newbie / controlling, setting up, and balancing monitors

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C_R_J
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newbie / controlling, setting up, and balancing monitors

Post by C_R_J » Tue Dec 25, 2007 2:53 pm

so im sort of going over every single detail of my recording process from start to finish now since im using a program that can actually yield good results, and todays topic on my agenda is my monitors.

what is the easiest way to get them balanced l and r easy? i can get it damn close with just my ears, but i want it to be perfect if there is such a thing.

how do i set them at the proper volume? i am pretty sure ive been mixing at waaay too loud volume levels.

what, if anything, do all of you use to control your monitors between the computer and the monitors? ive seen the mackie big knob, and i kinda like that idea, but i was curious what else there is, and if it sucks or not.

thanks for your time. i apologize if im vague at times. i have a hard time finding specific answers and questions. im tryin to whittle it down. i swear!
time is money and im wasting both...

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JWL
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Post by JWL » Tue Dec 25, 2007 5:01 pm

There are several things to think about when setting up monitors.

1. Gain structures. Also volume in the room. The best resource I know of on this is Bob Katz' writings, especially the K-system. Read the article here:
http://www.digido.com/bob-katz/level-pr ... art-1.html
http://www.digido.com/bob-katz/level-pr ... ystem.html
It's also covered extensively in his book "Mastering Audio." Highly recommended.

2. Set the room up correctly, in terms of layout. A few general rules of thumb on this:. Set the listening position 38% back from the front wall (leaving 62% behind you), centered between the left and right walls. The left and right walls should be the longer walls, ie, the speakers fire into the longest parts of the room. Ideally everything in the listening room, especially from the listening position forward, should be symmetrical. The speakers should make an equilateral triangle with your head, with the tweeters at ear-level. For more details on this, see Ethan's article, Setting Up A Listening Room: Optimizing Placements.

I generally like to listen at multiple volumes when mixing, but when I'm balancing things I generally listen at a very low volume. Lots of ways to do this though.

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so

Post by C_R_J » Tue Jan 01, 2008 11:50 am

so what would be the easiest way for me to set my monitors at say, 86 decibels? i kinda draw a blank when the words pink noise and all that kind of stuff come up. whats a easy way? im guessin i will need one of my rode nt5s, and i will have to run something through it, but this is where i get lost, and scared...

anyone got any links? or wanna splain it 2 me?
time is money and im wasting both...

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Post by dynomike » Tue Jan 01, 2008 4:49 pm

you need a calibrated spl meter if you're going to try to set your monitors to an exact level. either buy one, or just don't worry about it.

i don't really know anyone who has set up their monitors this way.. including mastering engineers.. not that its a bad thing.

jwl's advice is good. set up the speakers so they are symmetrical in the room and you are in the center. play a mono signal through the monitors and adjust their levels (if active monitors) and fine tune their positions until you can clearly hear a phantom center, in the center.

-mike
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C_R_J
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i

Post by C_R_J » Tue Jan 01, 2008 5:04 pm

i assumed that all mastering engineers did that. guess im wrong. i usually am. ha!

yeah. thats what i pretty much did already. i ran a sample of something mono and swept it back and forth and got a relative level, then played them both hard panned and raised the knobs on the back of each till it was as dead center i could get it.

i just wanna know how loud i should shoot for. im still tryin to figure out appropriate levels for my faders, master fader, monitors, etc. im tryin to figure out the why behind the how of everything if that makes sense. i read what everyone does. i just wanna know why if that makes sense.

thanks for all your time so far.
time is money and im wasting both...

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ledogboy
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Post by ledogboy » Tue Jan 01, 2008 6:05 pm

If you are interested in what volume you are monitoring at, go to Radio Shack and pick up one of their cheap SPL meters. I keep one on the console when I'm engineering as a reference. I have a tendency to start pushing the volume as the day wears on, and it is an excellent reminder to pull back down. It's also a handy way to prove to deaf bandmates that their shit is way too loud. :P

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i

Post by C_R_J » Tue Jan 01, 2008 8:17 pm

i will hit radioshack tomorrow. i always forget about that place. the only one here is in the mall, which i avoid like the plague in general...
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Post by Pascal Garneau » Fri Jan 04, 2008 3:34 pm

dynomike wrote: i don't really know anyone who has set up their monitors this way.. including mastering engineers.. not that its a bad thing.
Are you kidding? This is pretty standard stuff. Maybe not in bedroom project studios, but most serious studios use an SPL meter to calibrate their monitoring system. In post-production for film, TV, etc. this is absolutely an essential part of mixing. It's done before every mix. Film dubbing theaters calibrate to 85 on the SPL meter using -20dBFS pink noise (many smaller studios and edit suites calibrate to between 79-82).

For the original poster and anyone else who is curious, here's a post I wrote on Gearslutz for basic stereo monitor calibration using a Radio Shack SPL meter.

How loud are movie scores?
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Re: i

Post by i am monster face » Sat Jan 05, 2008 1:06 am

C_R_J wrote:i will hit radioshack tomorrow. i always forget about that place. the only one here is in the mall, which i avoid like the plague in general...
There is one on 27th street next to the Ci Ci's pizza. On the east side of the street. Kinda wedged in between the Dollar Tree and a Chinese food place...I think. It might be next to Sally Beauty Supply. It's just a shopping center. The one at Gateway is too far out of the way.

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Re: i

Post by Pascal Garneau » Sun Jan 06, 2008 8:19 am

i am monster face wrote: There is one on 27th street next to the Ci Ci's pizza. On the east side of the street. Kinda wedged in between the Dollar Tree and a Chinese food place...I think. It might be next to Sally Beauty Supply. It's just a shopping center. The one at Gateway is too far out of the way.
WOW, THANKS!! Must be a good Radio Shack. Does it come highly recommended?
:wink:
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Re: i

Post by JdJ » Sun Jan 06, 2008 9:30 am

Pascal Garneau wrote:
i am monster face wrote: There is one on 27th street next to the Ci Ci's pizza. On the east side of the street. Kinda wedged in between the Dollar Tree and a Chinese food place...I think. It might be next to Sally Beauty Supply. It's just a shopping center. The one at Gateway is too far out of the way.
WOW, THANKS!! Must be a good Radio Shack. Does it come highly recommended?
:wink:
Huh?

:roll:

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thank

Post by C_R_J » Sun Jan 06, 2008 11:43 pm

thanks for all your help. i got one at radio shack, and i generated some pink noise with wavelab, and then hard panned each speaker, and go it to 80 db, and then panned back to the center, and got a reading of like 84 or 85, which seems much more quiet than what i have been monitoring at, but im gonna stick with it for now. my basement is kinda noisy, which sucks yes, but i might up each speaker a few dbs if it poses a problem in the future.

anything i missed?
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Re: i

Post by i am monster face » Mon Jan 07, 2008 12:59 am

Pascal Garneau wrote:
i am monster face wrote: There is one on 27th street next to the Ci Ci's pizza. On the east side of the street. Kinda wedged in between the Dollar Tree and a Chinese food place...I think. It might be next to Sally Beauty Supply. It's just a shopping center. The one at Gateway is too far out of the way.
WOW, THANKS!! Must be a good Radio Shack. Does it come highly recommended?
:wink:
Haha. No, I just used to live next to that one. I would get bored, wander over there, and buy LED's to make little light boards and things. I moved now, so I just get bored and go to costco.

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Post by kayagum » Mon Jan 07, 2008 5:37 am

Have you set up your acoustics properly (bass trapping, reflection zones, etc.)? If not, probably not worth over-obsessing on decibel levels.

If you need a direction to feed an OCD habit, start reading the "Making A Room" topic. That will keep you busy for hours, but it will be useful.

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Re: thank

Post by Pascal Garneau » Mon Jan 07, 2008 11:13 am

C_R_J wrote:thanks for all your help. i got one at radio shack, and i generated some pink noise with wavelab, and then hard panned each speaker, and go it to 80 db, and then panned back to the center, and got a reading of like 84 or 85, which seems much more quiet than what i have been monitoring at, but im gonna stick with it for now.
What level is your pink noise? Typically, it should be -20dBFS. If you've been monitoring at louder than 85 SPL with -20dBFS reference, then dude...you are deaf! Since most digital music projects these days are slammed to just a hair below 0dBFS, that would mean that you are listening to 85+20=105dB SPL! Ouch!! Any louder would be cruel and unusual, especially on near-fields.
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