Are you mixing on nearfield monitors?

[DupleMeter]

All speakers lie. A good engineer knows how they are lying and compensates accordingly.

That said, I tend to stick to playback systems that are within 1dB at 35Hz. Low E on a bass is roughly 41 Hz, so I feel safe with that. Yeah, you may not be hearing a low B (which is around 31Hz) on a 5 string or a C extension on a double bass (which is around 33Hz)...but if you deal with that enough you may need to consider a properly tuned sub or big 3-way speakers.

One thing a smaller speaker will do is reveal issues in the mids that a larger speaker may smooth out.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by Al Acuff

I'm green with jealousy. When you get your speakers out in free space on stands like that it makes a big difference. You're lucky to have that room. Nice monitors! It looks like you're all set.

Here's where I track and mix. It's a lot of fun!

PS. I see we agree on the most important thing. The mixing desk should red. Do you find red makes your mixes sound louder? LOL.

Yes and also a red desk brings up the passion for the music ratio by at least 25%

The fact that I had almost full sheet of red and a 1/2 sheet of black melamine might of had a little bit to do with it

[MikeBmusic]

Originally Posted by Al Acuff

What I took away from the post by Bob Katz is that in small a home studio there's no point in questing after that holy grail nearfield monitor everyone wants to sell you.

Nearfield monitoring is imperfect by definition so just get you some speakers and learn their weaknesses and strengths and get on with the creative work.

"Learn your monitors" is the adage. Listen to other music on them. Then play your mixes on other systems to see how they translate.

I, too, wonder when Katz write that - a majority of people don't listen on home 'systems' any more. Earbuds, phones and computer speakers are the norm.

And most home studio people don't have the room for midfields, either. Lucky you, if you do!

[Gordon Currie]

What Bob Katz says is true, but it really does not apply to most people on this forum. Context matters.

My little project studio room is 12 x 15. Rooms of that size have horrible LF modes and are highly resistant to sound control. Even if you put the $ and time into sound control, the best you can achieve is a reduction in negative effects.

Nearfield monitors help here because, by their nature they reduce the contribution of the room to the playback you hear.

I used Mackie HR-824 monitors for awhile, but found they are FAR TOO BIG for the room size. I replaced them with Equator D5s and have never had my home mixes translate this well, EVER.

[Gordon Currie]

Originally Posted by DupleMeter

One thing a smaller speaker will do is reveal issues in the mids that a larger speaker may smooth out.

Absolutely. Accurate midrange is king. When I finally used speakers that are critically accurate in the midrange, my mixes improved drastically.