S
StudioCat
New member
I've made my living for 30 years as a recording engineer. I've mixed over a hundred records, a couple of feature films, and probably over 10,000 TV commercials. Lately I've been doing some of my work at home, so today I went out and bought a decent pair of "home" monitors. I did a Google search to see what home studios were using and ended up here on a page that had some good tips and a couple of brand names written by Dragon Seez.
https://homerecording.com/monitors.html
I would like to add to that in hopes that it helps others.
First, there is no right and wrong or best and better monitor. It's a matter of personal taste and finding monitors you can trust - or get used to. Ones where you KNOW that the mix is going to translate to many, many different playback situations. With that in mind let me give these tips.
1. Make a CD of songs you know - ones you know sound GOOD under many different playback conditions. Songs you may have heard for years, on the air, in your car, your stereo, iPod, a PA etc. etc.
But hold on, if these songs are already in your iTunes and they're mp3's STOP. you need to be listening to full res. audio here, because with a good pair of monitors you're going to be able the hear the difference between a 44.1 CD and a 128k mp3. So, if you don't have them in your iTunes as full res. AIFF or WAV files, go back and re rip them, or just gather a bunch of CD's.
2. Make sure the material is HIGHLY varied. You may listen to a lot of metal, but DON"T make a CD of Metal's greatest hits. Make one that has all kinds of REALLY WELL MIXED songs. From Metal, to Pop, to Jazz, to Classical, and all points in between.
3. Make sure that most of the music is NOT created from samples. If the only "live" instrument in the material is a singer, and that's been Auto Tuned to death, try something else. Also, make sure to include songs that have NOT been highly compressed in mastering or mixing. If you can’t hear compression, you can see it as soon as you sample it and look at the wave form. It will look like a sausage with all the little spiky things gone. Overly compressed songs will be very LOUD and have a very limited depth of field.
4. Do some research on this forum and elsewhere to find what others are using, but DON'T just go by that. This is a matter of personal taste, you're going to have to hear the final 2 or 3 monitors you are interested in yourself. Don't just buy them on EBay because 5 people on this forum said they are good and you could get a good deal. You've got to listen to them for yourself! I'm telling you, monitors are probably the most important part of your home studio. Expect to spend $500.
5. Go to a store that has the 3 main ones you are thinking of, and most importantly where you can flick a switch and A/B between them. Going behind and unplugging and replugging is NEVER going to work. You're going to go back and forth about a zillion times!
6. Dedicate at least a half hour to an hour of listening time in a room where you can close the door and not have the music in the store playing or be bothered by other people. (I used Guitar Center) Remember, the pair that you FIRST think sounds good, may not be the eventual winner. But you will need to take some time going back and forth between all the speakers for your ears to acclimate to the sound of each one.
7. Before you really start listening make sure all the speakers are playing at the same apparent volume to your ears. You may need to adjust the angle or closeness of each speakers and the volume knob. They should all be EVENLY MATCHED volume, width, and distance.
8. How to listen; CLOSE YOUR EYES. Pick out what is the most forward element in the mix or the first song. Usually the vocal, if the song has vocals. Go back and forth between the speakers. How does that part change? Is it brighter, softer, harsher, etc. Go to the next loudest part, perhaps a guitar or the snare. How does it change? Continue on through all the instruments in the track. You may need to loop a section of a song if you hear something unusual. Is there an element you’ve never heard before? Maybe a breath before a vocal, or the trail off of reverb. Do you hear that new thing the same way on all the speakers. Go to the next cut on your CD. AGAIN, EYES CLOSED. Concentrate! You’re not used to listening like a recording engineer does.
9. When you have made it through all the songs on your CD, you may want to go back and check certain ones again. You are probably finding a favorite monitor by now. You know you have found a match when you just don’t want to leave that particular speaker. You just want to listen. THAT’s a good sign.
OK, here is a list of the songs I listened to, and what speakers I demo’ed.
1. Dr. John “I Know What I’ve Got” recorded by Al Schmidt at Capitol Studios A & B. An AWESOME recording
2. Steely Dan “Babylon Sisters” Eliot Scheiner recording that is super tight. I think this wond a Grammy for best Engineered.
3. James Taylor “Line Em Up” A Frank Fillapetti recording that won best engineered record in 1997. Great bottom end on this record.
4. Rascal Flatts “Here Comes Goodbye” I love Justin Niebank and Dann Huff’s records. A Really great sounding pop record.
5. Led Zepplin “D’yer Maker” Arguably the best drum sound ever.
6. Diana Krall “S’wonderful” Another Al Schmidt master piece and Grammy winner. Al’s got the most “Best Engineered” Grammys of anyone.
7. George Szell & Rudolph Serkin “Brahm’s Piano Concerto #1 in Dm” 2nd movement This was the most telling song of all!!!
8. Lyle Lovett “The Blues Walk”
Monitors demo’d:
KRK Rokit 8
M Audio BX8A
Yamaha HS80M
At first blush I liked the Yamaha’s. But I think that was because they sounded familiar. I’ve listened to NS – 10s at work since the early 80’s and although they have NEVER sounded flat, I (and many others) have gotten used to them. Also, right off the bat I thought the KRK’s seemed really mid-rangy and in your face. The BX8’s we ok, but seemed kind of home stereo-ish. I listened more and my ears settled in. This took probably 15 minutes of listening, and I mean REALLY listening, concentrating on parts and instruments. As I did, my opinion changed. I started warming up to the KRK’s and the BX8A’s. The Yamaha less so. Eventually the Diana Krall song and the Brahms is what made the difference for me. (At this point I’d pretty much eliminated the Yamaha’s) The zingyness in the top end of the BX8s eventually became overwhelming. On the Diana Krall song the vocal sat too far back in the track and the shakers took over, the piano solo was lost to the shakers. Also, this song has upright bass, which on the BX8’s was tubby and no where near as tight as the KRK’s. (Eveyone says the bottom on the KRK’s is tight and they’re right!) Standing behind the BX8’s there is A LOT of bass coming out the back port. I can’t imagine what it would sound like if it was near a wall. The Brahms recording was done in the 70’s to tape and of course all the hiss that comes with it. On the BX8’s the zingy top end just made the tape hiss too noticeable, and the tumpy bottom end really accentuated the room rumble. (lots of open mic’s in an orchestra recording, plus done in a hall where nothing is floated) So after an hour I settled on the KRK Rocket 8’s.
Tomorrow I’ll do some work on them. The great thing about GC is I’ve got a month to try it before I have to commit. And ultimately monitors are a lot like Ski boots. You both get used to them and break them in. Fortunately for me I can check my mixes at work on monitors and KNOW are right, and I’ve got a month.
I hope this long winded post can help some other people find what is right for them Remember, listen with your ears, not your eyes!
SC.
https://homerecording.com/monitors.html
I would like to add to that in hopes that it helps others.
First, there is no right and wrong or best and better monitor. It's a matter of personal taste and finding monitors you can trust - or get used to. Ones where you KNOW that the mix is going to translate to many, many different playback situations. With that in mind let me give these tips.
1. Make a CD of songs you know - ones you know sound GOOD under many different playback conditions. Songs you may have heard for years, on the air, in your car, your stereo, iPod, a PA etc. etc.
But hold on, if these songs are already in your iTunes and they're mp3's STOP. you need to be listening to full res. audio here, because with a good pair of monitors you're going to be able the hear the difference between a 44.1 CD and a 128k mp3. So, if you don't have them in your iTunes as full res. AIFF or WAV files, go back and re rip them, or just gather a bunch of CD's.
2. Make sure the material is HIGHLY varied. You may listen to a lot of metal, but DON"T make a CD of Metal's greatest hits. Make one that has all kinds of REALLY WELL MIXED songs. From Metal, to Pop, to Jazz, to Classical, and all points in between.
3. Make sure that most of the music is NOT created from samples. If the only "live" instrument in the material is a singer, and that's been Auto Tuned to death, try something else. Also, make sure to include songs that have NOT been highly compressed in mastering or mixing. If you can’t hear compression, you can see it as soon as you sample it and look at the wave form. It will look like a sausage with all the little spiky things gone. Overly compressed songs will be very LOUD and have a very limited depth of field.
4. Do some research on this forum and elsewhere to find what others are using, but DON'T just go by that. This is a matter of personal taste, you're going to have to hear the final 2 or 3 monitors you are interested in yourself. Don't just buy them on EBay because 5 people on this forum said they are good and you could get a good deal. You've got to listen to them for yourself! I'm telling you, monitors are probably the most important part of your home studio. Expect to spend $500.
5. Go to a store that has the 3 main ones you are thinking of, and most importantly where you can flick a switch and A/B between them. Going behind and unplugging and replugging is NEVER going to work. You're going to go back and forth about a zillion times!
6. Dedicate at least a half hour to an hour of listening time in a room where you can close the door and not have the music in the store playing or be bothered by other people. (I used Guitar Center) Remember, the pair that you FIRST think sounds good, may not be the eventual winner. But you will need to take some time going back and forth between all the speakers for your ears to acclimate to the sound of each one.
7. Before you really start listening make sure all the speakers are playing at the same apparent volume to your ears. You may need to adjust the angle or closeness of each speakers and the volume knob. They should all be EVENLY MATCHED volume, width, and distance.
8. How to listen; CLOSE YOUR EYES. Pick out what is the most forward element in the mix or the first song. Usually the vocal, if the song has vocals. Go back and forth between the speakers. How does that part change? Is it brighter, softer, harsher, etc. Go to the next loudest part, perhaps a guitar or the snare. How does it change? Continue on through all the instruments in the track. You may need to loop a section of a song if you hear something unusual. Is there an element you’ve never heard before? Maybe a breath before a vocal, or the trail off of reverb. Do you hear that new thing the same way on all the speakers. Go to the next cut on your CD. AGAIN, EYES CLOSED. Concentrate! You’re not used to listening like a recording engineer does.
9. When you have made it through all the songs on your CD, you may want to go back and check certain ones again. You are probably finding a favorite monitor by now. You know you have found a match when you just don’t want to leave that particular speaker. You just want to listen. THAT’s a good sign.
OK, here is a list of the songs I listened to, and what speakers I demo’ed.
1. Dr. John “I Know What I’ve Got” recorded by Al Schmidt at Capitol Studios A & B. An AWESOME recording
2. Steely Dan “Babylon Sisters” Eliot Scheiner recording that is super tight. I think this wond a Grammy for best Engineered.
3. James Taylor “Line Em Up” A Frank Fillapetti recording that won best engineered record in 1997. Great bottom end on this record.
4. Rascal Flatts “Here Comes Goodbye” I love Justin Niebank and Dann Huff’s records. A Really great sounding pop record.
5. Led Zepplin “D’yer Maker” Arguably the best drum sound ever.
6. Diana Krall “S’wonderful” Another Al Schmidt master piece and Grammy winner. Al’s got the most “Best Engineered” Grammys of anyone.
7. George Szell & Rudolph Serkin “Brahm’s Piano Concerto #1 in Dm” 2nd movement This was the most telling song of all!!!
8. Lyle Lovett “The Blues Walk”
Monitors demo’d:
KRK Rokit 8
M Audio BX8A
Yamaha HS80M
At first blush I liked the Yamaha’s. But I think that was because they sounded familiar. I’ve listened to NS – 10s at work since the early 80’s and although they have NEVER sounded flat, I (and many others) have gotten used to them. Also, right off the bat I thought the KRK’s seemed really mid-rangy and in your face. The BX8’s we ok, but seemed kind of home stereo-ish. I listened more and my ears settled in. This took probably 15 minutes of listening, and I mean REALLY listening, concentrating on parts and instruments. As I did, my opinion changed. I started warming up to the KRK’s and the BX8A’s. The Yamaha less so. Eventually the Diana Krall song and the Brahms is what made the difference for me. (At this point I’d pretty much eliminated the Yamaha’s) The zingyness in the top end of the BX8s eventually became overwhelming. On the Diana Krall song the vocal sat too far back in the track and the shakers took over, the piano solo was lost to the shakers. Also, this song has upright bass, which on the BX8’s was tubby and no where near as tight as the KRK’s. (Eveyone says the bottom on the KRK’s is tight and they’re right!) Standing behind the BX8’s there is A LOT of bass coming out the back port. I can’t imagine what it would sound like if it was near a wall. The Brahms recording was done in the 70’s to tape and of course all the hiss that comes with it. On the BX8’s the zingy top end just made the tape hiss too noticeable, and the tumpy bottom end really accentuated the room rumble. (lots of open mic’s in an orchestra recording, plus done in a hall where nothing is floated) So after an hour I settled on the KRK Rocket 8’s.
Tomorrow I’ll do some work on them. The great thing about GC is I’ve got a month to try it before I have to commit. And ultimately monitors are a lot like Ski boots. You both get used to them and break them in. Fortunately for me I can check my mixes at work on monitors and KNOW are right, and I’ve got a month.
I hope this long winded post can help some other people find what is right for them Remember, listen with your ears, not your eyes!
SC.
