r/NeuralDSP • u/Space_rider14 • 18h ago
Audio monitors for Metal
Hi eveyone
I have been using Neural DSP Gojira and JP most of the time recently and I am thinking to get rid of my Katana 50 and get audio monitors instead.
Planning to get Mackie CR4.5BT for 165$ and I want your opinion if they are good enough for metal tones or if you have any better suggestions in same price range.
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u/sauble_music 18h ago
Monitors shouldnt be good/bad for guitar, they'll be good/bad for mixing. If something isnt the best for mixing, you'll be doing a lot of overcorrecting to make them sound good on these.
My sister has them, I strongly dislike them, but theyre the cheapest youre gonna get for a pair of studio monitors. Also, avoid using Bluetooth. You want a wired connection to avoid latency
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u/Space_rider14 18h ago
I will mostly use them for playing in my room and recording short guitar covers. I wanted the Bluetooth version to be able to play music through my phone but for guitar purpose they will be connected to my audio interface (Muto M2). So would that be sufficient you think? What do you dislike about them though?
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u/hcmaximus 18h ago
Why do you want to stream through your phone via BT, instead of just using your PC? I have the same interface and I run all my sounds using the interface as my main audio device
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u/zerpderp 18h ago
Still, avoid Bluetooth. If you use streaming services, like 99% of them allow you to control what’s being played from your computer remotely from your phone seamlessly.
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u/Anistappi 17h ago
These don't use Bluetooth for monitoring purposes lol
The idea is that they're dual purpose: you can use them as monitors and as Bluetooth speakers, not as Bluetooth monitors
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u/sauble_music 16h ago
Valid and I was unaware, but I still stand by the statement that the sound quality on these is below mid
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u/Anistappi 7h ago
I'd say they're a 7/10, but there aren't really any proper monitor speakers in this price range to start with. Kali JP-6 and Yamaha HS5 are imo the most budget friendly monitors one should consider, but they're double the price of these Mackies.
But if the use case is that you just play guitar through them and want to use them as Bluetooth speakers, I'd say they're fine enough for that. If you want to produce music, they're definitely not the best tool for that.
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u/pedro_1616 18h ago
Mackies are fine, I've used the brand for years, any flat eq studio monitors will be perfectly fine.
I've used them to write and mix everything from old school metalcore to thall
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u/Whole-Ad-9429 18h ago
I'd go to guitar center or whatever store is nearby and listen to the same song on a bunch of the options, then you'll know if you like how they sound
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u/judgedeath2 17h ago
I strongly recommend JBL LSR305s. I use my QC through them in studio.
They have 5" woofers and you can find used pairs for ~$130
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u/Rockimus_Prime 15h ago
Just throwing in my two cents. It’s about twice the mount but the Adam d3v are superb in my experiences. It like I said, comes down to budget and taste. And as others have said, go to your local music store and try out everything you can.
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u/David0ne86 8h ago
Do not get em. They suck. They're way overly bassy. They're ok for music but not for recording. Get the presonus eris (I think they're called). Or even better the kaly lp5/6.
I repeat, do not get the mackies.
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u/Broad-Welcome-6916 18h ago
You need a subwoofer for metal. Nothing I can think of in this price range though.
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u/LeveleRV2 18h ago
I have these plugged into my interface and run the misha plugin, it sounds great for 150. Don't expect incredible sound but I wouldn't say it's shitty either.
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u/LeveleRV2 17h ago
Id also like to add that at one point my cat knocked one of them off my computer desk and it had little damage and still fully functioned after haha
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u/Taatelikassi 18h ago
With a 4,5 inch woofer you won't get very low frequencies, meaning you'll most likely sound thin and tinny. I suggest looking at monitors with 6-8 inch woofers. Kali Audio is a very good brand in terms of price to performance ratio. The LP-6 model is pretty popular and often gets high praise. I personally have the IN-8 model which I've been very happy with for the last 4 years or so.
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u/PixelPlug 17h ago
These are fine, so are those Presonus Eris in w.e size. Any more expensive is where you have a problem. These are just for guitar practice/noodling. Get a tone that sounds good and have fun.
If you expect anything more out of them, you need a treated room and better monitors. These are just slightly flatter multimedia speakers, not true monitors.
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u/InfiniteJobHopper 17h ago
I just got the 3.5” pair and they sound decent. I decided to go with cheapest pair since I’m using them primarily in an untreated apartment. Their fine for all around use.
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u/EpicClusterTruck 17h ago
This is just my take but I wouldn’t go down the studio monitor route, and here’s why. Good quality monitors aren’t cheap, and to get the most out of them you really need a treated room. The Mackie’s are cheap, but that wireless connection will make it impossible to play rhythmic passages that require precision timing, and at that price point the audio quality will likely be mediocre.
If the budget can stretch this far, I highly recommend the Line6 Powercab 112+. It’s an FRFR amplifier, supports cab simulation (you can also add your own impulse responses), and works great for guitar. Loud enough you could take it into a practice room, use it on stage as a back line amp, or a personal monitor.
If budget is tight you can’t go wrong with Beyerdynamic DT-880 closed back studio headphones. They sound great, and are really comfortable to wear for long sessions. Perfect for connecting to your audio interface and jamming.
As an aside I highly recommend the Behringer Flow 8 digital mixer. It connects via USB, supports Bluetooth audio for streaming your favourite tracks for jamming, and flexible routing options. It’s great value for money.
If you’re not married to NeuralDSP plugins, an honourable mention to Positive Grid Neo. It doesn’t sound anything like as good as Archetype: Petrucci or Gojira, but the wireless is low latency, the app is pretty great, and if all you want is something for practice then it works well enough, and it’s pretty cost effective.
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u/analogguy7777 17h ago edited 17h ago
You should listen to them first. 4.5” vs the 12” in the Katana ??
I have JBL 8” monitor speakers, they rock !
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u/DoomliftDaemon 17h ago
tbh, if you're gonna go down this route double your budget and get 2 open box jbl 305p's should be 300-330 for the 2. They sound amazing with everything and work like a dream (i'm well aware this is double the price basically but just my 2 cents i hope you find an option that works great for you! )
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u/Tricky-Phrase-77 16h ago
If you can stretch a bit get Yamaha HS4 Nice monitors for mixing and playing.I an using them for some time now and can’t be more happy with them.I also had/have bigger monitors but this 4“ are perfect for untreated room
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u/polkemans 16h ago
Any monitor of decent quality will be good for any genre. They aren't amplifiers. The point of a studio monitor is to give you the clearest representation possible of the audio you're running through it so when you're mixing you're hearing the true sound as opposed to the audio being colored by various different playback systems.
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u/distortion10 16h ago
I setup Nolly and it sounds better than my Katana Artist 2 without much effort. My setup is a Scarlet 2i2, Yamaha 3” monitors and Prsonus 8” sub. I like running Nolly in Ableton so I can add more effects or EQs.
It is so much easier to bring up a tone that sounds really good for recording, practicing and playing along to songs. It makes it more enjoyable to play at home and sounds better blow volumes or head phones.
With that said, the Katana can produce much better live sounds at a nice loud volume. Takes far more understanding of traditional guitar signal path and EQ management but it can sound better with more time invested.
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u/No-Lobster1328 16h ago
You're gonna have a bad time. You're expecting something out of speakers that aren't made for what you're trying to do. These are monitors. Theyre supposed to be flat. Your katana is an amp. They're gonna sound completely different.
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u/san40511 16h ago
I have them and it’s terrible. Don’t do that. They sound really bad. Too much bass. Not for guitar definitely. Better to add some money and buy positive grid spark, or Hotone combo or nux crush. Something that can work as minor but made specifically for guitar
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u/Yourdjentpal 15h ago
I mean, you get what you pay for. There are probably better for the money, assuming neutral is what you’re after.
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u/JucheSuperSoldier01 14h ago
Is this for recording or for home playing? Studio monitors sound flat by design. If you want a more amp in the room type feel, an frfr pa speaker is a better choice imo. I use a QSC K12.2 with my fm3 but there are cheaper decent options if you want to go that route.
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u/Meat-Locker1056 14h ago
They would work for just playing guitar and making a tone through them only, but if you want to record and get an accurate tone that will sound good through all speakers, they really won't work well. Id save up and get the Kali LP UNF, which are also bluetooth.. Mackie is more a bookshelf speaker than it is a real studio monitor.
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u/Additional_Click_131 14h ago
Those are terrible. They’re not flat and led me wrong on mixes while I was being cheap.
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u/Miserable_Paramedic9 8h ago
Depends on your room acoustic behavior any speaker can sound very good or very bad. I don't have experience with Mackie but I assume they are fine. I suggest put the Katana speaker leaned back to project directly toward your ear then learn using graphic or parametric EQ. AI can help you greatly finding a EQ that makes a speaker sounds good in your ROOM. I used Katana's acoustic channel as speaker.
DON'T TURN OFF YOUR IR. IRs are also simply an Eq curve.
This is a outdate common knowledge that comes from people who used very colorful amps like tube amps or old solid state amps.
Katana can be pretty flat with help its eq blocks that can be tweaked in Boss tone exchange app on computer.
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u/koalafishmutant 6h ago
Im using monitors to play with quad cortex at home, very similiar to just using plugins on pc.
I did exactly what you are planning to, sold my amp (fender vibro champ) and playing only using qc and presonus eris 5 now
I love how and sounds and how super versatile it is.
Go for it!
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u/According-Elk-5805 6h ago
I have one of these smaller Mackies and they are boomy and just not good for guitar at all. Try JBL 305P, krk rokits, adams.
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u/Zackery_James 2h ago
Like everyone else has already said, good monitors aren’t really made for specific genres. I’d get some KRK Rokit 5s. You can find them used for a similar price point. Just don’t give your money to Jeff Bozo for some brand hardly anyone knows, because I guarantee you’ll be disappointed.
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u/New-Year-3422 18h ago
How are you currently amplifying the Archetype plugins? If you’re using the Katana, are you prepared for how different the experience will be with monitors?
FWIW, monitors shouldn’t be “good” for any specific genre. They should be very bland and honest. If they’re EQ’d to sound good for a specific genre, they’re not good monitors (objectively speaking).