no monitors? next best thing?

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terrible_buddhi

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I don't have any mixing speakers...I do have some nice computer speakers with a sub woofer...is it better to mix with that, or some regular computer speakers? or the last choice would be to use my yamaha powered mixer and some mackie speakers. Thoughts?
 
I dunno, i usaully mix with big head phones, because im to poor to afford moniters
 
monitors cost bucks. No question. Next best thing: a good pair of headphones. Preferably something with flat-response, and open backs (not closed in headphones: will exaggerate bass response). I have AKG Studio 141's, should be able to find them for $100. Computer speakers SUCK hard.
 
well, there ya have it. I guess I was way off. But in terms of the article itself, saying that each pair of ears is different, that has nothing to do with headphones and that bias exists on any piece of gear you use, so it really is a red herring.

Either way, I still recommend headphones because in the editing phase they will give you a much cleaner picture than PC speakers. They are also critical in the tracking phase to eliminate signals bleeding into the mic when recording vocals or anything mic'd. If you spend a lot of time listening to music in headphones, you can also train your ears to hear what you like and dislike in other recordings (ie pro CDs) and learn to hear those same things in your own mix.
 
cstockdale said:
well, there ya have it. I guess I was way off. But in terms of the article itself, saying that each pair of ears is different, that has nothing to do with headphones and that bias exists on any piece of gear you use, so it really is a red herring.
Click to expand...
How do you figure that?

Each person's hearing frequency weighting varies uniquely so it's as if you're handing a new pair of cans to each person, even if it's the same pair of headphones... that's not true of other gear at all....
 
how on earth does that not apply to other gear? This is basic science : if your ears hear differently than mine from the same pair of headphones, then your ears hear differently than mine if we are listening to the same pair of speakers, and your ears will hear the same bird call differently than mine with no "gear" in the equation at all. Maybe I am missing something, but it seems to me that if you are arguing that hearing is subjective (which it is), there is no gadget on earth that is going to make them hear the same sound exactly the same way, short of something that can detect the hearing response in real time and model the sound for each individual listener.
 
Sorry - I thought it was clear in my article... each person's ear response AT CLOSE PROXIMITY will vary considerably with any given pair of headphones.

This is different from speakers and other gear simply by a question of degree of change. Since other gear is not listened to in close-proximity to the ears, the variation from person to person isn't as pronounced as it is for headphones.

Essentially, with headphones, the "room" each person is hearing in is different from every other person, whereas with say speakers, everyone's still in the same "room"....
 
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buddhi

i'm with blue bear on this one.
There is no replacement for (good) monitors

Remco

Btw, how turned out the new drum recording
 
unfortunately, I haven't been able to get my drummer back over for recording...hopefully this weekend...I also noticed I didn't have the mics pointed toward the center of the drum head, and it seems I may not have adhered to the 3 to 1 rule on the overheads...everything else seemed ok distance wise though.

I have played with the recorded sounds I have already, I am ok with everything except the kick...that just sounds like garbage. I am getting his to cut a hole in the head. We tried removing it all together, but of course then you get the rattles.

I am lucky because I have a 'control room' and a recording room with very little bleed through, so if I WANTED to, I could use monitors even during tracking...but I still use headphones instead. I made some home made studio Kans for the recording room...they have worked great! The first recording I did I only had open headphones and the bleed through was annoying to say the least.

So, taking the argument that computer speakers are better, which type is better? I have a set of Harmon Kardon's with a sub woofer...or a sony single speaker with a bass exit if you will.
 
Because I am too poor also to buy any monitors right now. I use my computer speakers with sub and have learned what to add and what to take away to get decent mixes. I just burn a CD and listen to it in my car, home stereo, and other places to see what I need to change. I totally agree with Bear about mixing with headphones. Before I read the article he suggested I mixed a song totally with headphones and listened to it on other equipment and it was terrible. The eqs were all wrong and the panning was even worse.
 
I am lucky because I have a 'control room'

you're damn right about beeing lucky having a control room

a set of Harmon Kardon's with a sub woofer...or a sony single speaker with a bass exit if you will

Go with the set plus sub
'calibrate' you ears first with a CD you're familiar with.

did you try the e604 on the kick ?
think of it as a verry large tom. i did it once with ok results.

did you read the mic combination i wrote 2 u on my last reply
onthe 'aaaah. drums' topic.
If you got some time, do some 'expiriment' with drum recording

Good luck

Remco
 
ya, I am going to try some of those combo's...but I really didn't like the sound of that mic on the kick...I am going to try the b1 & b3 above the set, then maybe try an sm58 on the kick.
 
no monitors? next best thing...

Well...as previously stated...nothing will be better than monitors.
They give a response that is 'flat' such that all the frequencies sound the same more or less.
If you can't spend the 4-5 hundred bucks on a fairly good monitor pair...then there are a few
options you can use...some of which have been noted. Definately take advantage of all
the different speakers you have...make sure your mix sounds good on all of them...if they all
sound good...but on one set of speakers its too bassy...well...ya gotta take out some bass...and if you have headphones...use those as well...if you can cut your mix to tape or cd...go listen to it in your car stereo...
The problem with mixing on just one set of speakers...is that you will mix it to sound good on just those speakers...and normal listening speakers vary so much...that chances are it won't
sound good on another home stereo system. I have pretty decent computer speakers with a sub-woofer...and i could get my songs to sound great on them...but when i played on another system...it was WAY to bassy...so I would try to compensate...but it was such a pain making copies...and going to this system...then that one...etc...etc...i would suggest mowing a few lawns and saving up little by little...believe me...you will see a huge difference and it will be much easier...and you'll have much more time to be creative with your mixing!! Good luck!!
 
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