PROFESSOR POE lay in his bed recovering from the worst flu he had ever experienced. He was sure that the germs that had invaded his body had been working out full-time in some biological gym for the last six months before they decided to hitch a lift to Ireland. He gulped down the last of his antibiotics and heroically started on Part Two of Studios Monitors.
In Part One we covered some of the principals behind how speakers work and are designed. Now we will cover some of the best ways of using them and getting over acoustic problems. Firstly, most of the problems you will encounter will be in the bass area, but because the relationship between the bottom and top is so critical, it affects the whole balance. Fact one: If you put your monitors close to the wall you will get about a three DB lift in the bass. This is because the bass is now coupled to the other wall. This can sound nice but can give you a false mix. If you put your speakers over the mixer and away from the wall you can get peculiar effects from the way the mixer reflects the sound. This is however, sometimes a better bet than having them close to the wall.
Fact Two: Bass frequencies are very long. If they hit a wall 10ft behind you, they can then bounce back, go out of phase and hit your ears giving a suck out right where you are sitting. If it sounds bass light in the mix chair and bassy in one of the corners or under the desk this can be the major cause. This phenomenon can be cured to some extent by careful sound absorption on the real wall and by the use of bass absorbers around the room. This will soak up a lot of the spare bass energy and let you hear a tighter response.
Fact Three: Egg Boxes and other lightweight covering might go a little way to dampen highs but will do nothing to absorb or slow down bass energy. To quote somebody famous, MASS EQUALS MASS. Fact Four: The control should have an acoustic character pretty much the same as the average living room. A better bet than expensive soundproofing of the real wall can sometimes be a good old sofa which is great for sound absorption. Most people trust the sound from their home hi-fi because they are used to that amount of sound absorption. If we all lived in vast empty halls and slept on the floor with no sheets, then most records would be mixed very dry with none or very little reverb. The best control rooms sound like a good living room, not too live and not too dead.
Fact Five: Before going down the soundproofing road, try moving the set-up around; maybe the speakers are too far apart, maybe use the length of the room rather than the shorter part. Fact Six.: The relationship between mixers and Speakers can be rather unique. Some mixers can grate with rather boomy speakers. Other mixers just show up how boomy the speakers really are. Sounds of mixers have changed over recent years and so have speakers; experiment to get a match
Fact Seven: Some speakers have a high Q Factor. This means they are very focused in the range that they cover. These can be great to mix on but can sound flat on more laid back hi-fi speakers. Remember the aim is to sound great in the average living room. Fact Eight: The louder a speaker is turned up, the more bass you will hear. This can be false so beware. If you want bass at low levels check out a valve amp. Fact Nine: If possible do not play around with eq on the amp or use a graphic. Adding or subtracting frequencies to repair problems with acoustics is not the best answer. Graphics and eq’s should be used to create sounds not to repair acoustics. In the PA business graphics have to be used because the band or sound man cannot do a quick repair on a thousand-seater venue for one night only. Most PA sound men make use of Phase Adjustable Crossovers as well.
Fact Ten: If the speakers have some controls on them, try leaving them flat. It is easy to flatter up a sound in the studio but all will be revealed when you get it home. Fact eleven: If you have a pair of speakers you trust then cherish them even if it is the cheapest old ghetto blaster. If you can afford it buy a pair you can trust and stick with them. If you know your own sound, then that’s worth a lot. When you have done your first serious mix and you are happy then take a copy to your local cutting room and ask them to have a listen. If they can fit you in and give you a valid assessment of your sound and maybe a little advice like “you’re a tad toppy or one DB bass heavy,” then try to modify your studio to suit. If the cutting room is helpful, then reciprocate and give them your work and recommend them. If you give them a mix that is near perfection it makes their life a lot easier. Most cutting rooms are used to doing repair jobs but it doesn’t help their reputation or yours. If you need to add or subtract the tiniest bit of top then either try to tweak the acoustics or give the eq on the amp a tiny amount of adjustment.
Fact Twelve: A lot of records are heavily processed at the cut. The reason is that heavily compressed and toppy cuts can sound good on AM and FM. Try to leave your tracks as fat as possible and let the record company decide on the sound of the cut. This area we will cover later as it is another minefield with such interesting subjects such as Virgin Vinyl etc. n
• Next issue: Final touch ups and going to the Cut.