Monitor Placement for Mixing

  • Thread starter Thread starter Chris F
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Chris F

Chris F

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I've been doing quite a bit of reading from this forum, and I understand that the best way to mix is to have a set of really expensive flat response monitors in a sound-treated room. But for those of us who don't have that option, what is the best place in a room to place your speakers when you mix? I won't list the equipment I'm using for fear of being laughed out of town, but I can say that my mixer is on a homemade table/rack that can be easily moved to any point in the room not occupied by the grand piano, and the speakers (such as they are) are on 3' (+/-) stands that can be moved to any point in the room in relation to the aforementioned table and my ears. How far apart should they be, and how far away from my ears will give me the best results?



Thanks in advance,

Chris


If it helps, the room I'm using is roughly 15' x 15', with 10' ceilings. If I ansolutely HAD to, I could construct some sort of small portable enclosure in the center of the room to sit in while mixing, but it would be pretty primitive and extremely.....well,.....BUDGE, for lack of a better word. :)
 
Here's some seat of the pants, not one size fits all stuff. Do not put the monitors in the corners of the room. Bad for bass response. Stay a couple of feet away from the walls. Make a triangle with the monitors about 6 or 7 feet apart on a median plain with your ears referenced to your mixing position (where you'll be sitting) with you about 6 or 7 feet form the monitors. Angle the monitors towards your head. If you're mixing rock/pop type of program material mix at about 80 to 85dB "A" weighted level. This is my humble opinion. YMMV.
 
The advice Track Rat gave you was "right on the money".

Make sure your head and the monitors make an equilateral triangle (at ear level).

:D
 
Hey Track Rat, what do you mean by

If you're mixing rock/pop type of program material mix at about 80 to 85dB "A" weighted level.
Click to expand...

I understand about the triangle, but not this.


Vice
 
I think he's just telling you at what approximate volume to monitor at. There are two or three weighted responses used in noise control, with A being the most common. A level of about 85dBA is akin to a noisy auditorium.
 
A good tool for setting your mixing level can be found at, of all places, Radio Shack. I highly recommend their Sound Preassure Level Meter which can be had for around $40. You can pump pink noise through your system to set it up but what I usually do is put on commercially recorded CDs (playing back through my sound cards DAs) that are of the same type of music that I'll be mixing (if it's going to thrash metel, I listen to thrash, if power pop, I listen to power pop, etc..) and set the volume output level AT MY MIXING POSITION to 80dB with the meter. This gives me as much consistancy as I can expect on making mixing decisions like kick drum/bass levels, vocal level relative to the mix, etc.
 
Thanks for the replies everyone. I used the triangle technique yesterday and it was a BIG improvement. I've been recording jazz duos and trios, and the biggest problem I have been having is getting the correct amount of bass response for the acoustic bass. What I mix usually sounds good on a good system, but too boomy on cheaper systems. The mix I came up with with the new monitor placement had a lot less bass in it, but required me to tweak the EQ differently. I'll keep at it...the replies were extremely helpful.
 
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