is buying monitors my only option?

[vwvw]

Hi guys

I've spent the last couple of months playing around recording my songs ready to send out to friends. The only problem is that I mixed them on consumer headphones. You'll not be suprised when I tell you that they sound shocking when played through consumer speakers.

My options seem to be:

- remix using the audio on my apple cinema screen.
- remix using my panasonic stereo speakers (consumer obviously)
- start saving the pennies to buy monitor speakers

I would like to avoid buying monitors, if at all possible. But my priority is ensuring that, when I finally send this tracks out, my hard work isn't ruined by poor mixing which sounds different on every stereo it is played on.

Would be grateful for your advice.

Thanks

Vic

 

[atticproject]

I doubt my advice will be the best that you'll find on HR but personally I would say that having a nice pair of monitors for sure will help, but a good pair of headphones will also be ok. Working in headphones for long periods is very very bad for ones ears so dont make a habit of mixing for hours on end.

But if you mix your track on lets say your headphones, then play it on some home hifi, go back remix what you feel needs editing you may find a result thats ok. But you can get some okish monitors for not too much money. Also what are you recording with?

 

[Bobbsy]

Monitors would be your best long-term option--but just having them isn't enough. You have to put them in an acoustically good space without lots of nasty standing waves to accentuate some frequencies and attenuate others.

If you have time, there is another thing to do. You have to "learn" your system.

Do a mix. Burn a CD. Play it on every other system you can find, from your home stereo to the car stereo to you iPod to your friends boom box to somebody else's home stereo. Decide what you need to do to your mix to make it better. Re-mix it on the same headphones as the first time trying to add bass or cut midrange or whatever you decided your mix needed Burn another CD and listen in lots of different situations again. Keep doing this until you have a mix you're happy with then memorise how it sounds on your mixing headphones. Do another song and aim for that sound on your headphones. Burn another CD and go through all the listening again. Eventually you'll get to the stage where you know how things have to sound on your headphones to also sound good to other people.

It takes time but you CAN get there.

Indeed, even with the best monitors in the best acoustics, you still have to train your ears to work with them--it's just easier with really accurate monitors.

Bob

 

[walt8]

Just starting out myself. In getting the hang of Sonar, the limitations of my laptop and what synths I have, the best cheapest thing I've done so far, in my limited space, was to get good full size isolating 'phones. In my case Shure SRH 440's. They're very accurate and (I think) uncolored. $99, which I didn't think was too much to pay. Sennheiser, Sony, AKG, and other makes have comparable models. Time will come when I'm ready for good monitors, but I feel that should wait until I have a dedicated room for studio work.

BTW Full Compass is a great resource for almost anything in recording and beyond you are looking for.

 

[grimtraveller]

Hi guys, is buying monitors my only option?

Well, no. You could swap something for them, borrow them, steal them, beg for them........

 

[arcadeko]

Do not mix in only headphones. Primary mixing has to be done with speakers - if you can not afford monitors get a stereo

KRK RP5 G2 Rokit Powered 5 Generation 2 Monitor (Pair)

 

[Richie2708]

I'd use your panasonic speakers until you can afford some monitors.....Mixing can be achieved on headphones to a certain stage, but final mastering is impossible. Never just rely on headphones you'll get bass proximity effect due to distance of your ear to the speaker, and none of the left channel will ever reach your right ear and visa versa, it will give you a completely false stereo image compared to what you hear through everyday speakers.

So to sum it up, headphones until you have eliminated sound issues such as timing problems, unwanted noise and all the minor details, then across to your panasonic speakers for eq'ing and final mastering. That is until you can afford monitors.

 

[one guy]

i use samson headphones while tracking and the begining of mixing the i just use my home stereo and i feel i have some decent mixes.

 

[Massive Master]

Rules of Audio --- Everyone says there are "no rules" in audio, but when it comes down to it, there are several. The first (and most important) two of which are:

RULE 1: No matter your skills, no matter your years of experience, no matter your tools, you will only ever hear your work as well as your monitoring chain allows you to hear it - Period.

RULE 2: No matter how many thousands of dollars you may have invested in your monitoring chain, no matter how accurate it may be, no matter how consistent it reacts with dynamic content, no matter if it goes clear from 15Hz all the way up to 50kHz, your monitoring chain will only ever be as accurate and consistent as the space they're in allows them to be - Period.

The absolute most important part of *any* recording rig, the highest priority of gear selection, the absolute *last* place you want to cut corners is your monitoring chain (and the proper treatment of the room itself). Every single sonic decision you will ever make is based on how well your monitoring chain translates to your ears and your brain.

Along with that - Just because somebody throws a sticker on a box that says "MONITOR" on it doesn't mean that those speakers are actually more accurate or consistent than the next horrible excuse for a speaker that says "MONITOR" on the side. It's worth saving longer and getting better.

 

[stevieb]

I'd venture a guess those Panasonic speakers and the "system" they are driven by is far from the best. A budget option is to find a good audiophile-quality receiver or "amplifier" (in audio parlance, an amp includes the pre-amp and means of hooking up a cassette, CD, etc.) and a equal pair of speakers. It does not have to have big power- as low as 15 watts per channel could work- and you will probably find better prices if you go back to 70's era gear. you could probably get by for well under $100, maybe even half that.

 

[dynamicwave]

.....Mixing can be achieved on headphones to a certain stage, but final mastering is impossible..........and none of the left channel will ever reach your right ear and visa versa, it will give you a completely false stereo image compared to what you hear through everyday speakers.

The true and perfect explanation.

 

[clivus]

I used consumer speakers and headphones to mix for many years. It can be done, but it took me a LONG time, with lots of trial and error to get the mixes right. Proper monitor speakers (I use Yamaha powered monitors with 8 inch woofers) have been invaluable to me to speed up my workflow. I did not see any comments about A/B-ing with reference mixes--very helpful for me during mixing.