MIXING ON YAMAHA NS10s
These speakers have been around for a long time - since the late 70s, in fact - and they are still going strong. Well, they’re not made anymore but you can still get them on the second-hand market and there’s still a demand for them; they still appear all over the place in recording studios!
Why is that?
It’s not because they sound good - they really don’t - it’s because they’re such an important and useful mixing tool. They’re useful because they focus the midrange and, essentially, that’s where everything is!
Vocals, guitar, keys, snare drum, the attack of the kick, the bite of the bass: they’re all in the midrange of the spectrum.
When you concentrate on the midrange and get all the instruments to exist there - when you’ve carved out the space for each one - then the rest will follow.
And that is why they’re so popular. Yes, it’s also been mentioned that due to the fact that they sound so rubbish, if you get music to sound good on these then it will be good on anything. That’s not a hard and fast rule but it’s not far wrong.
Bob Clearmountain - super producer/mix engineer - was one of the first to bring these into the studio, he helped to bring them out of the Hi-Fi market and into the recording studio world. And, you know what, if it’s good for him, then it’s good for me!
CLA is another super mix engineer who swears by them (although he has also released his own version of them now, which is always worth a look if you can’t get your hands on the originals), and I think it’s safe to say that his mixes are rather grand.
In this video, I talk briefly about the history of them - it’s super brief, don’t worry - and then go into more detail about why they are such a good mixing tool. Also, if you’re interested, I talk about why the amp makes a difference and whether or not you need a sub.
Is anyone else using NS10’s?
Or, for that matter, is anyone else using something similar like the Avantones, for example?
Keen to hear your thoughts.
As always, hit me up with questions.
Stay creative you lot!
James
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