Studio Fatigue. Where do you feel it first?

[Ryan Silva]

The strange thing about living in DAW world is that my eyes get worn out faster than my ears. Gazing into comp screens for 8 hrs really gets to my brain. The only thing I can do is ware sunglasses, but thats just cause I'm cool lke that.

Next...

[doc]

I feel you on the weary eyes thing. What I've been doing for the last year or so is not paying attention to it while tracking. I make a point of watching the band as much as possible and not staring at the meters on the screen. During mixing, I typically throw my sweatshirt over the screen every so often and just sit back and listen. I won't let bands watch the screen during final mixdown either so that they're listening to the mix and not watching the colors, moving line, or bouncing lights on the screen. I save my ears by listening at volumes from very quiet to (occasionaly) very loud, and everything in between. It's amazing to me how fresh my ears get when I just move the master fader up or down a few notches. You hear things you weren't even listening for before.

-Doc

[superpenguin79]

yep, eye strain, wrist strain, and ear strain are some of the most common working on a DAW now days. Sometimes its a good thing to get out of the studio for a while when you're at that point and take a walk, take a break, or just do something else to give your senses time to recoup. Your mixes will thank you a lot down the road when you return to them.

[MoreSpaceEcho]

definitely eye strain. the @#$^%&* computer. the stupidest it's gotten for me was editing vocal tracks on my record. due to an incompetant engineer (yours truly) the singer was too close to the mic and there tons of these obnoxious clips on the hard consonants. they were easy to see when i zoomed in, and equally easy to deal with, but there were lots of them...so i had the process down to a science, but i found myself just staring at the screen and not blinking for, i dunno, minutes at a time. then when i did blink my eyes were all dried out and it was mighty fucking painful.

stupid.

vocals came out sounding pretty good though.

conversely, the last two projects i've done were bands all playing together straight to my otari 5050. fucking heavenly easy and fun in comparison.

listening at low levels definitely helps with the ear fatigue. if i'm working on something all day, i usually start around noon or one and go until 2-3 in the morning. i almost always start out monitoring reasonably loud and keep turning it down throughout the day....by 3am its barely audible, but i feel like i can hear everything just fine.

[oobedoob]

just curious, are we talking about CRT's or LCD's here?

[Mr. Dipity]

The strange thing about living in DAW world is that my eyes get worn out faster than my ears. Gazing into comp screens for 8 hrs really gets to my brain. The only thing I can do is ware sunglasses, but thats just cause I'm cool lke that.

Next...

What is the refresh rate on your monitor?

If you have the resolution cranked up so high that you can only manage 70 Hz or less, you have the recipe for eye strain.

[Ryan Silva]

just curious, are we talking about CRT's or LCD's here?

Big, bulky off-white CRT's are you suggjesting that there is a diffrence in eye strain? Hmm?

[I'm Painting Again]

I usually just start feeling dizzy and sort if "stoned" my mind becomes mooshey and I get hungry then i get cranky and can get snappy..

[Ryan Silva]

I usually just start feeling dizzy and sort if "stoned" my mind becomes mooshey and I get hungry then i get cranky and can get snappy..

Me to, then I stop hitting the bong.

[bobbydj]

Plus the other thing is if you're working PC's in the day job, coming home to the hobby of recording probably seems less inviting if you have to start with the screen all over again. That's why I'm thinking of either staying with cassette/1/4" for a bit longer and then I dunno, getting a wotsit. Digital mullet-tracker.

[Mr. Dipity]

Plus the other thing is if you're working PC's in the day job, coming home to the hobby of recording probably seems less inviting if you have to start with the screen all over again. That's why I'm thinking of either staying with cassette/1/4" for a bit longer and then I dunno, getting a wotsit. Digital mullet-tracker.

It's not so bad.

What would you be doing otherwise? Watching tv?

[midiot]

I'm finding it to be my ears. And I dont even monitor that loud.

[MoreSpaceEcho]

Digital mullet-tracker.

are those the ones that record shredding solos and clunky riffs for you?

[Ryan Silva]

Digital mullet-tracker.

are those the ones that record shredding solos and clunky riffs for you?

Or drum fills that go Blik-ca Blik-ca Blik-ca

[superpenguin79]

Plus the other thing is if you're working PC's in the day job, coming home to the hobby of recording probably seems less inviting if you have to start with the screen all over again. That's why I'm thinking of either staying with cassette/1/4" for a bit longer and then I dunno, getting a wotsit. Digital mullet-tracker.

yep, good call. I work for a large ISP and have that prob. all the time coming home. When I build a room eventually, I am going to put a classic analog console in there to take care of that prob. and help things out a little bit and maybe only one monitor if I include any a/d converters for digital yet.