Monitor Question

[jdes]

I have a bedroom studio and I'm looking for some studio monitors. I'm into hip hop primarily and so my question is: would a subwoofer be required for producing?

I've been using PC speakers in the interim and they do not reproduce low frequencies. Studio monitors even though having a higher fidelity, I am afraid would still not reproduce that trunk rattlin' low frequency and thus be hit or miss.

I am considering 8" near fields or a 2.1 sub/near field combo. I'd prefer the least equipment and cheapest.

Lastly are there any 3-way near field monitors?

[mellodge]

M audio BX5a's are a popular choice in home studio's as are KRK's. The Hip hop thing is a little tricky, really I guess you need a sub, but it depends if its going to be played in clubs. You could compose on nearfields and then check the bass on a home entertainment system that has a sub. M audio do a sub for there BX lines as do KRK, but of course its more money. You could opt for the larger BX8 which puts out enough bass but, they are quite large which could be a concern if you got a small work area.. Peace....

[howie15]

I think you're missing the point of studio monitors. They aren't necessarily supposed to represent overly powerful bass. They are supposed to be as flat and as transparent as possible. Now if you make a mix with clean and punchy bass on transparent monitors, a system with a hyped low end will really shake. I just bought new monitors two weeks ago. JBL LSR 4328P's 8". I traded in my older LSR25P's and got 15% off at Guitar Center. $1226 out the door. I love these things. They have to be one of the first pieces of JBL gear that ISN'T hyped somewhere. I might add a sub later when I move into a bigger room, but these pump some pretty good bass. Out play the Mackie HR824's.

Some 8" (or so) monitors that are out there that weren't mentioned:

-The JBL's I mentioned
-Mackie HR824 mk2
-Adam A7's
-Mackie MR8
-Yamaha HS80M
-Samson Rubicon R8a
-M-Audio DSM2
-Dynaudio BM5a
-Behringer Truths 2031A


A little smaller, but a 2.1 system like the Blue Sky Media Desk system may work too.

I don't know what you consider cheap, but this list goes from about $359 a pair (the Behringers) to $1450 a pair.


Howie J

[jdes]

Originally Posted by howie15

I think you're missing the point of studio monitors. They aren't necessarily supposed to represent overly powerful bass. They are supposed to be as flat and as transparent as possible. Now if you make a mix with clean and punchy bass on transparent monitors, a system with a hyped low end will really shake. I just bought new monitors two weeks ago. JBL LSR 4328P's 8". I traded in my older LSR25P's and got 15% off at Guitar Center. $1226 out the door. I love these things. They have to be one of the first pieces of JBL gear that ISN'T hyped somewhere. I might add a sub later when I move into a bigger room, but these pump some pretty good bass. Out play the Mackie HR824's.

Some 8" (or so) monitors that are out there that weren't mentioned:

-The JBL's I mentioned
-Mackie HR824 mk2
-Adam A7's
-Mackie MR8
-Yamaha HS80M
-Samson Rubicon R8a
-M-Audio DSM2
-Dynaudio BM5a
-Behringer Truths 2031A


A little smaller, but a 2.1 system like the Blue Sky Media Desk system may work too.

I don't know what you consider cheap, but this list goes from about $359 a pair (the Behringers) to $1450 a pair.


Howie J

Thanks Howie for the info. I don't think I was mistaken. I don;t need my monitors to play overly-hyped lows, I just need them have a low frequency response; like 60hz maybe.

OR is there an easy work around?

[howie15]

No, unfortunately there is no easy work around to have things reproduce any frequency. Now, if you know the tendency of the speakers (hyped 1 k or lacking at 150, etc) you can mix knowing that and still get good mixes. The historic NS-10's are far from amazing sounding speakers. They were just the norm so everyone knew how they sounded and mixed accordingly. Easy? not always. Possible: yes. I will say that having a good system sure takes some of the guesswork out of it though.

You just have to go out and compare monitors and see what you like and how much you want to invest.

Remember that you could have the most amazing set of monitors and if your room isn't controlled, your monitors are not very effective.

Howie J

[jdes]

But how about the frequency response?! It seems you are saying that I can produce and mix southern hip hop with 4" near fields? Simply put don't I need low frequency response to produce in low frequencies.

[howie15]

In a word...no. Just because your speakers can't reproduce it, doesn't mean it's not in the signal. I could send a 20 Hz tone through a pair of cheap $20 PC speakers. They wouldn't reproduce it, but that doesn't mean that from a signal/electronic standpoint it isn't there. One of the best things that I've used to help me in mixes is the Waves PAZ Analyzer. ...or any real time analyzer plug in. If you have speakers that don't push the sound you need, an RTA will tell you what's going out your stereo bus. I'm not advocating to mix with your eyes, but in the middle of mix sessions, sometimes its nice to look up and verify what you think you are hearing.

Now, that whole discussion becomes less applicable as you get better and better speakers that WILL reproduce those tones. Although I still use the PAZ a lot. I have respectable hearing ability, but I can't always nail the exact frequency I'm looking (hearing?) for. I'm usually close, but the RTA lets you get surgically accurate in a hurry.

Howie J

[jeffsw6]

Originally Posted by howie15

I think you're missing the point of studio monitors. They aren't necessarily supposed to represent overly powerful bass. They are supposed to be as flat and as transparent as possible.

Quality studio monitors are certainly important, but don't let those perfect monitors be your only ones. If you're producing recordings for distribution to the public, you had better remember that those recordings will be played through everything from iPod headphones to cell phone speakers to home theater setups to over-driven car stereos with a subwoofer pointed at the lid of the trunk for that always-impressive, trunk-lid-vibrating wigger sound at every red light.

I'm not saying you should try to mix so your recordings sound best on those craptastic systems, but you should listen to them through a variety of monitors so you know what they will sound like. Go spend some time at a pawn shop.

[jdes]

Okay I understand. Also couldn't I move the sub hits up an octave or too then lower them after the mix?

[jeffsw6]

If you have a track just for "sub hits," I suppose you could do that with software. Keep in mind that your ear's perception of volume is not the same at all frequencies. If you are taking a prominent bass line and moving it up "an octave or two," you might need to attenuate that track some as well, or it will sound a lot "louder" than it's going to be in the final mix without the frequency shift.

Why you would want to do this instead of just buying a subwoofer is totally beyond me. If your budget is really that small then don't buy $600 studio monitors, buy cheaper ones and you'll have some money left to spend on a sub.