Bedroom mixing

[indecizo]

I'm thinking about offering mixing services to have a bit more income but I don't really want a fancy room with lots of treatment in my bedroom because I never liked their looks. Anyways I'm confident enough of making (near?) commercial level mixes checking with my logitech pc speakers without the treatment or with my ATH-M50 but I really prefer mixing with speakers or monitors.

My question is this, is there a benefit in getting cool monitors like equator d5's, yamaha's hs50/hs80 or the like, without any treatment or am I going to make things worse? Like not being able to tell where the bass is, way too much bass, etc. My room is 4m x 4m/ 13.12ft x 13.12.

I know that I should get the treatment for better monitoring but I just want to know if it's worth the upgrade to real monitors without the treatment, coming from pc speakers. I'm open to any suggestion.

 

[indecizo]

Shit! I forgot to finish the title. Oh well.
Also strong 444 post. Just need 1.5 times more posts to reach 666 and I'll leave it there.

 

[cfh11]

I'm thinking about offering mixing services to have a bit more income but I don't really want a fancy room with lots of treatment in my bedroom because I never liked their looks.

without treatment at least at the first reflection points you are really working against yourself. you should be worried about the SOUND not the look.

 

[EOC]

I dont wanna say it cant be done, becouse we never know what kind of genious we may find in the next corner, but it is pretty unlikely that a person can provide near commercial level mixes just with PC speakers and a pair of headphones. Also the whole philosophy of not investing in treatment (which is a MUST in most cases) just because of looks goes completely against an even semi professional working practice in an art of sound.
anyways, forget what I just said, the best thing you can do is post your best mix, done with your gear, if it is good its good, and if it isn't, people here would gladly help you with tips regarding what your next moves can be.

 

[bryan_kilco]

I'd say a pair of monitors would help even without treatment. Worked for me. Like the OP, I was using goddamn Altec Lansing gaming speakers for a few years before I got my Equator D5's. They changed my mixes almost instantly and I was still working in a (horrible, horrible) untreated room. Now I'm in a bigger room and still don't have treatment, and now, for sure, I can hear that I seriously need it.

 

[KHE]

play this on your headphones first, then in your untreated room. still thinking you don't need any treatment? https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5298811/08_diverses/20-400Hz-45sec.wav

 

[waltz mastering]

I'm thinking about offering mixing services to have a bit more income but I don't really want a fancy room with lots of treatment in my bedroom because I never liked their looks. Anyways I'm confident enough of making (near?) commercial level mixes checking with my logitech pc speakers without the treatment or with my ATH-M50 but I really prefer mixing with speakers or monitors.

My question is this, is there a benefit in getting cool monitors like equator d5's, yamaha's hs50/hs80 or the like, without any treatment or am I going to make things worse? Like not being able to tell where the bass is, way too much bass, etc. My room is 4m x 4m/ 13.12ft x 13.12.

I know that I should get the treatment for better monitoring but I just want to know if it's worth the upgrade to real monitors without the treatment, coming from pc speakers. I'm open to any suggestion.

When you say "treatment" do you mean rehab? Then yes. you need treatment. and also treat your room and buy the best speakers you can afford.. gl

 

[cfh11]

I dont wanna say it cant be done, becouse we never know what kind of genious we may find in the next corner, but it is pretty unlikely that a person can provide near commercial level mixes just with PC speakers and a pair of headphones.

i really wanted to say this as well, but having not heard any mixes from OP i didnt want to jump to conclusions. but yeah, unless you are Will Putney you are probably not pulling off a commercial level mix on just headphones and pc speakers in an untreated room. things are changing all the time though - i would love to be proven wrong.

 

[indecizo]

i really wanted to say this as well, but having not heard any mixes from OP i didnt want to jump to conclusions. but yeah, unless you are Will Putney you are probably not pulling off a commercial level mix on just headphones and pc speakers in an untreated room. things are changing all the time though - i would love to be proven wrong.

The last thing I did was a mixing practice on the practice room, I think it sounds aight for a quickie mix with speakers
Thread-->http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/...h-metal-burning-wreck-multitracks-inside.html
Clip -->https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/28110505/Rapucore-A Burning Wreck.mp3

The acoustic treatment is out of the question. I just want to improve my mixes a little, I'm not doing this for a long term and right now I have some demand arround the area so I'm willing to invest a little to improve my mixes a bit and take some jobs these days for some newb bands at an affordable price. But I'm not going to do this for a living, it's just a temporal thing to have a bit more income. I'm in a new house and everything is very aesthetic and I don't want to ruin my bedroom with acoustic treatment.

 

[AMS]

You need to be realistic. Who is going to offer you paid work if you don't have the right tools for the job? Reasonably accurate speakers are a must. I used to own a pair of Yamaha HS80s and they should help you to get started.

Room treatment is not always pretty, agreed. But if you build yourself some broadband absorbers covered in the fabric of your choice, then they won't look all that bad. Avoid acoustic foam if you can, as it creates an uneven sound. Fine for a music practice room, but not ideal for a studio.

 

[Winston Wolf]

When you say "treatment" do you mean rehab? Then yes. you need treatment.

Isn't it a bit harsh? without even listening to his mixes first?
I took a listen,I am sure many of his customers will be happy if the price is right.
I've heard a lot worse mixes done on expensive monitors in a pro studios.
but what do I know,I only listened on my ATH-M50....

 

[indecizo]

Isn't it a bit harsh? without even listening to his mixes first?
I took a listen,I am sure many of his customers will be happy if the price is right.
I've heard a lot worse mixes done on expensive monitors in a pro studios.
but what do I know,I only listened on my ATH-M50....

I think he's just kidding. And what you said is a compliment, thanks. Speaking of ATH-M50, I just did a metal test with them only and I think the results are slightly better than using solely the speakers. If I'm not mistaken some of the best guys in this forum have mixed with those headphones, and probably Ermz is one of them. The low end becomes more obvious with them. I think I'll get used to them and mix without monitors in the meantime.

 

[waltz mastering]

I think he's just kidding.

yeah. Just messin'

 

[AzzaDutt]

Contrary to popular belief, monitors can help even in untreated rooms IF you mix at low levels to minimise reflections as much as possible. It won't be perfect obviously, but it can help if you can't currently treat your room (the position I'm in, so I can understand that position).

 

[Redoubt9000]

play this on your headphones first, then in your untreated room. still thinking you don't need any treatment? https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5298811/08_diverses/20-400Hz-45sec.wav

Found this to be REALLY telling Thanks for sharing that clip I've listened to eq sweeps before, but never really bothered to A/B them in this current room with cans. Majority of the time I monitor at low volumes & reference on my M50s, I sorta cranked it a bit for this eq sweep.

So moving on from this point, what's the next approach to investing good treatment for one's room in this case? I've read only some into most forums dedicated to room treatment, but usually the result is that I end up distracted and find myself meandering to all the threads/videos on DIY treatment builds...

That and I get bored of the lingo most of the time, I don't need to know the science behind everything - I get enough of that from the stack of journal articles at my desk. I can hear obvious resonances and deadened frequencies when playing back the eq sweep on my monitors. Would anyone mind yet another thread of a posted room and character of the sound based on that posted clip? Most impressions I get are of others mentioning to stand around in the room and listen, but is the objective to correct the ENTIRE rooms sound, or just the sound relative to the mix position? I guess it's more to know what's collecting where and how it may be a tell-tale sign of how it may be affecting the sound near the mix position...

First reflection points and trapping in the corner is the basic of all basics i guess, likely universal anyways in terms of treatment