LOL REFERENCE Monitors.....

I understand you "confusion" regarding a $4000 keyboard and a pair of old Alesis Monitor Ones. I have the same confusion when I learn of people paying $16,000 for a PMC BB5 Center speaker in a home surround system that was mixed on $3000 Genelecs!!!

They are what I have been using for many many years, I "know" them much like some producers "know" and carry around the old Yamaha NSMs to this day with (tissue on the tweeters.)to do mixes on.

(I do have a powered sub)

I think people need to understand what "reference monitors" mean,

When you first get a pair of monitors I don;t care if they are Klipsch, Radio Shack or Genelec you still need a reference when you first buy them or one may over compensate for the speaker's deficiencies to one's own ear. There are no "perfect" reference monitors. There are more "accurate" monitors but when one gets used to a pair they know the idiosyncrasies.

I used to use CDs recorded by whomever is closest to the type of song I am working on and track them for A/B next to my mix. I would ensure the "edge" frequencies match up with my mix. Its easy to over or under compensate for EQ on any monitor without the reference of a CD recorded in a $100,000 Studio.

But Over the years I got to know them and know where the frequencies should sit to sound ok on any system. Getting a pair of Genelecs or Any other monitor system now would have me starting all over to find thier reference. Im am to accustomed to the Alesis. In fact years ago, I did buy a pair of Mackie 824s years ago and EQ'd the Alesis to match them and them brought the 824s back. Now working in a Music store I can get any monitors at very good prices but I "know" these guys and they still do the job.

The bottom line is if you "know" your monitors and learned using references from professional recordings you can mix on any speakers. I have already replaced the tweeters twice on them (and have a few extras in my closet). I don't want to have to learn a new set of monitors.

Besides one of the beauties of the Yamaha Arrangers is they need very little EQ tweaking. They already sound like a CD much to many people's chagrin.

What you don't see is the Bose LT1 System my wife uses for her mixes (and the small PA speaker behind the Alesis as well) She prefers mixing on the systems she will actually use.




[This message has been edited by Kingfrog (edited 10-17-2008).]