TRANSITION to STUDIO MONITORS.

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Man, I guess I should get real monitors. All I've got to work with is a pair of cheap Hitachi's coming out of my Realistic reciever. I'm scared to hear what my mixes REALLY sound like. :eek:
 
Man, I guess I should get real monitors. All I've got to work with is a pair of cheap Hitachi's coming out of my Realistic reciever. I'm scared to hear what my mixes REALLY sound like. :eek:

el oh el
bunch of jokesters around here :laughings:
 
I remember reading an article about a successful engineer and the first album he did he mixed on a pair of stereo speakers. He was worried that his mixes would be way off when played on "studio monitors". In the end they were fine.

I've seen speakers that were free or close to it at Salvation Army (big 60's Klipsch that I thought would work). After all, the Yamaha NS-10m's I use, probably the most common of all small studio monitors, are actually cheap home stereo speakers.

The first releases I did in the 80's were done on a set of Fostex computer speakers that were surprisingly accurate.

For me this whole thing is about songs, not recording.
 
I think that people are different.
I've noticed over a 25 or so year period that there are subtle differences brought out of exactly the same song on different equipment. Even yesterday as I was driving home from France, I heard stuff on some albums I've been listening to for 25 years that I'd not noticed before. Maybe it's the way the wind blows in France........
Even after a mix, the different things that I'll play stuff on sound, well different. Whether it was George Martin or Roy Thomas Baker or Tom Johnson that was the producer that's the case. Even when the CD player or tape deck is the same.
So in terms of monitors, it's a case of a new thing. It's like driving a van with a heavy clutch, then going to one with a light high clutch. Same essential process with different subtleties here and there.
I had read so much discussion about the differences between stereo speakers and monitors that I was a little nervy when I got monitors. When I first used them, everything sounded so 'raw' and somewhat clearer than my Gale stereo speakers. But I liked the sound. Now I just think of them as a set of speakers dedicated to my musical hobby. I daresay some people can and do get great mixes out of either.
When it comes down to it, I don't think you'll really have a problem if you get and use monitors. I think you'll adjust to whatever situation you're in because essentially, that's what human beings do ~ when they choose to.
 
No real transition but it is worth pointing out that the use of monitors will bring out other issues such as non treated or incorrectly treated rooms.
 
Monitor Speakers

Hello:

We used to mix on a pair of Dynaco A-25's at our old studio. Why, because it was cheap, good, and most home users used them for the same reasons. As time went on the Yamaha NS-10's became king. But they were so terrible that the tweeters had to be covered with toilet paper to be usable. They were used to replace the little cube speaker (forget name - air something) Then the monitor industry took off and the adver-men took over the Hype etc.

The bottom line is that almost everything you hear on todays monitors comes from the little 3/4 to 1 inch dome tweeter. The 5 - 6 inch woofer cut off is something like 150-400 hz or so. The rest 400 to 20K is up to the little tweeter. Made of mylar, or aluminum, I just can't see that this device can be very musical, compared to the 1.5 to 2 inch normal shaped cone speaks found in many computer speakers. So what are you really doing? Trading a 2 inch cone speaker for a 1 inch done squeeker?

If your mixes translate to others systems well, keep it that way, be happy, be really happy and stick with what works for you.
 
...the little cube speaker (forget name - air something)...

Auratone

The bottom line is that almost everything you hear on todays monitors comes from the little 3/4 to 1 inch dome tweeter. The 5 - 6 inch woofer cut off is something like 150-400 hz or so. The rest 400 to 20K is up to the little tweeter. Made of mylar, or aluminum, I just can't see that this device can be very musical, compared to the 1.5 to 2 inch normal shaped cone speaks found in many computer speakers. So what are you really doing? Trading a 2 inch cone speaker for a 1 inch done squeeker?

If your mixes translate to others systems well, keep it that way, be happy, be really happy and stick with what works for you.

The Yamaha data sheet for the NS-10 specifies the crossover frequency as 2kHz, which is typical of many two-way speaker systems, so, no, the tweeter is not doing anything meaningful at 400Hz. That is most definitely coming from the woofer. You theory is based on a misunderstanding of speaker design.
 
For me, the transition from a 5.1 satellite speaker to a 2 channel monitor system for pro-fessional musicians, was a huge difference. First, the imaging was a lot more clear, and then I was able to hear all the frequencies across the entire spectrum and things I've never heard before on just my home theatre system.

Sometimes it's as if the sound wasn't even coming from my speakers. Like say for instance, setting one channel in my mix from stereo to mono in my DAW would make it seem like the sound is coming directly from my computer screen.

Big transition for me!
 
I went to the store and compared the ROKIT 8'S and 6'S

I went home with the red limited edition 6's



I am a changed man forever.........
 
Congratulations man! You are definately changed forever now.

Did you leave your wallet at the store, saves carrying it with you after the endless trips back you will make buying that next piece of gear, chasin that dragon man!

Welcome to the dark side!:laughings:
 
Congratulations man! You are definately changed forever now.

Did you leave your wallet at the store, saves carrying it with you after the endless trips back you will make buying that next piece of gear, chasin that dragon man!

Welcome to the dark side!:laughings:



prolly only for some broadway panels. other then that I got all the gear I need for a long time ......unless they break, tornado hits or flash flood
 
If you provide some way to switch between the speakers you're used to and the new studio monitors you can speed up the adjustment to them. Mix the familiar way with your old speakers and occasionally check the mix on the new ones. Eventually transition to starting the mix on the new speakers and checking on the old ones, then finally wean yourself off the old ones.

Also, listen to a lot of music you like on the new monitors.

Presonus provides some hardware that lets you swich up which speakers you are using with a push of a button. up to 3 different speaker out puts, kind of cool, going from cpu speakers, to studio speakers, to your PA system quickly
 
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