Monitors for Acoustic genre

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TheOverallKyle

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So.... I've been looking around for a good pair of studio monitors that will help me hear what i've recorded, and also help me get the best possible mix I can. I mainly play an acoustic genre with just some guitars, Cajon (a box drum), bass and some vocals. Currently I use some JBL stereo speakers that just aren't getting the job done. I have a semi-treated room and set up is away from corners/ walls etc...
WHAT MONITORS ARE BEST RECOMMENDED FOR MELLOWER STUFF AND NOT HARDCORE ELECTRIC GUITARS?
 
Music genre is irrelevant to loudspeaker selection.

Honestly, and without malice: one's gotta pick what their ears and tastes like in a loudspeaker, which is different for every person. Which means listening to them and picking the ones that work for them. If they can't do that, then it doesn't matter which ones they pick.

In your case the questions would be i) are you positive it actually is the JBLs that are the problem, and if so ii) what is it about the JBLs that are insufficient to your needs? Assuming you've eliminated all else as the problem, then you need to pick ones that address that insufficiency in the JBLs for you.

G.
 
thanks glen :) i guess i was heading in the wrong direction. the problem with the JBL's is that they are ok to listen to music with, but they aren't really the "flat" monitors that one would like to have when mixing a song. They do reveal things that other speakers hide but I was just looking for some other flat monitors to compare to i guess.. maybe the Yamaha hs50m's

Also, with the JBL's, I cant really create a good mix that transfers well over to other systems. It might just be me though... I was just lookin for something to A/B my mixes on
 
Again, not meaning to sound difficult, but everybody has a different perception of "flat". Truly flat usually equals fairly expensive; it also tends to equal "hyped" in the ears of just as many people who hear it as "flat".

I think you should start by asking yourself first just how is it that the translations are going awry? Is there a pattern? Do they all tend to be too bassy? Too midrangey? Too "close" or "busy"-sounding? And so forth.

Then the second question would be if that can be addressed with what you have? IOW, can you adjust how your mixes sound on your mixing speakers to compensate; e.g. if there is too much midrange, can you simply mix with less of the problem freqs on the JBLs to make them sound right elsewhere? If it is a problem with bass (either too much or too little) are you sure it's not your speaker position or room modality that's causing the bass errors? And so forth.

If you've done what you can with the JBLs and the room, or you just want some new monitors no matter what, then you need to go listen to others *with your specific issues in mind*. Take your mixes with you on CD, and when you hear something that sounds like what they sound like not on your JBLs, but in the real world, you're getting close. Then switch to some commercial CDs that you really, really like the sound of and play it on the ones you've already picked as semi-finalists. Then the ones that sound the "flattest" to your ears are probably what you'd want to try.

Finally, make sure you're getting them from a place with a reasonable exchange policy. Keep all the boxes and packing when you get home, and try them in your own room. If they seem to work at least better than the JBLs, keep em. If they suck in your room, exchange them for the next choice.

G.
 
I agree with most of what Southside said. Here's where I disagree.

If you have the budget of $500 or more, a good set of powered monitors will make a huge difference in your mixes. The market is so competitive now that almost any true studio monitors in the $500 range will give you exceptional sound quality, relatively flat, with great stereo seperation.

The Yamahas are funny, kind of an anomaly. It's like playing an old relic Les Paul. Guys will swear by it, but realistically a new guitar, set up properly plays amazingly. This is 2010 and we have a lot of technology, gear, and expertise to draw from.

The good advise was to take some music you know well and hit the stores and listen. Good luck, I love shopping for gear!
 
Washburn100 said:
If you have tThe market is so competitive now that almost any true studio monitors in the $500 range will give you exceptional sound quality, relatively flat, with great stereo seperation.
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The problem I see with that statement is that you could name five different models in that range (or any other price range for that matter) that are all going to sound completely different from each other. There's a good chance that half of them are going to sound extremely similar to those "home" speakers he has now. There's still no good way to weed out the ones where he's just wasting his money on a new speaker with the same class of response to what he has now without listening to them.

And to top it off, on powered monitors at $250 each; considering a good half that price is being spent by the customer on the amplification feature, that leaves you with a pair of speakers that are basically the equivalent of $125 bookshelf speakers with the words "Studio Monitor" slapped on their side.

Some may be perfectly fine for him. But just as many aren't going to be any better for him, and possibly some may be worse for him, that what he has now.

But that's just as true for any given "home speaker" as it is for any given "studio monitor". Price is irrelevant, as is the name or description on the side of the box. Either a given speaker will fit his ears and brain or it won't. THe only way to tell is to let the ears judge.

G.
 
Personally, I don't think any home stereo speakers will give you what a decent pair of $500 powered monitors will.

I have several steros in my house, 5.1 home surround things. They sound great, but when I mix a recording, nothing compares to my Mackies. My first monitors were Alesis M1Active 520's. Cost $180 for the pair and they still are far better then any home speaker I have heard.

I have read a lot of Southside Glen's posts and this guy knows his stuff. For this one though, we disagee. Go buy some monitors my freind. The real secret is to spend more than you can afford. This makes them sound even better!:D
 
The real secret is to spend more than you can afford. This makes them sound even better!
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Just tell that to my mom....haha really....
well I guess I'll first have to learn the speakers I have now. Play some of my mixes in the car or at guitar center's monitor rack and see what I can take from that. Maybe take some notes on what each monitor reveals or boosts or adds and I can use what I find to learn to compensate on my JBL's

Btw... the model # for the JBL's i use is J2405 They're pretty archaic haha
 
Washburn100 said:
Personally, I don't think any home stereo speakers will give you what a decent pair of $500 powered monitors will.
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Not even a $500 pair of home speakers, made by the same manufacturer, or at least with parts made by the same OEM supplier, both of which happen all the time, and where none of the $500 has to be spent on the built-in amplifiers?

Many of the components you find in your average nearfield monitor (of ANY price) are not actually manufactured by the company whose name appears on the box. And many of those OEM components are bought by more than one company and used in more than one kind of application. You'll find lots of duplication in that regard - a well as in cabinet design - in both "monitors" and home speakers of all brands and prices.

The fact is, it costs a company just as much to make a home speaker of a certain price point as it does a "monitor", and the profit margins are mostly about the same - in fact they tend to be even larger when someone sticks the name "Studio Monitor" on the box. There's only so much ANY company can do with x number of dollars, regardless of what their intended destination market is; home rec room or home studio, and your average $125 or $1250 loudspeaker is going to have the same chance of sounding "right" to the customer regardless of whether the box says "studio monitor" or "stereo speaker".

BTW, did you know that the most famous nearfield "studio monitor" in the world, the Yamaha NS-10, was originally designed, built and sold by yamaha to be an economy bookshelf speaker for home stereos?

G.
 
oh wow didnt know that about the ns10's my school has a pair of those and they're really honest, as honest as it gets, but I cant stand listening to them for a longer amount of time. They really get to your ears pretty quickly.

I guess I'll keep looking......
 
TheOverallKyle said:
They really get to your ears pretty quickly
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Which, in my book, is not an indicator of a good speaker.

Listening is supposed to be a pleasurable experience (whether in a studio or elsewhere). A mix that sounds pleasing to your ears through your system should likewise sound pleasing to others who play the music on their systems (assuming, of course, that the quality of performance allows this).

The point of having neutrality in the combination of speakers and speaker environment is to have confidence that what you are hearing is a faithful reproduction of what you recorded.

"Domestic" speakers can fulfill this role as well as "studio monitors".
 
I'm thinking of getting the Yamaha hs50m's. Kind of a middle range price- 400 pair, of which there are not that many. I think they sound better than KRK rockits and the basic M-Audio models, but are only a few bucks more, after that it seems your into the real expensive ones. What else is good around 4-500 pair?
 
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