I'd like to get some input on this, since a lot of you know a lot more about this than I do.



Any suggestions on monitors?

How do you feel about drum modules (Snaxie I is looking at you)?

All I can sez is... that's a great speaker combination for the Bassman.

Looks like a fucking excellent set-up for recording rock n' roll, homie.

Whats your budget for monitors?

Everything is best mixed through a nice set of head phones anyways.

Headphones lie, friend. If you mix through 'phones, your result will be bassy mud.

Budget = Best Bang for the Buck.

I am willing to pay more if the quality justifies the price difference.

Im merely basing that on mixing electronic music, not anything having to do with guitar. Dont listen to me, Im dead today

That's a fine collection of gear. And remarkably similar to some of my collection here at Snaxodrome II.

Honestly, as far as drum modules are concerned, I'd pick up... more or less anything and send it via MIDI to software. Way more versatile. DMPros are cheap and better than DM5s. The current crop of Roland units aren't bad at all, sound-wise. But I mostly- vastly- prefer software for drum sounds. Synths... I'm actually kinda partial to hardware. It seems to sit better in a mix. I do really love software for crazy ambient pads and sampling, but I digress. Roland makes a nice trigger-to-MIDI converter, but I'd pick up a hardware drum brain to have its sounds accessible and MIDI the thing up for the e-drums.

I'm honestly really fond of some of the sounds on the DMPro. I still use my Alesis QS6 for drum sounds on occasion. There's some fucking cool kits on there that other pieces don't have. I support Alesis synths as a whole. They make nice stuff that, while not totally under the radar, isn't quite as big a name as some of the others.

Re: headphones vs. monitors- you need a nice set of headphones and nice speakers. And shit headphones and shit speakers. Imperative. Get them, and learn them.

Mixing rock-and-roll on headphones exclusively has gotten me some really nice tones with really fucked-up mixes. It's not the bass (probably due to the Sennheisers and my knowing that they seem bass-shy but actually have monster bass that's not distorted and compressed) but the spatial relationships and levels. Stuff I've mixed on 'phones sounds bone-dry through speakers, the kick isn't nearly as present as it should be...

HD280Pros are really great for getting your low end right. They are tight and clear down to EIGHT GODDAMN HURTZ, GODDAMN. They also are sorely lacking in the midbass. My monitors- actually some old hi-fi speakers- kinda compensate for that in that that's the one area where they're not superflat. When I've got the low mids/midbass right on those and I can hear everything loud and clear on the Senns, I know I've got it.

Actually, no I don't. I'll reference on computer speakers, cheesy headphones, and the speakers on my Macbook Pro. If I can still make out everything and it still sounds... as good as it's gonna through that... then I've got it.

I reference on a $20 Durabrand boombox, a couple different sets of beastly 10" and 12" floorstanders, and the factory system in a Trailblazer, and the Polk system in my truck. Sometimes through a TV if I'm not totally sure on the mids.

Also, re: synth controller- if you don't have one already, pick up a Novation board. All of the ones with the onboard synth have the same synth engine, so you can load all the same patches. The X-Station/A-Station/Bass Station (I wanted a Bass Station pretty damn bad back in the day) patches are really fucking nice. You get a controller and a legit synth for cheep if you look around. It does the analog modeling thing, IMO, better than the Korg stuff, and I'm very intimately familiar with the MicroKorg and MS2000. As in I've used and gigged with them in bands and would prefer the Novation. I do not like the action on it as much, gotta say; you've really got to beat on it to get the velocities right, but I'm used to semi- or full-weighted (piano) action.

That's the way to go. I used to listen to my old band through the stock system in my old Nissan on the way to practice all the damn time. This was when I owned a car.

I really like the Polk stuff for hi-fi gear; I'm actually using a 20 year old set of Polks as monitors and they are goddamn flat save for the low mids. That seems to be their one downfall; we have some Polk bookshelves at Snaxodrome II and they have an even more pronounced low-mid murk thing where my much bigger 8"s are way cleaner (also, way way better sounding in general, but they were my dad's old hifi rig when I was a kid. I've heard approximately a million records on them and know those speakers better than any.) but I like the sound of them overall. Even if sometimes I'd rather reference through the 15" JBL mains here.

My bassist loves B&Ws, and his home setup is really nice; he has the 5" current production Yamaha monitors too and those sound quite good. the 8"s are supposed to be the value-for-money option according to a couple friends of mine who know their shit, and I kinda want some because of it. Or some old B&Ws. I remember Steve Albini mentioning he likes B&Ws as monitors when he's used them.

I use Yamaha HSM80s right now, actually. I quite dig them. The low end can be a little murky on them, though. Hence why I reference through the 12" Kenwoods I have. If there's one thing those giant speakers get right, it's the low end.


I have Polk DB series in my truck, and I would be pretty comfortable mixing on them if they were in a proper bookshelf box. They don't really lie about anything. They're a bit brighter than I'm used to, though. The treble is magnificent, but there's a bit much of it on those speakers.


I don't have much experience with Polk's home offerings... save for a Polk home theater setup my sister in FL had when I stayed with her. I thought they sounded pretty nice, but they were extra murky and the super huge sub was nothing but a wall of mud.

Hmm interesting.

I was just looking at:

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SLmk2-49

That or the 61 key version for an extra hundred (new).