Compensating w/o Near Field Monitors

[Hi-Lo]

Right now I don't have the money for a set of good NFM's although I should in a few months, so I'm working off of some JBL Monster computer speakers (the 3 piece set w/ subwoofer). The sound is pretty solid but I know these speakers colorize my sound and one of the things I'm wondering about is if there is a good way to understand exactly how your speakers, if you dont have NFM's, affect your mix.

I've tried the thing of playing my mixes on my car stereo and other systems, but the problem is I find when I fix the mix on one system (like say turn the bass up if it doesnt sound right in my car) it can throw it out of whack, at least to some extent, on another system. Maybe the question I'm asking can't be answered, but does anyone know a good resource where I can learn about how to understand how to compensate for my speakers in my mixing process?

 

[Sanova]

pfft.. i'm rockin a pair of broken headphones.. I can only hear out of one ear 98% of the time and i dont think my stuff sounds that bad. lol

dont waste ur money on stuff u dont ACTUALLY need.

Need. not want.

however.. if you feel u do need some good monitors, then by all means.

I just try to fuck wit some EQing, multiband compressing, and harmonic balancing to get my shit to sound the same on all venues

 

[Hi-Lo]

pfft.. i'm rockin a pair of broken headphones.. I can only hear out of one ear 98% of the time and i dont think my stuff sounds that bad. lol

dont waste ur money on stuff u dont ACTUALLY need.

Need. not want.

however.. if you feel u do need some good monitors, then by all means.

I just try to fuck wit some EQing, multiband compressing, and harmonic balancing to get my shit to sound the same on all venues

i hear that, but part of my question that i should have clarified is that if i could just understand how my speakers color my mixes better, i wouldn't need monitors and I could get something more important

you know a lot more about this than I do, but one thing I will say is, every producer i've talked to, every good studio i've been to, etc, its clear to me that really being able to hear your mix is a really important thing. if what you got works for you then its all good, im just saying for me personally, this is why i think i need some..

i've been told by just about everyone to never mix on headphones (blown hearing and you can't really hear how a stereo mix should sound). so for the first time last week i started making beats without the solid pair of headphones i got, and i make this beat that sounds crazy right? i come back the next night, and im sitting back in my chair sitting there like, somethings off. then i realized, just by moving my body back 2 feet or so, the organ i was using sounded wayyy different from the same set of speakers. that kind of made me realize all this stuff i hear about understanding the dynamics of a room and getting real monitors might just be on point..so at least for the time being im just trying to see if there's some resources that can help me to understand how to figure out how these speakers change my mixes, that's all. but anyway good looking on the advice, and i hear what you're saying about not wasting money...i just gotta figure out what will make the most difference in my music for the least money i guess.

 

[NobleWordz]

The placement of speakers and room treatment is overlooked by a lot of people.

If you cant hear what is going on in the mix how can you fix it? Just like you i'm looking into getting monitors and my room treatment here are a few good links I came across;

- How sound travels in your studio -
- Speaker placement -
- Mixing with headphones (pros and cons) -


~NW~

 

[Ash Holmz]

i mixed without monitors for years ... looking back my mixes werent that bad but i did alot of adjusting and "guessing" ... esp the low end .. without proper monitoring u have basically no idea whats going on down there... looking back my mixes had a lil too much on the low end... but regardless of ur tools u gotta make the best of your situation ... basically u have to a/b alot .. and use commercial cds as a refernce for balancing ur intruments .. and def check ur shit on diffrent speakers ... monitors and room are without a doubt the most essential(and overlooked) tools a mixer or producer can have ..... ive had mixes that were on point in my room ... took them to a big studio and seconds after playing it im noticing things wrong ... bass/kick relation ship .... snare too hard ...whatver.. .. my room isnt a "good" room for monitoring but i try to make the best out of it cuz i live in a brownstone and space is a premium in nyc ... but if u got the space, first thing u should do is get ur room treated and buy the best monitors u can afford 4 real...

 

[Hi-Lo]

The placement of speakers and room treatment is overlooked by a lot of people.

If you cant hear what is going on in the mix how can you fix it? Just like you i'm looking into getting monitors and my room treatment here are a few good links I came across;

- How sound travels in your studio -
- Speaker placement -
- Mixing with headphones (pros and cons) -


~NW~

good lookin man!

 

[MakeTunes]

Yeah Eddie at Samplecraze has a whole bunch of useful guides and tutorials on his site. A lot of reading material there thats for sure.

 

[thedreampolice]

Your nearfields are the most important part of your setup period.

 

[GregQuality]

I always test my joints at BestBuy or Circut City on all there stereo's.I figure that's were most people buy there electronics,so if it sounds good.It's fine

 

[mp3]

aight first thing you gotta do is understand the frequency range. Like what does too much 300Hz sound like? What frequencies are missing when it sounds dull. Try taking a parametric eq and boosting one band by like 18dB and sweeping it across the frequency spectrum while one of your beats (better yet do ten beats) is playing. Then cut by 18dB and do it again. Play with the Q. Then you gotta try and figure out what frequencies your speakers are emphasizing and de-emphasizing. It'll be easier in the bass to low mid range because basically you'll come across resonant frequencies that will just jump out way louder.

Also room treatment is more important than the speakers you put in them. Remember that. go get some Auralex from GC and some double sided tape from Home depot and thank me later. You shouldn't have to spend no more than $150. Buy it a bit at a time if you need. This is coming from somebody who used to hate my $700 Event 20/20s before I moved to a new spot and treated the room.

You wanna cover the wall directly behind the speakers, to the left and right of the speakers (get your girl to move a mirror around on the wall and sit where you normally sit and when you can see the speakers in the mirror that's where you put the foam) and the same for the ceiling over the mix position. Throw some bass traps in the corners to your left and right. If you got a bookshelf or wax-shelf put it on the back wall directly behind where you sit. If you're a cheap DIY'er you can get Owens Corning 703 panels in 2x4 ft pieces and wrap them in burlap.

Also, I'm sure you prolly listen to a lot of other music on your speakers but next time, analyze it instead of enjoying it. Training your ears takes a lot of work.