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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Feb 2015
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Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 326 |
I have been mixing on a pair of Bose 301's, but found a pair of JBL Arc 30 at a yard sale and decided to give them a try, they are similar to the 4311's that were always the main mix monitors at the studios I worked at (Electric Lady, Secret Sound). I called up two finished mixes and went through the instruments, it seemed like I had better control with the JBL's, more subtle tweaks to the eq and effects sends. Basically, it seemed like everything sounded good on the Bose, and the JBL's are more picky.
What do you mix on?
ProTools 12, Faderport 8, Melodyne, JBL monitors, Novation UltraNova, Yamaha MX49, Stratocaster, Telecaster, Rickenbacker 12, Ovation 12, Vox VT20X amp
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: May 2000
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I use a few different monitors to check mixes on (including a couple JBL systems), but in the heat of the battle I usually use my M-Audio BX8 Deluxe to work/mix with (later runs have more reliability) ..
The key is to learn your monitors and what a mix should sound like on them. The transfer to different monitors/systems will always sound different, but if you *know* your main mixing monitors you will know how to adjust the mix.
FWIW I moved away from Bose speakers for mixing many many years ago.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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I would think it would be really hard to mix on the direct reflecting nature of the Bose 301 speakers.
You will by nature get a bunch of room interaction with the 301s because of the off axis driver arrangement. This COULD be the source of them making things blend more than the JBLs.
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Feb 2015
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Journeyman
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Have you ever analyzed the output from your 301's? Nice sounding stereo speakers, but, lots of coloration. KRK rocket 6 G3s
Last edited by dga; 05/16/16 07:22 AM.
"When you help somebody else you are really helping yourself"
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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All speakers have some sort of coloration regarding the music..... but supposedly, the studio reference speakers have less..... if you believe that I have some ocean front property to sell you in Arizona....
You gotta mix with what you have, but using stereo speakers, no matter how well respected the manufacturer, isn't the best idea. All stereo speakers and even the PA speakers are designed to be biased when you really need as flat a response as you can get. Bose sdounds good, but again, they have a distinct sound coloration.
I use a pair of Mackie MR-5's with a Polk Audio sub. Simply because they were all cheap....well I should really say... affordable.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Feb 2015
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Journeyman
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I started with just a set of 2 monitors. I didn't have money for a bass/low speaker. So I got used to mixing with just 2 speakers.
If I could have afforded them I would have gone to the KRK 8's. With the 8's and 10's I don't think I would ever add a bass.
But, Herb is much more experienced than I. If he says get the Bass speaker, maybe you should get it right from the start.
My personal preference in the affordable Monitors is KRK as I have used them since they first came out, solid and durable. At the beginning they were super affordable.
Last edited by dga; 05/16/16 05:29 PM.
"When you help somebody else you are really helping yourself"
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Feb 2015
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Journeyman
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OP
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For me the acid test is to take a ride in my car (2011 Lexus IS-F) and listen to the mix. If it sounds good in the car, it's done.
ProTools 12, Faderport 8, Melodyne, JBL monitors, Novation UltraNova, Yamaha MX49, Stratocaster, Telecaster, Rickenbacker 12, Ovation 12, Vox VT20X amp
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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KRK's here. I tried some Bose 301's as monitors that I'd previously used with a small audio setup. They didn't work for me at all. I was constantly boosting the bass and other frequencies but then finding that the mix was awful on other systems. FWIW, if a mix sounds "right" on the self powered flat response KRK's then it sounds the same on the other systems. At least to my old ears it does.
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! Our Videos
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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The Bose 301s and any of Bose's 'Direct/Reflecting' speakers would be very challenging speakers to use as monitors.
Here's a photo of the 301 model with the grille removed. You can see that the drivers point every which way - which might fill a room with mid and high frequency sound, but that is not what one wants with monitor speakers. The point of monitors is to direct sound right at your listening position, not off axis to your position.
I'm a fan of Bose in general. For many years, I used Bose 401 and then 801 speakers as main speakers for a choir I was in and also ran sound for in the 1980's. Nearly bullet proof.
But this design of having the dual tweeter drivers point in 2 different axes than the big driver, will end up with the loudest path coming by reflecting sound off of surfaces before getting to your ear.
You want the direct path from driver to ear to always be the shortest path when making mixing decisions, not a reflected path being loudest, which is what you would get with the 301 speakers.
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For me the acid test is to take a ride in my car (2011 Lexus IS-F) and listen to the mix. If it sounds good in the car, it's done. Yeah, that's one of the tests we do also. 2014 Subaru with Harmon Kardon system and a small sub. Throw in a little road noise and if all holds together we're good.
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! Our Videos
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I must confess I haven't actually bought any monitors for over thirty Years!
For everyday work I use an old pair of Tannoy Mercury Mk2s, but for critical listening I put it through the old Tannoy Super Reds - a 15in dual-concentric time-aligned speaker in a large and very heavy cabinet. Of course, I still have the Auratones which were ubiquitous in studios back in the day. If a mix can sound good on those, it will sound good on anything!
Amps are Yamaha for the Mercurys, Quad for the Reds and Tandy for the Auratones.
Of course, because so much music is listened to on cans these days, I always check mixes on the Sennheiser phones.
I'm sure monitors have improved over the last thirty years, but I feel really comfortable with the Tannoys and can't bring myself to re-train my ears.
ROG.
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