2 tips on headphones/ moniters for home recording

tv_g

Active Member
VIP Junglist
Joined
Jun 25, 2004
Location
LA
I have exams to study for tomorrow -> thus the perfect time to check the web. :fag:

Electronic Musician's Studio Buyer's Guide deals strictly with studio recording, but they have a couple a lengthy articles on headphones and reference moniters.

what I got out of it that should help me mix in my bedroom:
higher frequencies sound much brighter through headphones (I kinda knew this already). But they also said this increase in brightness tires the ears faster; again why it is good to break often during final mixing.

the article on moniters is cool, discusses the history and the technology, but for those of us who can't afford moniters and use plain stereo speakers:
try to equalize your stereo as best as possible so that when given a sound equally covering all frequecies, the speaker outputs all frequencies at the same level. uh i guess you can do this by recording your speaker with a microphone (if you know how to eq your mic settings).
otherwise it is just important to know that most home stereos boost hi & low end frequencies, meaning your mids get covered. :spliff:
 
Last edited:
iamahistorian said:
just get some monitors, you can get a pretty good pair for £200-£300.

really? where? i thought monitors started at £300, but decent ones would be at least £500. either way, i'm payin' for college and basically stay at a nice level of flat broke :(
 
Monitors do not start getting good, and you don't get a flat response unless you start at around £900. To me there is no difference between a fat Hi-Fi and monitors for up to £900. You need some Mackie 824's
 
Dr. Ophalus said:
Monitors do not start getting good, and you don't get a flat response unless you start at around £900. To me there is no difference between a fat Hi-Fi and monitors for up to £900. You need some Mackie 824's
not neceserily...obviously the mackie ones will give you the perfect monitoring.
But even if you splash out around 300 quid for a pair of Alesis an a power amp, that should be enuff for a project/home studio.
 
This is an issue that it is almost impossible to get everyone to agree on. A lot depends on your use, the type of work you are doing. If you are just fucking around at home writing beats for your own enjoyment then cheaper monitors or decent home stereo speakers are fine. If you are writing for something more than just your own fun then you NEED monitors. I dont really know what prices are like over there, nor can i convert GPB to AUD off the top of my head. But its a safe assumption that the cheaper gear here is also the cheaper gear there. I listened to the Tapco S8's today and would rate them as being very, very close to the Mackie 824's. And in the same price bracket as say the Truth's (roughly 1/3 to 1/2 the price) I seriously rate these speakers. If we actually dealt in the UK i'd say hit up our site, but we dont so i wont. The whole area of monitoring is so huge that there isnt much point trying to cover it now as every point quickly leads to three others and I'd be typing for ever. And I would seriously not consider myself an authority on the subject.
One of the best articles I'ce come across on this subject is in Future Music ish 152 sept 2004. If you want to know more about monitoring hit up their website and order it as a back issue. Very worthwhile.
 
Back
Top Bottom