# Is a Curved monitor good for editing music?



## Jimbo 88 (Oct 17, 2022)

My main computer monitor of 17 years died. I picked up a new curved monitor on a really good deal. It looked great in the store, but I'm having doubts looking at and editing midi data. 

Will I learn to like this?


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## Akoustecx (Oct 17, 2022)

Jimbo 88 said:


> My main computer monitor of 17 years died. I picked up a new curved monitor on a really good deal. It looked great in the store, but I'm having doubts looking at and editing midi data.
> 
> Will I learn to like this?


I have a curved UWQHD monitor as my main screen, and I've loved it from the start. It did take a couple of days before a slight feeling of oddness dissipated, but I never found it obtrusive.
I'm not sure a curved screen makes any sense on a 16:9 ratio screen, unless it's a very large 4k one.


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## Akarin (Oct 17, 2022)

I tried one and returned it after two days. It's not my thing. I went back to a 32" and two 27" on the sides. I'm a square guy.


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## Michel Simons (Oct 17, 2022)

I never had any problems with it from the start.


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## sostenuto (Oct 17, 2022)

Curved monitors make me queasy ! Curved sunglasses do, as well. 🤢 
I get motion sick in cars planes, boats.
Dual, quality, flat, rectangular monitors are fine, many hours each day.


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## weeeeve (Oct 17, 2022)

I recently purchased a curved 34" monitor for my primary (really my only) monitor. It was odd the first day or two, but now I don't notice it; I just love it.
Steven


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## Wunderhorn (Oct 17, 2022)

If curved monitors were twice as large I would say yes, as it is I see not much use in it. Plus all the ones I have seen so far have a limited height resolution as opposed to a 43 incher which isn’t so good when you want to see multiple tracks in the arrangement.


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## JohnG (Oct 17, 2022)

I replaced two square-shaped monitors with a single, very wide curved monitor and I vastly prefer it. You can see three pages of a notation window along with the sequence on the side, so you can easily edit as you choose.

Plus, with two monitors the most easily viewed central six or eight inches is (obviously) unusable.


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## mscp (Oct 17, 2022)

I honestly prefer 32" flat ones. They're the sweet spot for me.


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## JCT-MusicTech (Oct 18, 2022)

Jimbo 88 said:


> My main computer monitor of 17 years died. I picked up a new curved monitor on a really good deal. It looked great in the store, but I'm having doubts looking at and editing midi data.
> 
> Will I learn to like this?


In my opinion, it is up to you to decide if it is any good for your use case. But I find it more preferable to use flat monitors for that. Try around the 24-27 inch range of any brand and make sure that it supports your choice of video and audio connectors.


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## Voider (Oct 18, 2022)

> Is a Curved monitor good for editing music?​


Only if you don't want to draw straight automation lines


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## Bluemount Score (Oct 18, 2022)

I'm using a curved Dell S2722DGM, 27", 2560x1440 as my main monitor since a year and liked it from the beginning. Wouldn't say it has "major" benefits to a flat one, just liking the feel of it.


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## aeliron (Oct 18, 2022)

Jimbo 88 said:


> My main computer monitor of 17 years died. I picked up a new curved monitor on a really good deal. It looked great in the store, but I'm having doubts looking at and editing midi data.
> 
> Will I learn to like this?


You will get more pitch bend then you expect at first, but then you get used to it.


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## whinecellar (Oct 18, 2022)

Very dependent on how big, and how far away from your eyes. I have a 60" curved Samsung 4k about 3.5-4 feet from my face and I would NEVER go back to a flat monitor. The curve is subtle but it makes a big difference. Everything feels much more immersive, and it makes it far nicer to work on things on the sides/in the corners. Nothing looks skewed onscreen - actually feels a bit like magic.


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## jblongz (Oct 18, 2022)

I’m f bigger than 36”, curved is great. Otherwise it’s just more expensive and doesn’t assist your peripheral view, unless you have glaucoma/tunnel vision.


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## Prockamanisc (Oct 18, 2022)

I've heard that it takes time to get used to it. That's why I didn't go for one, because I use my laptop a lot, so I'd be switching back and forth between curved and flat all the time.


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## Doppler75 (Oct 18, 2022)

Why would you want a large curved surface focusing a reflection at your head?


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## Michel Simons (Oct 18, 2022)

Doppler75 said:


> Why would you want a large curved surface focusing a reflection at your head?


To burn a hole through it.


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## PaulieDC (Oct 18, 2022)

After a few years of holding off, I'll be springing for the 38" curved Dell at whatever BF price it's at:









Monitor Deals | Dell USA


Holiday deals continue! Save big on ready-to-ship Alienware monitors and brilliant Dell UltraSharp, 4K & FHD monitors now. FREE DELIVERY✓



deals.dell.com





Here's some info about when I tested this type of monitor, to toss into the discussion: a few years ago I did get the 34" Dell curved monitor as a review product. I wasn't sure I'd like it, was concerned about a weird Christmas ball effect like when you look closely at an ornament. It's WQHD 3440 x 1440 at 60 Hz, so not for gaming but nice real estate that we need for DAWs.

So when it arrived I set it up at my wife's desk to have her try it and see what she thought. Before handing her the mouse I spent some time with it and I fell in love with it BECAUSE when you look straight at the monitor, then naturally turn your head left or right, your eyes stay at the same exact distance from the screen. At that point I realized the advantage. HOWEVER, I had my wife sit down and see what she thought because she has some issues with her neck AND eyestrain and other muscle issues. I didn't think it'd work for her. WRONG. That was a few years ago and the monitor has never left her desk, lol!!

Dell came out with the 38" version in the above link. The frame is the same width aa the 34", but the monitor is 1600px tall, not 1440px. That's important, I've been using a 30" flat 2560x1600 for years, didn't want to lose the vertical real estate. So the 38" is my dream monitor (nothing bigger will fit anyway), and it's 3840 x 1600 at 60Hz, incredible real estate. But at 60Hz, gamers would not be happy. No effect on us.

*important:* I ordered a 27" curved for work a few months ago. I returned it. That's too small unless you sit 12" away, because your eyes just travel back and forth across this curved thing. My personal belief is a curved monitor needs to be at least 32" and that's if you sit close-ish. A 34" curved works very well when the screen is about 30" or so from your eyes. That's when the head-turn-with-eyes-same-distance really pays off. My monitor will be about 34"-36" from my eyes at my DAW station, so that's why I'm going after the 38".

Last thought, 4K: Dell now makes the U4021DW which gives you an ultra high 5120 x 2160 resolution and a 140 ppi pixel density, BUT, that's Hi-Res for 4K quality, so the real estate will only be 2560x1080, just looking super amazing. And that monitor is 2 grand, where the 38" Dell is $1100 or so. There are other 38" monitors with the same spec by Acer and LG that are cheaper and by all means, give them a lookie-see. I stay with these Dell IPS monitors for my photography work, because I have to calibrate my monitors with a SpyderX colorimeter and I know what to expect with a Dell panel. That's not a cut-n-dry process actually!

OK, there's some overly wordy thoughts on the subject. If anyone wants a flat 30" 2560x1600 Dell U3011 monitor, it's huge, heavy, looks great for an older monitor, and I'll be posting it for $100 plus shipping next month.


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## Jimbo 88 (Oct 20, 2022)

Hey thanks to everyone who replied...I appreciate it.

So after a couple of days looking at this thing I think I have found it is just how some have alluded. You have to find the proper distance from where you look at the monitor. A crazy thing happened where I tweaked my back. Only hurts or stiffens when I sit or stay still too long. So I grabbed a music stand and put my mouse and keyboard on it and stood up working yesterday. I naturally was farther away from the monitor and I noticed that I really, really liked the way it looked. At a certain distance the bend disappears and the screen just seems like it has more depth...and your eyes move much less side to side.

So for me at least, I think the trick is to be as far away as can without straining to read.

It is really cool.


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## Dietz (Oct 20, 2022)

Doppler75 said:


> Why would you want a large curved surface focusing a reflection at your head?


That's exactly my main problem with these curved displays: acoustically, they are quite counterproductive.

Apart from that, it's easier to fit in a center speaker between two smaller (and flat) displays.


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