Why do my recordings sound so different??!!

  • Thread starter Thread starter antofants
  • Start date Start date
A

antofants

New member
I just got a new mini-home studio set-up going. When I do a mix on the Alesis Monitor One speakers I have (powered by a Peavey M-2600 amplifier), the mix sounds decent. However, when I play the same recorded mix back through a standard stereo system (which is in the same room)it sounds like poop! I've tried a couple different tape bias and I don't think that's the problem necessarily. Any body else have problems like these using Monitor Ones? Is it my amplifier? Any suggestions whatsoever? HEEELLP!!!!
 
Learn your monitors, listen to all kinds of music thru them ,your fav CDs.Also try using some bookshelf speakers and A B them towards the end of your"final" mix.Pro studios have been doing this for years....cheap speakers such Auratones were the standard for "real world" referance .
 
Yo Antofantastic:

Try your mixed tape on someone else's playback system; if it is still murky, you might have an amp problema? I also have Alesis 1 monitors tied into a pair of Infinity speakers; but, my amp is a Yamaha integrated amp that runs my entire recording system; thus, the input mix goes through the amp and I hear it in the speakers; then, I mix it down to tape and do this using a Sony ES dual tape deck which has an automated input or manual. My problem is getting the mix too hot and clipping a bit; so, I usually do a couple of mixes and try to get it loud but not twisted.

Keep twiddling the dials,

Green Hornet
 
I have no monitors. I have 4 pairs of speakers, three pair to the amp, and of course the comp speakers which are better than the ones I used to have. On the amp, I playback thru a pair at a time checking out the sound because they all have different ranges and sizes. But after I do that, I also playback in the car and on a cheap sony boombox....you'll be surprised what you'll hear that you can fix.....gibs
 
What are these Auratones I keep hearing about ? Any info, links ..etc ?
 
BigKanuha:

Just a problem: you can roll over a Peavey amp with a truck, it won't break it! I know, my father rolled over my Peavey Supreme 160 guitar head a few years ago and I still gig with it. :)
 
I havent seen them in a few years .I used to see them all the time .Radio Shack used to sell somthing similar too.They are small...the cabinet is about6"X6" or so, single speaker that is about4.5 ".
 
Do other recordings sound like crap on the other playback system (not the Alesis M1s)?
I'd check out your mix on another stereo just to be sure. It can't be your monitors, I've heard M1s first hand and they sound pretty impressive.
What are you mixing to .. tape? If so, don't encode any noise reduction on it ... maybe your playback deck doesn't support the same format (that's a shot in the dark, though).
Get your favorite CD and play it through your M1s and then through the playback stereo ... if you get a similar effect ... then, the problem is with the playback stereo. In which case, leave it alone ... that is the system you want to make the mix sound good on, not the M1s. Chances are real good that people will play your mix on much worse systems than that.

I have to be honest, though ... I really really really want to blame your Peavey amp. I have yet to find any Peavey gear that is suitable for a recording application (other than perhaps the VMP2 preamp or VCL2 comp).
Here, try this ...
Grab the amp/receiver from the other playback system and use that to feed your M1s and see if it sounds any better (make sure your power/impedence matches).
If it sounds better ... get in your truck (or a friend's truck) and roll over that Peavey once or twice ... that should fix the problem. :)

Good luck!



[This message has been edited by BigKahuna (edited 03-10-2000).]
 
hey guys!

Thanks a bunch for all your help with the monitors and stuff. I'm still working the kinks out but I'm definetly on the right track. Thanks for all your help!!!!
 
Ah yes...Auratones. This is the truth about Auratones--these are cheap crappy sounding speakers that became the more or less official standard crappy sounding speakers for professional recording studios. When they wanted to see how their mixes would sound on little transitor radios (we're going back a ways here folks) they'd run the mix through the Auratones, knowing that the vast majority of their magnificent mixes would be compressed by AM radio stations and played back through $25 transistor radios.

(Maybe this explains Yamaha NS10s as well--ok I'm gonna duck now.)
 
Got sidetracked--I was gonna respond to Antiphant's problem. Here's a very likely scenario try turn the Dolby off on all your decks, both when recording and playing back. Consumer level Dolby is garbage and will make your recording sound like it's been pumped through a wet pillow.
 
I have to agree with Tapehead. I haven't used dolby NR on my cassette decks in years. They will suck the life out of a recording. Now on my 4 track, of course I used it--I had to get rid of my amp/preamp noise for my guitar (I used Peavey amps!). Now, I use a POD--pretty quiet (except for its compressor) so I don't worry as much. I also use a digital recorder (Fostex FD-4) which doesn't use dolby NR so I now use the noise gate/expander on my dbx 266 compressor (and this is the cheap one) and almost all of my noise is gone, and the noise that isn't is usually my mistake. Let me tell you, using a noise gate instead of dolby B or C NR has brought some awesome life to my recordings. I am literally amazed.

Peace, Jim
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top