Using Computer Speakers to Mix

[innoverse]

I've been producing for about a year lately, and doing everything in the box. And I literally mean In the box; I'm using the built in computer speakers to mix on the newest 21.5 inch iMac. I've been feeling pretty bad about this lately, since everything sounds okay on the computer speakers until I play it on a better sound system. Then, it's shit.

Any recommendations for some decent monitors/speakers that will allow me to mix better on a budget?

[kesslerjesus]

three important things to take into consideration when you want to mix better:

1. Acoustic treatment
2. AD/DA converters
3. Monitors

You'll find that those three things depend on each other, meaning that even if you get decent monitors on a budget (event tr6's or krk rokit 6's come to mind), your ability to hear things properly will depend a lot of on your room.

if your room is not acoustically treated, even a nice pair of monitors won't help much, because the reflections and bass buildup will not allow you to get a clear image of your mix.

I would suggest getting a nice pair of headphones like the Audio Technica ATH-M50s. I know it's not suggested to mix on headphones, but if your room isn't treated, they would be your best bet.

I monitor using dynaudio bm6's in a treated room, but whenever I do late night touch-ups, I don't mind using my ATH-M50 headphones. They get pretty close to getting me 2/3 of the way on leveling out mixes.

Hope the info helps.

But if you decide to go the monitor route, you can consider: yamaha hs50's, event tr6's, krk rokit 6's. most of those pairs would run you 300 new or 150-200 on the used market. The event tr6's being my pick of that bunch because most of the mixes i did on em sound pretty good on my new monitoring set up.

[onespecial]

i use JBL 4208. real cheap. real good.. got em from craigslist or the ebay.
passive thought so you'll need an amp.

and of course-my tastes are not your tastes.

[Dr. Mordo]

My suggestion will be a little sacrilegious, and many people would disagree. But I have had very good results with this simple technique. And, yes, I'd be willing to bet the main reason your mixes sound bad is your monitoring environment.

The ghetto solution is to get a good set of full size speakers, whether they be monitors or just a nice set of modern home audio speakers. What is important is a wide frequency range so you can hear what's going on above 10khz and below 150hz. Then hook them to your computer using some kind of amp, whether it be a pretty decent receiver or just a power amp. Set the speakers up so they form an equilateral triangle with the two speakers and your computer chair as the corners.

Then listen to other people's music through them for a couple of weeks. You have to get familiar with what a good sounding reference recording sounds like in your mixing space. And by listen, I mean sit in a chair in the sweet spot and listen. Don't do anything else but absorb how it sounds. Also, play albums that are masterpieces of sound in the genre you will be mixing in. If you bought a receiver with eq, don't be afraid to set the eq on the amp to make it sound good when listening to a reference recording. But never change it after that, or you slew your frame of reference. Set it to a brilliant mix, and then leave it alone.

After a couple of weeks of listening, start mixing again, but be ready to listen to your reference at any moment to reset your ears to how things are supposed to sound.

Also, I highly recommend using a metering plugin. I'm not a Apple guy so I don't have a recommendation, but if you search here I'm positive you'll find some recommendations.