What should I try and get next?

[BertKoor]

What if you mix something on monitors and it sounds like ass through cans?

What if you mix something on your cans and it sounds like a pile of wet newspapers on other cans, or in your car, or on the pretty good hifi of the neighbour? Same thing. You make mental notes, go back home and try to fix it! The end result is what we call "a mix that translates well". It takes lots of practice to get that. And good monitors makes it easier.

I can't afford that kind of money right now.

With an empty wallet the answer to your question "what to buy next" is a short and simple "nothing".

[ghostwhistler]

I didn't say it was empty. I just don't have £160

[chk071]

What if you mix something on monitors and it sounds like ass through cans?

The opposite is worse. The stuff I produced on headphones always sounded absolutely horrible when I played it back on speakers...

You don't have to spend much, as has been said. The Presonus Eris might be a good choice on a budget. At least I read some decent things about them.

That said... do you have an audio interface?

[ghettosynth]

I didn't say it was empty. I just don't have £160

You're getting great advice and ignoring it. If you have less than two hundred pounds of play money and you don't have even basic studio monitors then you shouldn't be thinking about what junk to buy. None of it is going to help you. What you need is the motivation to finish tracks.

[ghostwhistler]

What if you mix something on monitors and it sounds like ass through cans?

The opposite is worse. The stuff I produced on headphones always sounded absolutely horrible when I played it back on speakers...

You don't have to spend much, as has been said. The Presonus Eris might be a good choice on a budget. At least I read some decent things about them.

That said... do you have an audio interface?

Thanks, yes I do. I was going to use it for my bass but I just don't write stuff that includes bass guitar right now. Which is fine

[ghostwhistler]

I didn't say it was empty. I just don't have £160

You're getting great advice and ignoring it. If you have less than two hundred pounds of play money and you don't have even basic studio monitors then you shouldn't be thinking about what junk to buy. None of it is going to help you. What you need is the motivation to finish tracks.

What tracks have I not finished?

[BertKoor]

I just don't have £160

Put £1 in a jar each day. Within 6 months you do. That's called saving up for something.

[Unaspected]

I have Reaper, my DAW. I have a bunch of vst instruments. I have a midi controller. I don't think I need to keep buying softsynths, so I'm wondering what I should get next? When it comes to effects and processing tools I have Infiltrator, some freebie plug ins, and Reaper stock tools for everything else. Is there anything I need other than EQ and compressors? Are the stock ones good enough?

You need to judge this for yourself. If you feel that a processing effect is lacking then you'll want to demo them so that you can experience how they work with your own program material. Experience is the greatest teacher. Yes, there are better processors than native/stock but the reasons for which will work for you will be just as subjective.

I have to echo what has already been said - and as I wrote in that other thread - what would have benefitted me the most when I was getting into audio production would have been to sort out a good enough monitoring solution. Before that, there's little point in attempting to assess what works for you and what you need.

Aside from that, I would recommend checking out the freebies offered by various companies. Definitely do not assume that free means substandard.

Some places to look at:

https://varietyofsound.wordpress.com/
https://www.audiority.com/
https://fuseaudiolabs.de/#/pages/home
https://valhalladsp.com/
https://www.audiodamage.com/
https://www.voxengo.com/
https://vladgsound.wordpress.com/

You'll find plenty of good quality, free plugins there. Definitely grab yourself Limiter No6 from Vladgsound and SPAN from Voxengo.

[ghostwhistler]

Do monitors require a good audio space? A decent sized room etc?

[AnX]

Patience and understanding

[ghostwhistler]

I have Reaper, my DAW. I have a bunch of vst instruments. I have a midi controller. I don't think I need to keep buying softsynths, so I'm wondering what I should get next? When it comes to effects and processing tools I have Infiltrator, some freebie plug ins, and Reaper stock tools for everything else. Is there anything I need other than EQ and compressors? Are the stock ones good enough?

You need to judge this for yourself. If you feel that a processing effect is lacking then you'll want to demo them so that you can experience how they work with your own program material. Experience is the greatest teacher. Yes, there are better processors than native/stock but the reasons for which will work for you will be just as subjective.

I have to echo what has already been said - and as I wrote in that other thread - what would have benefitted me the most when I was getting into audio production would have been to sort out a good enough monitoring solution. Before that, there's little point in attempting to assess what works for you and what you need.

Aside from that, I would recommend checking out the freebies offered by various companies. Definitely do not assume that free means substandard.

Some places to look at:

https://varietyofsound.wordpress.com/
https://www.audiority.com/
https://fuseaudiolabs.de/#/pages/home
https://valhalladsp.com/
https://www.audiodamage.com/
https://www.voxengo.com/
https://vladgsound.wordpress.com/

You'll find plenty of good quality, free plugins there. Definitely grab yourself Limiter No6 from Vladgsound and SPAN from Voxengo.

Thanks

[imrae]

Do monitors require a good audio space? A decent sized room etc?

It is possible to get adequate sound in a small room. I would recommend smaller monitors in that case; you don't want to kick too much bass into a small space.

The idea of the "nearfield" monitors used for mixing is that you are primarily hearing the direct sound; they aren't designed to "fill the room" like a hifi.

If the room sound needs improving, don't just go out and buy a load of foam. Work out what the biggest problem is and treat that. (e.g. you might be able to address a resonance by moving a bookcase to diffuse it into something more pleasant.)

[j wazza]

stock eq's are fine, tbh theres so much great free stuff just work your way through that first - spitfire audio labs, free syntronik, kontakt, pianobook, uhe, tal, vital, cm plugins, airwindows, soneq, cloudseed, soundhack bubbler, convolgy xt, acustica, valhalla, kiloherts, multiply, azurite, baby audio magic switch, gsatplus, oril river, subspace, verberate basic, Pluginboutique and splice all have great free stuff

+ toneboosters and audio damage legacy plugins

it also just depends what music you make and what kind of sound you want