Advice on speaker setup

P

prongs_386

Member
Firstly apologies it this is covered really well anywhere, I know there are endless threads generally on this stuff, however haven't been able to piece it all together yet..

Context:
I play a lot at home, often against backing tracks or full songs. I'm not currently playing in a band but if I find the right people will get back into it. I play around with recording but nothing serious.

Current gear:
Axe Fx III
TECH 21 PE 60
BeyerDynamic DT990 headphones
Motu M2 2x2 (vocals)
Average logitech speakers for general purpose pc use.

Currently I'm not happy with the sound I get from the Tech 21, I prefer the sound from the headphones, but don't want to always wear them.

I've been thinking of getting an atomic clr, but then I'm wondering if I might be better off just getting studio monitors like the Adam A7X. Playing with a band / gigging is a bit of a future problem so can always get a clr in the future.

I use the same computer for work, recording, playing and currently use the AxeFx as interface except when recording vocals when I switch to m2. I'm just single tracking so it's not too annoying.

If I want a balance between listening to music from pc, playing guitar with backing tracks, general purpose sound, will I be happy with just having these studio monitors or do I need to separate concerns between recording/playing the axe vs listening to other music?

I'm thinking I would need to run audio out from axe and pc to a mixer before feeding the monitors. If I don't want my AxeFx on all day while working just to pass audio to the monitors.

Regarding budget I could probably spend $2,500 AUD ($1800usd) although this is flexible if there's value in going higher. I just don't think I want to fork out for monitors+clr+different speakers for general listening.

Any advice would be much appreciated!
 
The sound coming out of the axe is of a mic'd cabinet plus effects. Similar to a studio mix. I think you'd be happy with some good studio monitors - you'll hear the best of the axe.
 
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It all boils down to how loud you want to get. You want band levels, get the CLRs. Otherwise either one will do. They both rock.
The thing to remember is, the CLRs cover both low and loud, and everything in between.
 
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G'day Prongs,

Sounds like the studio monitors would be perfect for you.
Spend as much as you can to get the right monitors - Everyone seems to speak really highly of the Adams so you're probably on a safe bet there. Your monitors (if they are good) will be with you potentially for decades so keep that in mind.
Like you say, later on, if you end up doing gigs where your existing amp wont cut it, you can look at the options then.

Thanks
Pauly


prongs_386 said:
Firstly apologies it this is covered really well anywhere, I know there are endless threads generally on this stuff, however haven't been able to piece it all together yet..

Context:
I play a lot at home, often against backing tracks or full songs. I'm not currently playing in a band but if I find the right people will get back into it. I play around with recording but nothing serious.

Current gear:
Axe Fx III
TECH 21 PE 60
BeyerDynamic DT990 headphones
Motu M2 2x2 (vocals)
Average logitech speakers for general purpose pc use.

Currently I'm not happy with the sound I get from the Tech 21, I prefer the sound from the headphones, but don't want to always wear them.

I've been thinking of getting an atomic clr, but then I'm wondering if I might be better off just getting studio monitors like the Adam A7X. Playing with a band / gigging is a bit of a future problem so can always get a clr in the future.

I use the same computer for work, recording, playing and currently use the AxeFx as interface except when recording vocals when I switch to m2. I'm just single tracking so it's not too annoying.

If I want a balance between listening to music from pc, playing guitar with backing tracks, general purpose sound, will I be happy with just having these studio monitors or do I need to separate concerns between recording/playing the axe vs listening to other music?

I'm thinking I would need to run audio out from axe and pc to a mixer before feeding the monitors. If I don't want my AxeFx on all day while working just to pass audio to the monitors.

Regarding budget I could probably spend $2,500 AUD ($1800usd) although this is flexible if there's value in going higher. I just don't think I want to fork out for monitors+clr+different speakers for general listening.

Any advice would be much appreciated!
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for the responses everyone.

Just on my point around getting audio to monitors from axe and pc. Is the advice to just run a basic mixer and have line outs from pc and axe? Still using usb for recording and monitoring that way, but for normal listening with axe fx off?

I think some people probably run the axe fx all day, but heat, noise (although not much), convenience steers me away from doing this.
 
Just put an inexpensive mixer in front of your monitors. That way you can share them between your computer and your AxeFX. That allows you to listen to your computer without turning on your AxeFX or vice versa.
 
I'm using some inexpensive Presonus Monitors at home and use my FM3 as Udio device for PC and thats fine.
I also have a small mixer that I can use like mentioned above..
 
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