Studio Speakers

  • Thread starter Thread starter Obsessive
  • Start date Start date
O

Obsessive

New member
What kind of speakers would I need for track playback, rehearsal and practice?
I'm looking for speakers that would be strictly used by the musicians, not recording studio monitor speakers. Example lets say I have a guitarist or a drummer working on a song, I'd like to be able to play recorded tracks for them to play along to inside the studio.
 
Sounds like you want PA speakers.

Google "PA speakers" or "Public Address speakers" and see what comes up. I know JBL makes good stuff.
 
I would advice an active floor monitor.. Maybe this. Cheap but powerful, if you want a better brand name you'll have to pay lots more than this but for just monitoring I'm sure this would be ok, can always return if it really sucks..
 
active wedge

I would advice an active floor monitor.. Maybe this. Cheap but powerful, if you want a better brand name you'll have to pay lots more than this but for just monitoring I'm sure this would be ok, can always return if it really sucks..:p
 
I have been told to go with several different speakers, mostly active near field monitors, which I don't think would work well. I'm looking at several active systems, mainly the QSC K8's with a sub woofer and Mackie HR824 monitors with
a sub woofer. Sixty percent of the experts I have spoken to have highly recommended the SRM450v2 active speaker, but when I looked into them I found some mixed thoughts about them. I also may be interested in a high quality passive system.
 
Obsessive said:
What kind of speakers would I need for track playback, rehearsal and practice?
I'm looking for speakers that would be strictly used by the musicians, not recording studio monitor speakers. Example lets say I have a guitarist or a drummer working on a song, I'd like to be able to play recorded tracks for them to play along to inside the studio.
Click to expand...

why did you ask this then? sounds like you know what you want. I would recommend a few smaller ones so you can use aux outs to give musicians different mixes in their monitoring.. Do you really need a sub what kind of space is it studio? :laughings:
 
Sorry if it sounds like I know what I'm looking for, just wanted you to know the options I have been considering. I went to G.C. today and listened to active and passive monitors. I was not very excited about what I heard, had that typical PA sound, undefined and more upper range.
 
If this is just for playing recorded tracks through, not the musicians (if I understand your original post right) why not go to Goodwill or Salvation Army and get some huge junkie/okay Kenwood, JVC, Optimus, Pioneer or Sony speakers. The huge pressboard stuff no one wants with a 15", mid and horn. I see stuff like that a lot and it's real cheap, like usually 10 or 20 bucks a speaker. No one wants these things around their house!

Just make sure the foam surrounds aren't deteriorated.

For playing along, sometimes it's cool to have more than 1 pair running.

I agree that playing tracks through regular pa speakers, like a 12" with a horn, almost always sucks big time.
 
I have been considering those lowFi monsters of the seventies, but I found the modern day equivalent on steroids.

The Cerwin-Vega XLS-215 - It comes with 2 - 15" woofers, its 54" tall and weighs 127 pounds!

The funniest part about it is that I might be ordering the Cerwin-Vega XLS-215's from Walmart! Believe it or not they have the best deal and here is why, no one will ship these Monsters for free, it cost around $75 per 127 pound speaker to ship. Walmart orders them into the local store of your choice, you pick them up and there is no shipping charge. You Just have to wait in the checkout line behind all the masses, fit them into your Mini Cooper and then sneak two 127lb speakers down the stairs past your wife.

Goodwill and Walmart, what a low rent blog.
 
If you've got the money those would probably be killer. You don't need to buy quality large home speakers new though - there's a zillion across the USA sitting in storage.

For me, I'd rather get something from Goodwill or Craigslist and put the money towards another Neumann or some Summit stuff since you'll never hear those speakers on a recording or at a gig - they're just scratch paper.

You might want to look at some JBL home speakers too, because I've found that they have a signature sound that sounds like a soft pillow and they don't wear your ears out.

I bought a pair of Infinity towers (made in the USA, something like $400 25 years ago) at Salvation Army for $20 and refoamed them for $40 - they're killer.
 
Considering using older model Hi Fi speakers is bringing me full circle from how this search started. I have been using these great Sony SS-M7A's HiFi speakers for years, I bought a new receiver with 120 watts rms per channel and cooked two of the mids and one of the woofers. I am thinking about having them repaired for about $200. If I do I'll get a sub and back the volume off of the Sony's. These are a blast to play my drums too, very articulate its like being on stage, they just need to handle a little more volume, maybe a good sub with them would work.
 
Those look like nice speakers but I'd have a hard time sinking $200 into them - you could probably do better with that $200 towards something on Craigslist. I like Sony stuff - it's doesn't irritate my ears.

Big home speakers are really a PIA for the people who are trying to sell them, they've usually been tripping over them for several years and will practically give them away. Buyers for stuff like that are scarce. Just look at the foam surrounds.

Playing drums along with a subwoofer is very happening, because finally you have the right ratio - the right amount of bottom.

Subwoofers they sell at auto stores could work - I've seen them ultra cheap at Checker Auto on sale, and you can get an automotive crossover like this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-...5489983QQptZCarQ5fAudioQ5fVideo#ht_3300wt_930
and power it off of an ac adapter and use any home receiver to power it. That particular one isn't great because the crossover frequency is too high. I'd aim for a crossover frequency of 50 or so. my kick's fundamental is around 38Hz (it's a 26" kick so it's low) so if the crossover is 80 then you get the fundamental AND the 1st harmonic so it sounds stupid.

You wouldn't believe how much difference getting a sub will make for playing along.
 
Is this just so the members of the band can play allong with recorded tracks just for practice ?? or is it to Play recorded tracks so the band can record accompanying Tracks ??

if it is the Latter then I recomend some headphones and a headphone amp , Why??

well if say you are Playing a Bass Track and are recording the drum tracks the bass that is comeing out of the speakers will bleed into the drum mics and muddy up the recording .... Just something to be aware off , and headphones are much cheaper .....

Cheers
 
Thanks for the great advice, I'll check for used equipment, I'm leaning towards the active QSC K10's or some set of passive speakers. I have a few months to decide while I build my studio.

Hello Minion,
Looking for a monitor system that will not be used for recording, but will be used for track development, rehearsal and practice. Looking for something that has great sound quality. I'm not interested in a monitor system that has typical PA monitor sound.
Thanks
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top