Vintage Synth Explorer Forums

So a friend of mine is thinking of getting rid of his pair of Genelec 1029a monitors, and I am thinking of picking them up. They are in great shape, as he is very anal with gear. My current monitors are Mackie MR5 (make 1). I've had them for over 10 years, and I tend to have to do inordinate amount of mixes to get the sound right because they never seem to give the accurate representation of my music. I know part of this reason is that I have never bought a sub so getting the low end right takes some time. However, sometimes the entire mix seems way off.
So I guess my questions are:
Are the Genelecs worth the upgrade? I know I will still probably need a sub, but how is the low end on these little guys? Are the at least similar to what I have currently have? I know sound and speakers can be an subjective topic, but any input from you guys would be much appreciated.
For those who don't know, my music genre is mainly Electro-Industrial (Front Line Assembly, Skinny Puppy, etc.).
Cheers,
Kevin J

The Mackies are actually pretty good. Those Genelecs are really only good for location work, a studio deserves something bigger. They have trouble with bass. How is your room? Any acoustic treatment? Especially bass traps? That's far more likely to be the reason you have to remix a lot.

madtheory wrote:The Mackies are actually pretty good. Those Genelecs are really only good for location work, a studio deserves something bigger. They have trouble with bass. How is your room? Any acoustic treatment? Especially bass traps? That's far more likely to be the reason you have to remix a lot.

I don't have bass traps, but they have been on my list. I like my MR5 MKI better than the MKIII that is currently out. So are you saying the that the 1029a doesn't make for a good dedicated studio monitor? So if I treat the room with bass traps, do you think the Mackies would outperform the Genelecs or least be a wash?

what kind of speakers do you use when playing with your band? studio monitors/.?

With bass traps in the corners and absorbers at mirror points, you'd have a much better idea of the differences between the speakers. And it's a lot cheaper to do that than it is to buy new speakers!

How's your DIY? Corners are very easy, you don't even have to unpack the rockwool. Two rolls, one on top of the other (in most rooms that's enough to reach to the ceiling), covered with some fabric that you like the look of. Gets rid of the worst of the standing waves. Panel absorbers are slightly harder, you'll need a measuring tape, a saw, a screwdriver and a staple gun... not hard at all really, LOL!

The Mackie HR824 perform exceptionally well in a treated room. There are a lot of other great speakers around nowadays, since those Genelecs first came out. Personally I don't rate Genelecs. Worked with 1032 years ago, treated room. We had NS10s as well. Didn't sound as "nice" but mixing on those always translated. We have a bunch of 80 series Genelecs at work now, and they are hard to work with. Don't know why they ever got a reputation. Klein & Hummel for example were always better, just not as sexy, and they didn't do full page ads in magazines!

DocDeF4U17 wrote:what kind of speakers do you use when playing with your band? studio monitors/.?

When we play live, I usually use whatever the venue has. I had some Mackie Thump-12 PAs to practice with as well.

madtheory wrote:With bass traps in the corners and absorbers at mirror points, you'd have a much better idea of the differences between the speakers. And it's a lot cheaper to do that than it is to buy new speakers!

How's your DIY? Corners are very easy, you don't even have to unpack the rockwool. Two rolls, one on top of the other (in most rooms that's enough to reach to the ceiling), covered with some fabric that you like the look of. Gets rid of the worst of the standing waves. Panel absorbers are slightly harder, you'll need a measuring tape, a saw, a screwdriver and a staple gun... not hard at all really, LOL!

The Mackie HR824 perform exceptionally well in a treated room. There are a lot of other great speakers around nowadays, since those Genelecs first came out. Personally I don't rate Genelecs. Worked with 1032 years ago, treated room. We had NS10s as well. Didn't sound as "nice" but mixing on those always translated. We have a bunch of 80 series Genelecs at work now, and they are hard to work with. Don't know why they ever got a reputation. Klein & Hummel for example were always better, just not as sexy, and they didn't do full page ads in magazines!

This was definitely something I was considering doing. I was either going to do this or possibly get something for GIK Acoustics.

Agreed. If your wedge monitors are properly set up, and FOH is good, there's no need to carry around a heavy keyboard amp. Assuming the FOH person can be trusted to do the job... if they can't, get someone else. A keyboard amp won't solve that problem!

madtheory wrote: Assuming the FOH person can be trusted to do the job... if they can't, get someone else. A keyboard amp won't solve that problem!

Oh so true!

Also, I contacted GIK Acoustics last night and gave them the layout of my room, along with pictures, and they gave me some really great recommendations about how to move forward.....and the price was very reasonable. So I'm going to move forward with that first. If I'm still having issues, I will have a listen to my friends Genelecs. I'm sure the treatment will make a night and day difference though. Thanks again for you input!

Great, post pics when it's done!

madtheory wrote:Great, post pics when it's done!

Will do!