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<\/a>Mix engineer Jeff Juliano and Focal Twin 6<\/p><\/div>\n
Mixer Jeff Juliano has used a lot of different speakers, and in the past 10 years he\u2019s relied on the supposed \u2018industry standard\u2019 Yamaha NS10. But no more. Juliano recently tried the Focal Twin 6 Be powered monitors at his Delaware mixing studio and has now made them his number one choice. Having mixed a host of platinum-selling albums for artists such as Jason Mraz, Josh Kelly and Lifehouse, as well as John Mayer, who won a 2003 Grammy for his album \u201cRoom for Squares\u201d which he mixed, Juliano has a great ear for sound, but was ready for the change.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been going through so many speakers in my time mixing, I was an NS10 guy for so many years, and started to believe that was the only speaker in the world that mattered. The Focal Twin 6 Be monitors are the best that I\u2019ve used in terms of studio-to-consumer listening translation for car stereos, clock radios \u2014 iPod ear buds, you name it. They really translate: what I hear in the studio is what the outside world hears, in my experience. When I go to the car and check a mix, it\u2019s what I hear in the studio. That\u2019s the end-all, that\u2019s what matters,\u201d stated Juliano.<\/p>\n
Past experiences were not great for Juliano with powered monitors, but all that changed with Focal, \u201cI\u2019ve used a ton of powered monitors and at the end of the day I was afraid of them because all the other powered monitors had a dip around 1K to make them less fatiguing, and they have a high-end boost. The Focal Twin 6 is the first powered monitor that I\u2019ve heard that you don\u2019t have to be afraid of hearing the mid-range. You get the mids really kicking and it\u2019s fine. On other powered monitors when you take that mix anywhere else you\u2019re going to have a harsh mid-range. With the Focal they\u2019re real flat and extremely truthful. These things just tell you how it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the key differences Juliano noticed when he started using the Focal monitors was how much more he could hear in earlier mixes he\u2019d done on NS 10s, and how easily he adapted to what he heard now on Focal monitors. \u201cListening back to mixes I\u2019ve done on the NS10s through the Focals, it kind of scares me because I hear top-end distortion that I wasn\u2019t hearing in the NS10s, I was so used to using them, I thought I knew them. With the Focals there wasn\u2019t a learning curve, it actually spooked me at first. \u2018This sounds good, this sounds bad,\u2019 it wasn\u2019t because it was on this speaker. The Focal monitors were just that truthful, sonically.\u201d<\/p>\n
Juliano notices the sonic transparency in the Focals, \u201cAnything that\u2019s wrong, it says \u2018hey, wait, here I am\u2019 \u2014 if there is something in the low-end, the mid range or the top end it really comes through. You hear so much more air in the top end of these speakers. Distortion comes through much clearer: I find a lot of mistakes now in people\u2019s tracking. It\u2019s that full-range and open, you hear every bit of detail, like the reverb trails, things I didn\u2019t really hear in the NS10s. They would come screaming out in a car stereo at you. The translation from my mixes to the real-world is beautiful on these.\u201d<\/p>\n
Having more confidence in his mixes before sending to a mastering engineer has been a boost for Juliano too, his latest project for PARAMORE, mixing a live DVD and dual live CD, garnered a startling comment, \u201cThe A&R guy at Atlantic loved my mixes for the PARAMORE record, they said \u2018lets get it mastered\u2019 \u2014 there were no recall mixes in all the 18 songs. That makes my day happy,\u201d said Juliano.<\/p>\n
He also received very positive comments from Sterling Mastering (NY), \u201cMy guy at Sterling Sound said I made his job easy! That was music to my ears, because at the end of the day it\u2019s my job to get it to be the best it can be at that stage, right before that guy masters it. When that guy, who I respect, tells me I make his job easier, that\u2019s a great day for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Describing his use of the Focal Sub6, which he uses with the Twin 6 Be monitors, Juliano said, \u201cThat Sub6 is extremely versatile because of the way you can dial it in, you can make it work in any environment or any shape of room you have to work in. You can find a place for that sub and dial it in perfectly. I\u2019ve used a number of subs in my time, this one\u2019s got a variable phase, a crossover, a low-pass, a level control, it\u2019s ridiculous!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI kind of grew up on a subwoofer in terms of mixing and engineering so I\u2019m used to having one. At the same time the Twin 6 is the only speaker I\u2019ve used where I don\u2019t need a sub, I\u2019m just one of those guys that likes to feel a little bit of the kick and the bass when I\u2019m mixing at louder volumes. When I go to low volumes, I turn the sub off.\u00a0 But when I do turn it off I can still hear the bass in the Twin 6s. With the Sub6, you push the bass up to where it sounds good to you, and you get in the car and listen and it\u2019s perfect. That\u2019s a security blanket and a comfort.\u201d<\/p>\n
His new Focal monitors also allow Juliano to get the most from his outboard gear as well, he says, \u201cIt makes me proud of my investment in outboard gear, because I feel like fifteen years later I\u2019m finally using my outboard gear properly and to its full potential because I can hear everything so much better through the Focal monitors. You\u2019ve got to hear it right or it doesn\u2019t matter what outboard gear you have. I can honestly say that I have never been happier with any one purchase for my studio.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the end Juliano quickly learned to trust the Focal monitors and that saved him time, \u201cIt didn\u2019t take me a long time to learn the speakers, once I started listening to mixes in other spots: my car, my home stereo, the iPod. You hear your mixes back and you say \u2018I mixed that song really fast and it came out really good\u2019\u2014 and that saves time, any time I can shave a couple hours off my day of work I\u2019m happy! And that was definitely due to the gear.\u201d<\/p>\n
Commenting on Focal, the company itself, Juliano said, \u201cSimon [Cote], my contact at the company \u2018burned in\u2019 the speakers for me, which apparently you need to do when setting them up.\u00a0 That kind of service is great, it shows that they are a solid company. And they back their customers.\u201d\u00a0 [SIMON TO DECIDE TO USE THIS PARAGRAPH OR NOT]<\/p>\n
Juliano\u2019s extensive credits include John Mayer \u201cRoom For Squares\u201d (Columbia\/Sony) Mixer, RIAA Certified 4X Platinum (GRAMMY WINNER 2003); James Blunt \u201cLive Tracks\u201d\u00a0 (Atlantic Records); Jason Mraz \u201cWaiting for My Rocket to Come\u201d Mixer, RIAA Certified Platinum; O.A.R. \u201cLive From Madison Square Garden\u201d CD\/DVD Mixer – 5.1 Surround Sound (Lava\/Atlantic\/Everfine Records); Josh Kelley \u201cSpecial Company\u201d (DNK Records); John Butler Solo \u201cLive Tracks\u201d (Atlantic Records); John Mayer “Any Given Thursday” CD\/DVD Mixer; Lifehouse \u201cLifehouse\u201d Mixer, RIAA Certified Gold; Eight Dave Mathews records as Mixer including \u201cLive In Central Park\u201d RIAA Certified Platinum; Bruce Hornsby, Ben Folds, Robert Randolph, PARAMORE \u201cThe Final Riot\u201d (Fueled by Ramen); My Favorite Highway (Virgin Records); Green River Ordinance (Virgin Records), and many other artists and recordings.<\/p>\n
Contact Jeff Juliano through his website at: http:\/\/www.myspace.com\/jeffjuliano<\/a><\/p>\n For more on Focal monitors\u00a0 please visit: www.focal-fr.com<\/a> (choose the ‘Focal Professional’ link)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mixer Jeff Juliano Chooses FOCAL Monitors<\/p>\n