maybe add some sound treatment in there to make it sound better. (though the dimensions [wacky room nodes, etc.] and the wood paneling [reflections] are the bigger culprits. - part of the reason why the studio just isn't still in there)
So, weak spot #1 - not much I can do about the first part, but have plans for addressing the second part.
I'm thinking weak spot #2 has finally become my monitors. I'm using Yorkville YSM-1p monitors (the p identifies them as passive). At the time, they were among my "flagship purchases", and have served me very well. They're really decent monitors, by my standards, and by the many positive reviews they received back in the day when I spent about $350/ea on them. They have a 1" tweeter and a 6.5" driver.
Yorkville
Here is the frequency graph, as measured by Yorkville:
http://www.recordingreview.com/images/acoustics5.gif
Comparing that chart (and considering the message about room acoustics that it contains), I'm worried that, even if I go to something like the HS80's from Yamaha, that the benefits won't be as significant as I might hope - or that the difference might not even be that noticeable.
Here is a frequency graph I measured of the YSM-1's in my room, before I installed the room treatment (blue) and after I installed the room treatment (red). You can see that my bass response is a bit weak, dropping off quite rapidly below 60hz. Note that the red also includes the use of a very cheap sub that came from an old home stereo kit I had from years and years ago.
http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/download/file.php?id=41963
Maybe a good quality sub would be better than replacing my monitors altogether?
The rest of my gear is as follows:
Software:
- Cubase 7
- Waves plugins - CLA Classic Compressors, SSL4000 bundle, Waves Native Power Pack (dynamics processing, EQ, reverb, delay, de-esser, stereo imager plugins), Kramer Master Tape, Artist Signature Series Vocal Collection
- Acme Bar Gig "Head Case"
Monitoring:
- Yorkville YSM-1p passive monitors
- Behringer PowerPlay Pro-XL 4700 (x2) headphone amps - one for control room, one for bigger room
- AKG K240 headphones
Signal path:
- Steinberg MR816X interface
- Behringer Ultra Gain Pro 8 (ADA8000) for when I need more than 8 inputs
- Radial J48 active DI box
- Line2Amp - re-amp box
Outboard effects:
- TC Electronic M300 (dual-engine effects processor)
- Yamaha Rev-X reverb (built into the MR816X)
Mics:
- Rode K2 (large-diaphragm tube condensor)
- Shure SM7b
- Sennheiser MD421
- Sennheiser e602
- Studio Projects C4 MkII (small diaphragm, matched-pair condensors with interchangeable capsules)
- Behringer ECM8000 (x2)
- Sennheiser e835s
- Shure SM58
- Shure SM57 (x2)
Any suggestions?
I should mention about budget:
Budget to be determined. I've got a few hundred dollars set aside right now, pretty much. Depending on what I buy, I could sell something else.
There is no urgency, so taking another couple of months to sock away some more nickels is not a big deal. I also have no issues buying a lot of stuff used.
Thanks!
Chris
Okay, my most obvious weak spot is my physical space - the size of my room. It's about 8' x 9'6" and 6'10" high. As it is, it is fine for tracking vocals, guitar, etc. Once I added absorbent panels, it went from "impossible to mix in" to "fine enough for mixing in."
I have a larger room that was "the studio" until I built the new room. It was torture to mix in but I get decent drum sounds in it, and there is enough room to track a full band in there. There are plans under way later in the year to finish this room (so it will also double as a family room), and maybe add some sound treatment in there to make it sound better. (though the dimensions [wacky room nodes, etc.] and the wood paneling [reflections] are the bigger culprits. - part of the reason why the studio just isn't still in there)
So, weak spot #1 - not much I can do about the first part, but have plans for addressing the second part.
I'm thinking weak spot #2 has finally become my monitors. I'm using Yorkville YSM-1p monitors (the p identifies them as passive). At the time, they were among my "flagship purchases", and have served me very well. They're really decent monitors, by my standards, and by the many positive reviews they received back in the day when I spent about $350/ea on them. They have a 1" tweeter and a 6.5" driver.
Yorkville
Here is the frequency graph, as measured by Yorkville:
http://www.recordingreview.com/images/acoustics5.gif
Comparing that chart (and considering the message about room acoustics that it contains), I'm worried that, even if I go to something like the HS80's from Yamaha, that the benefits won't be as significant as I might hope - or that the difference might not even be that noticeable.
Here is a frequency graph I measured of the YSM-1's in my room, before I installed the room treatment (blue) and after I installed the room treatment (red). You can see that my bass response is a bit weak, dropping off quite rapidly below 60hz. Note that the red also includes the use of a very cheap sub that came from an old home stereo kit I had from years and years ago.
http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/download/file.php?id=41963
Maybe a good quality sub would be better than replacing my monitors altogether?
The rest of my gear is as follows:
Software:
- Cubase 7
- Waves plugins - CLA Classic Compressors, SSL4000 bundle, Waves Native Power Pack (dynamics processing, EQ, reverb, delay, de-esser, stereo imager plugins), Kramer Master Tape, Artist Signature Series Vocal Collection
- Acme Bar Gig "Head Case"
Monitoring:
- Yorkville YSM-1p passive monitors
- Behringer PowerPlay Pro-XL 4700 (x2) headphone amps - one for control room, one for bigger room
- AKG K240 headphones
Signal path:
- Steinberg MR816X interface
- Behringer Ultra Gain Pro 8 (ADA8000) for when I need more than 8 inputs
- Radial J48 active DI box
- Line2Amp - re-amp box
Outboard effects:
- TC Electronic M300 (dual-engine effects processor)
- Yamaha Rev-X reverb (built into the MR816X)
Mics:
- Rode K2 (large-diaphragm tube condensor)
- Shure SM7b
- Sennheiser MD421
- Sennheiser e602
- Studio Projects C4 MkII (small diaphragm, matched-pair condensors with interchangeable capsules)
- Behringer ECM8000 (x2)
- Sennheiser e835s
- Shure SM58
- Shure SM57 (x2)
Any suggestions?
I should mention about budget:
Budget to be determined. I've got a few hundred dollars set aside right now, pretty much. Depending on what I buy, I could sell something else.
There is no urgency, so taking another couple of months to sock away some more nickels is not a big deal. I also have no issues buying a lot of stuff used.
Thanks!
Chris