Save money for something else rather than monitors??

  • Thread starter Thread starter sai
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sai

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This might be a dumb question.

If I listen to my mixes on some good headphones, is that not enough (with the sonic clarity) to monitor.

Is it really worth spending hundreds of dollars on monitors (especially if I have to lower the volume to keep neighbours away)?
 
sorry man, but monitors is a ........................................


MUST HAVE!!!!

it's gonna worth every single dime you've spend on them :)

I'll let the others do the explaining... ;)
 
Leeking said:
sorry man, but monitors is a ........................................


MUST HAVE!!!!

it's gonna worth every single dime you've spend on them :)

I'll let the others do the explaining... ;)
Click to expand...

Wassup Leeking, My Asia-tci Brutha'!!! How's Lfe been tratin' you!? Good I hope!
 
sai,

Next to drive and desire - good high quality monitors should be around #3 on your must have list. For me - monitors are light years ahead of what recording app to use, what sound card, what mixer, what hard disk...etc etc.

Headphones are for tracking and listening to Pink Floyd after a pile of beers. Headphones are specifically designed to make everything sound good.

A wise man once told me about Headphone Mixing Lesson #4c - If your stuff sounds really good to you in your headphones - you can pretty much guarantee it will sound like crap to the rest of the world.

Dial up your tracks on a pair of pro studio monitors (like my Event 20/20 BAS) and see how they really stand up.

After all - this is as close as anyone will ever get to you music so make sure you do it justice so they can hear it all.

Cuzin B
 
If money is an issue, the M-Audio SP-5B monitors have had good reviews and they cost $300 US. You might want to check what they sell for where you live. If noise is a problem buy a small pair and use them at a low volume. Nearfield monitors are designed to be listened to at a close distance, maybe 5 feet away at the most.....that's why they are called NEAR field.

Fostex might have some affordable ones too.

I listen to my mixes and tracks many, many times on my monitors. If I did that with headphones my ears would fatigue very fast, and it's difficult to mix with tired ears because you lose objectivety.
 
I thought the same way and then said-- "fuck it" whent and pumped out $700 for a pair of ps-8's and i havent looked back yet. Sure i could of bought a rnc, a nice pre, and a better cond. mic, but it will only sound as good as the speaker its coming out of.
 
you really need to post a basic list of your main gear.....monitors ARE very important, but if you have a WalMart mic going into the mic input of a Soundblaster card, you probably will want speakers that lie to you.......

in other words, theres a delicate balance...if you have a decent mic,pre,and soundcard (or other recording medium), monitors is where you want to spend your money.......
 
Nothing will effect your mix more than your ears. Your monitors are your ears and they will be the most important part of your setup from now until forever. It was the first major item I bought when I started putting togeather my studio a few years ago and now as I upgrade to the next level monitor, it is still the most important thing.
 
My recording guy's friend is a bassist from the Bay Area, who came up doing some work with his friends Jay Howlett and Chuck McCabe... i think Ralph is the bassist's name... Anyways, he's got a good digital studio in the bay, and he came up and checked out my friend Richard's studio... first thing he said (the same thing I've been telling him) is that he needs a good pair of monitors (those of you who have listened to my old band's mp3s knows why)...

I know the value of good monitors... and i know that even like $300 is cheap... But i'm friggin' broke... I need something, honestly, under $100.... for now at least... Something that I can get by on... because I don't trust my PC speakers for the life of me... For those of us who are flat broke and are barely getting rent paid, any good "cheap-bastard" recommendations until I can eventually (who freakin' knows when hehehe) get a better pair?
 
I would stay away from the M-audio monitors. I dont know what they were thinking when they put those out. At the very minimum get the haflers with the TA1600 or the yorkvilles. The powered yorkvilles go for $400. I also happen to have a pair of events for sale for which could get you started. If youre really, really broke try starting out with a pair of auratones which you can find for around $100.
 
I’ve said it many times before, and I’ll be happy to say it many times more.

Speakers are the weakest like in your audio chain.

Even when comparing low priced studio electronics to high priced monitors, the monitors will almost invariably have the narrowest frequency range, smallest dynamic range, and highest distortion of any components – in fact, probably worse than the rest of the signal chain combined.

If you want any descent idea of what’s happening in your mixes, don’t skimp on monitors. Otherwise, you’re just shooting in the dark.

Besides the fact that headphones just don’t work for mixing, they’re also a little dangerous, especially when it comes to digital audio. I take an hour train ride to work, so I rough out my electronica mixes during that time using a laptop and headphones. Damn, if I haven’t come close to blowing out my ear drums a few times because the computer had a glitch and sent out full blast burst of noise. :(

barefoot
 
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