Peter Shute wrote:
> So far the plan is to find a few good similar
> commercial recordings and use them to set my
> PC speakers to a "standard" volume
Sorry, I have to comment on this -- "PC speakers"? All other questions in t=
his thread aside, you will never be able to produce a mix unless you can he=
ar what your recordings actually sound like. You need good to excellent qua=
lity monitors (and listening environment) so you can hear your sources with=
clarity and fidelity. Otherwise errors and problems in your mix are going =
to slip right by you to the listener.
Without getting too far into an impossibly deep subject, there are two prac=
tical (and relatively affordable) ways to accomplish this. The first is to =
get some good near-field monitors. You then listen in close proximity, larg=
ely eliminating room factors. This is far cheaper than building/tuning a pr=
oper listening room! I would recommend Genelec 8030A as a baseline standard=
. The price may or may not shock you. They are an order of magnitude more e=
xpensive than PC speakers but an equal amount cheaper than monitors found i=
n pro studios. (As a starving artist I have a cheaper option, but I have do=
ne a lot of listening on Genelecs of various models.)
The second approach is some decent headphones, which you may have anyway fr=
om live recording. I don't know what you use when out in the field, but Sen=
nheiser HD25 work and have strong isolation characteristics. More pleasant =
are the AKG K701/K702. I have the slightly more veiled and cheaper K271, wh=
ich can be a real bargain, at least on the European side of the pond.
Some frown on using headphones for mixing, but the vast majority of consume=
rs listen that way, so it is entirely appropriate. And it's the cheapest wa=
y to get into the realm of decent sound reproduction.
> I find that I rarely get max levels over about -6dB
That is more than enough. In fact, for some it's a bit hot. If you are reco=
rding in 24-bit (I hope) then there is plenty of dynamic range to play with=
. You can be conservative about peak levels.
> I think someone mentioned changing to the
> high setting won't help, but I should check
> that for myself.
A good attitude. Checking for yourself will generally confirm that standard=
procedures are optimal. Nonetheless, following the experimental process ha=
s value in and of itself.
-- robinparmar.com
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