Embracing the song as a whole, as well as being able to clearly hear each individual instrument is critical in recording and mixing. The speakers we use, along with our ears are arguably the most important tools in mixing and music production. With that in mind it’s critical to make sure that our speakers are performing optimally in and in spite of our rooms.
The issue that arises is that the room impacts the sound of the speakers from the or most humble of bedroom studios, to the largest and most legendary of world class studios. Treatment is the first step in minimizing the room’s effect on the sound – also called room modes.
Diffusers, absorbers, and bass traps all help to control the way the room sounds and how it affects what we are hearing from our speakers. Furthermore, it’s important to make sure that we are hearing the best possible representation of our recordings, productions and mixes, so that the final product will translate to our listeners.
The truth is that no room is perfect. A perfect listening environment simply does not exist. Fortunately, this is the new millennium and there are a great many products available to take assist our speakers and our rooms by EQ’ing our speakers to our room. However, none of these aforementioned solutions are made by a company with as tried and true a history as Genelec.
Genelec speakers sit atop the console at Spitfire Studio and have become a go-to choice in world class studios and home studios around the world. Genelec recently came and upgraded the speakers at Sunset Sound, Studio 3, with a pair of their new SAM (Smart Active Monitor) studio speakers. This system uses an external microphone to measure the frequency response of your room and employs a correction software to perfectly tune your Genelecs to the room you’re working in. Please watch the video below where you’ll get to see the Genelec representative walk through the setup and use of the SAM studio system.
Thank you ever so much for watching this video! Please leave a bunch of questions and comments for Steffenee below the video. She’ll be happy to answer your questions.
Don’t miss our latest video at Sunset Sound, where we’ve put up a humble $1700 microphone setup up against all of the wonderful equipment Sunset has to offer, including over $100000 of microphones and an invaluable recording chain.
The results we’ve gotten from the inexpensive setup where fantastic and it proves that we CAN make amazing music on a budget. Please check out the video and listen for yourself!
Have a marvellous time recording and mixing,
Warren