Okay, I'm gonna make this one nice 'n swift.

Having tried producing with a set of surround speakers, originally bought for gaming purposes, I've come across the conclusion that no sane man can get anything decent out of any program with them.

If you really want to enjoy producing, don't try getting there with crappy monitors. Save up, that's what I'll do next...

*running a search on monitor-related threads*

I don't think you'll find too many people disagreeing about this topic.

: )

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Business is very food.

I certainly won't argue, but I'll add that you can do quite well with a good pair of headphones too. If you need to remain friends with your neighbours for example..

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-Treo-

art of trance - breathe (dawnseekers rmx) +fav

Absolutely. I don't have good monitors, but I do have a pair of nice headphones, Sony 700s. They're DJ'ing headphones and as a result aren't honest about a lot of the frequencies, but once you know where you should and shouldn't be boosting they are quite nice.

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"When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading."

As long as you know the sound, the flaws and the limitations of what you are using and cross reference them with other stuff there shouldnt be a problem.

You dont need a set of Ns10ms or genelecs to make a good mix

The problem with headphones is the low end. You can mix a track that sounds wonderful on headphones, then play it on a system with subs, and you have a big, fat muddy mess, or no bass at all. While I agree you can do a lot of the mixing and tweaking on headphones, when it comes to the bass, you have to use quality monitors, with a sub, IMO.

I must agree. I have a crappy pair of sony headphones (mdr-cd270) and a pair of altec lansing speaker with only the left side working. lol. I have to say that having more than 128mb ram [ie, what I have) is a little bit higher on the priority list.

I've also read about a problem that if you produce with headphones, you can't hear the right channel with your left ear (and visa versa) like you can with speakers.

i use both my speakers and headphones, headphones are excellent for picking up unwanted noise such as clicks and hiss, but are bad for picking up bass and stereo seperation.

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quote:

Originally posted by NeoPhono The problem with headphones is the low end. You can mix a track that sounds wonderful on headphones, then play it on a system with subs, and you have a big, fat muddy mess, or no bass at all. While I agree you can do a lot of the mixing and tweaking on headphones, when it comes to the bass, you have to use quality monitors, with a sub, IMO.

Fortunately I have the soundsystem at my clubnight to deal with the low-end for me =P As great as a good pair of monitors are, they don't beat a $50,000 dollar REALLY LOUD soundsystem, hehe.

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"When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading."

quote:

Originally posted by dj-sean Fortunately I have the soundsystem at my clubnight to deal with the low-end for me =P As great as a good pair of monitors are, they don't beat a $50,000 dollar REALLY LOUD soundsystem, hehe.

True, but from an audio standpoint, I find many club sound systems to be very lacking as far as audio quality (not necessarily saying yours is). The "big" club in my area, which see acts like Tiesto, Corsten, etc. has a horrible, expensive sound system. It pumps out big, muddy lows and clipped, distorted highs. It makes me angry to listen to such great music on such a crappy, yet expensive sound system. I can only take so much distorted high hats and vocals and low end that rumbles instead of punches (a shit load of bass does not equal good bass, why can't club owners figure this out?).

Although I can understand where mastering something to a club sound system would benefit you while playing in a club, I cringe to think of what it would sound like in a "normal" stereo or other setting. I think that's what a good pair or studio monitors gets you, a mix that will sound good on a wide variety of mediums. My Event 20/20 bas's along with a 20/20/15 sub give me plenty of options as far as both high, mid and low end that I think sound good in everything from my car to a club.

Yeah I know exactly what you're talking about. The system at the club I play at isn't exactly the best thing in the world, and it too probably provides a lot of dishonest response. However, the goal of my production is to make tunes that sound good at the club so that I can play them there for a sizeable dancefloor without people thinking "wow the bass in this song sucks", or whatever; as long as it sounds good there I'm not particularly interested in how it sounds elsewhere.

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"When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading."

I feel really sad now with my $50 speakers and $25 headphones. Oh and I forgot, my onboard soundcard.

I WANT MONEY

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