Monitoring, the unknown art

[ellaguru]

hi guys
today i finally bought a pair of Fostex PM 0.4 (http://www.proaudioeurope.com/index.php?id=22&entryId=550)after years of little hifi speakers for cd reader...
i would like to know how some of you use their monitors in their "audio chain".
i tried to make a set up like this:
-synths/mics/samplers/bass etc
outs to
-yamaha mg102c mixer ins (http://europe.yamaha.com/en/products/music_production/mixers/mg102c/?mode=enlarge)
outs to
A)yamaha stereo outs (to the hifi speakers ins)
B)yamaha monitor outs (to the fostex monitors ins)
C)yamaha rec outs (to the tascam recorder ins)
-tascam dp01fx outs to
A)yamaha 2 tr in
or
B)one of the yamaha channel free...

the problem is that i cannot figure how to make listen only the monitors...the hifi speakers sound always...there is a button wich deserves to make listen or the Stereo or the Monitors, but the hifi speakers are always there; maybe what i'm searching is not possible; what i'm searching is to listen what i recorded into the Tascam with both the 2 systems...
any suggestion?
thanx
ps
this is just a "listening" question, 'cause good part of the final mix/master will be done via computer...

[hurlingdervish]

i dunno what any of that gear does but cant you just out put from your 8 track or whatever?

[ellaguru]

i dunno what any of that gear does but cant you just out put from your 8 track or whatever?

hi HD!
yes surely i can.
now i can listen the sounds coming from both the system (hifi or monitors) but everytime i try to push the little button "to stereo/to monitors"(look at the large yamaha picture in the low right part), when im in "to monitors" with the Tascam's out connected to the "2TR in" and its in to the "Rec out",im able to listen to monitors if i low down the "Stereo" knob and if i raise up the "Monitor/Phones" knob and the "Monitor mix" knob...viceversa, if i push the button from "to monitors" to "to stereo", feedback is coming....

anyway how do you connect your monitors? maybe you use a pc...
but it doesnt matter, 'cause the final mix/master it will be in the pc, so my question is more how to listen better what we reord with monitors in order to make an easy mix after...

[hurlingdervish]

ok i think im starting to figure something out but

when im in "to monitors" with the Tascam's out connected to the "2TR in" and its in to the "Rec out"

your wording on that makes it sound like thats a feedback loop

what you are doing with the knobs is the only way because you are sending something out and back into itself....therefore back out and into itself again and so on and so on

what you probably need to do is send the monitors out of the tascam.

[ellaguru]

i fugured a little better now.
listen.
when i'm in "to monitor" mode i listen only monitors with the help of "monitor mix" knob; the same last knob it helps when i'm in "to stereo" mode...the problem is that the more i raise the "monitor mix" knob he more feeback/distortion is coming...
so, no problems when listening monitors, but troubles come when listening with hifi speakers...

the strange thing is that in the mixer manual there is a similar set up...

what you probably need to do is send the monitors out of the tascam.

i thougth also myself about that solution, but this would prevent me to listen with monitors the recording result...

[hurlingdervish]

is there a signal flow diagram somewhere?

[ellaguru]

is i this?

Untitled-1 copy.jpg (70 KiB) Viewed 6575 times

[hurlingdervish]

when you switch to stereo ALL the inputs go to the speakers including the tascam output which creates the feedback however when in monitor mode the signal is cut off and routed to the monitor only.

solutions for this are foggy but maybe lose the TR in and have one output from the yahama stereo out and one from the tascam out.

[ellaguru]

thanx HD
but doing this way means renouncing to listen with monitors what i have recorded...
maybe you suggest to , before all, record everything (hifi) and then listen all the things with pc+monitors=final mix?

[hurlingdervish]

or get the mix right on the yamaha mixer

and make sure you dont peak into the tascam

then you can switch the knobs or whatever and do the final mixdown on the tascam.

[PHeMoX]

This is why I don't like monitors that got a volume wheel on the back. Just switch the hi-fi speakers and monitors and if you don't want both on, turn down the volume on your monitors.

I'll have to say though, you could also just get rid of your hi-fi speakers in this chain, but make sure you've got them hooked to say a PC so you can check in there.

[ellaguru]

or get the mix right on the yamaha mixer

and make sure you dont peak into the tascam

then you can switch the knobs or whatever and do the final mixdown on the tascam.

that's what i'm doing now. maybe it's for me the best way...


@HD, Phemox
however, is it a good way to proceed listening ONLY to monitors and not at all to hifi speakers, helping ourselves with flat studio headphones (audiotechnica ath m40fs, in my case)? this cuould make the final mix more easy...
...but, maybe is better to listen to different systems, isn't it?
do you make that way?

[PHeMoX]

You are certainly right that listening to more monitors or speaker sets is a good thing (to check sound quality on different systems), but basically you also need to train your ears to hear what sounds good on your monitors, so you know how to tweak it to sound best. For that you will need to focus on your best equipment in my opinion, which would be the monitors.

[ellaguru]

i tried listening/playing/recording only on monitors, then mastering on them; after all the process i relisten on other systems (speakers hifi,speaker car, flat headphones etc) to see if the tracks need to be retouched.