music studio,monitoring,electronic music,music demos,audio
Monitoring in a music studio is, quite simply, the most important part of the studio set up. Your studio may contain the most advanced equipment available, but without accurate monitoring, you will never hear an accurate mix, which is kinda pointless, isn’t it?!
So, what’s the difference between a good pair of hi fi speakers and true studio monitors?
Well. hi fi speakers exaggerate the lows, and often the highs, to create maximum impact. This can be good to listen to, but it’s seldom accurate. Studio monitors are designed to be very accurate to insure a real reproduction of what’s actually being recorded. They’re also built to much sturdier and exacting standards than hi fi speakers, to cater for the vigourous demands of studio use.
Monitors must be very transparent sounding to enable you to mix parts of the music like vocals, bass and even reverb trails without each part colliding into one and other.
To fully understand the concept of monitoring, you must understand that it’s an art. It’s more than just conveniently placing a pair of speakers in the room.
We’re all different, as are studio monitors, and we use the ones with which we’re most comfortable and can best judge the mix. I’ve used Yamaha NS10s, Dyn-Audio and Tannoys over the years, but have settled with a pair of Alesis M1 active for near-field monitoring and a pair of Alesis Monitor Two’s for midfield monitoring. They’re my personal preference and what I’m used to. There are more expensive monitors available on the market, but surprisingly accurate results can be achieved with less expensive monitors just by following a few simple rules.
