Re: [Bluemusic-users] Performance in Montreal

[Michael R. <mic...@sh...>]

> Also: Wow!  Wish I had a system like that Michael!  ^_^  And thanks
> for offering to audition pieces; after attending the second day of a
> conference on Music and Internet today, the one thing I left from the
> conference most on my mind was the idea of community and wanting to
> continue to work on growing this one.
>
>   
:-) well if I told the truth about ALL the equipment i own, it would be 
quite a bit more silly, but suffice it to say that it is a full project 
recording studio with some mastering capacity. I will never claim to be 
a Gnashville pro, but I do get by.

What follows is my 2cents (full value for the money) on monitors. You 
cannot master without them.

In addition to my big 3 way's I also have KRK V8s, which are ok for 
nearfield listening, and more or less pure velocity. They do color a 
bit, but it is very akin to typical small speaker stuff. They use woven 
Kevlar for the 8 inch speakers, producing more velocity than pressure. I 
use them to check articulation and velocity attack, since the big 
speakers tend to mask that sometimes. You don't always want a 6 or 8 
inch speaker sounding like a smack in the head, even if it sounds good 
on big speakers.

If I was starting over and wanted just one set of monitors I would pick 
the now practically industry standard Mackie HR824 pair. I know they are 
pricey, but worth every penny. You might audition some other speakers 
and think a particular song or style sounds better than the Mackies I 
recommend. This is a common accurate observation (well ok taste plays a 
role too, but I digress). Even so I suggest that you don't want monitors 
to make things sound good, you want monitors that sound accurate, so 
that what you create on them sounds good on any system they are played 
on. This is the essential skill of good mastering.