bitflipper


Miguel, it would be a mistake to spend $1k on monitors at this stage. You can make do with around $300-350. You should ideally also invest in a good pair of headphones. It's something every studio should have, and you can get decent cans for under $150.

First of all, anybody who goes out and buys expensive monitors without first addressing the acoustics in the room is throwing money away. Acoustic treatments are a lot cheaper than speakers, and without them $2000 monitors won't do any better than $300 monitors.

Second, it is entirely possible to do most of your mixing with headphones. It definitely adds some complications. Even though I have good monitors and acoustic treatments, I still do 90% of my mixing with headphones. It's because I share the house with others, some of whom go to bed early, and some who sleep late. Many, many hours of practice have gotten me to the point where I can get a mix on headphones that's almost there.

Headphones introduce variables that make mixing a hit-and-miss proposition. They tend to compress the sound, leading you to think you have a more seamless blend than you really do. They are very uneven in their frequency response, which makes it very hard to judge EQ. They lack the natural blend of left and right, exaggerating stereo separation, making it hard to judge panning. You have to learn how to compensate for these factors, and for that you'll need speakers - or access to someone (e.g. a mastering studio) who does.

Specific recommendations:
Alesis M1 Active MkII (don't waste your time with the other Alesis products)
Behringer Truth B2031A (don't be put off by the brand's bad reputation, these monitors are a great value)
For headphones, my favorite for price/performance are the Audio Technica ATH-M50. Shop around for the best price. Most places charge $160 but you can find them for much less. Are these the finest headphones around? No. But you'll spend $300-400 or more to step up to the next level.

BTW, Miguel, where in the P.I. are you located? My second home is in Pangasinan.

Thanks Dave! I remember you giving this advice before (I suddenly remembered about the Truth monitors you mentioned, which i kept searching just awhile ago because i forgot the name when you guys told me about it before) when i asked roughly the same question (I needed to ask again, i went away from these forum for months and i need fresh advice, sorry for the same question). I was quite surprised at the Audio Technica, i myself am not fond of their products, or familiar. My current cans are some AKGs (Which i quite regret for buying although cheap, because it is quite overpowering the treble, more specifically cymbals and not bass responsive, but anyway i was still a pure newbie last year.), which i still didn't want to replace because i wanted to seek any good advice before getting new ones, in fear of spending too much for an overrated can. 
 
I'm from Metro Manila, Las Piñas City in particular, but my province, Ilocos, is not far from Pangasinan. If you ever go to Pangasinan by summer (March-May), i can stay by my grandfather's place and have a visit to your place and maybe even ask for help with my mixes or anything actually, if it's okay that is.

bitflipper


I will be in the Philippines next February. Come up and see my imaginary studio (right now it's a patch of banana trees, but it's the future site of my dream studio).

Hope you have success with your to-be-built studio.

i hugely disagree with the statement about monitors.  but i love ya anyway... 

a good monitor is a good monitor...  and secondly... good acoustical treatment can costs thousands to really do it right. and if you do it wrong it can cause you more grief then not doing it at all.  you should get the best monitors you   can afford.  they will never do you wrong.  it's one of the most important part of your studio if not the most important.  your mix will only be as good as your monitors.  having said that everybody achieves their mixes in different ways.   they hear things differently.  that's why some guys can pull off mixes on monitors that other guys  claim to hate.  but one fact is indisputable.... a good monitor is a good monitor regardless of the room it sits in.   i grantee that if you take a set of crappy monitors and put them in the same crappy room with a pair of high quality monitors the high quality ones will produce a better mix  every time regardless of the room they sit in.  also the room needs to be adjusted for the monitors for the truest mix.  different cabinets will behave differently in different rooms.  depending on front or rear porting... how big the paper is... what kind of high end.... lenses or bullets... and if they are two or three or even four way.  so you may invest in all sorts of treatment only to find out it doesn't work with the cabinets as well as it could.  specially when it comes to base traps and diffusion. you could end up chocking your room... making it to dead in which case you've just blown a hole bunch of monkeys.