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25 Pro Tips Monitors & Monitoring

Monitors are one of the most crucial components of any studio, so its vital that an

engineer understands every aspect of them. John Pickford shares the knowledge.

Full-range monitorsSometimes referred to as main monitors, all professional recording studios, mixing suites and

mastering facilities are equipped with at least one pair of full-range monitors. These are

usually very large and contain several drive units, more often than not with separate,dedicated drivers designed to handle bass, midrange and high-frequency reproduction. Full-

range monitors are able to cover the entire frequency range, from the deepest bass (which can

be felt as well as heard) right up to super-high frequencies that are inaudible to human ears.

Capable of performing at very high SPLs, this type of monitor is often situated several metres

from the listening position, so its vital that they integrate well with the room in which they

are used. Some studios build theirs into the far wall of the control room.

Nearfield monitorsOften used as alternative speakers to the main full-range monitors in large studios, nearfields

are also the first choice of main monitor in smaller project and home studios. Usually no

bigger than an average domestic hi-fi speaker, modern nearfield monitors can give a muchmore faithful account of how your recording will sound over home stereo systems. Because

these monitors are normally situated quite close to the engineers ears, the influence that the

room has on the overall sound is reduced by comparison to full-range monitors. Many

engineers will choose to mix through nearfields these days, saving the full-range monitors for

occasional loud playbacks and more accurate assessment of deep bass response.

HeadphonesMusicians wear headphones in the studio to monitor their performances, and they are

essential in order to hear previously recorded tracks while overdubbing. Engineers also find

them useful to check stereo balance, although its unusual and not really advisable to mix

down through headphones alone. They are also useful for pin-pointing faults such as hiss orhum without subjecting others present at the session to the process. Most studio headphones

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are large, closed-back designs rather than the in-ear types favoured by the iPod generation.

Domestic and car speakersStudio monitors are designed to be accurate across the audio spectrum, whereas hi-fi and in-

car systems are more inclined to flatter a recording. Accuracy is important to achieve a good

sound-balance and tone, especially when recording acoustic-based (as opposed to electronic)music. However, many producers of pop, rock and dance music like to use monitors that are

tuned to sound more like domestic speakers. Its common practice nowadays to run off a CD-

R of a final mix to play in a car, giving an idea of what it might sound like over the radio.

Low-grade MonitorsAlthough not as common these days, many studios still make use of an alternative low-grade

monitor, traditionally used to hear how a recording might sound on a cheap transistor radio.

This type of monitor has a very limited bandwidth, with no top or bottom end and a generally

tinny sound. Overly loud or quiet lead vocals can be easily detected by using a low-grade

monitor. Auratones (often referred to as horror-tones!) were popular for this purpose and

regularly used to monitor sound in television studios. A good alternative today would be touse cheap computer speakers.

Sweet spot

The listening position, in relation to monitor placement, is crucial in order to hear the best

possible sound, with the sweet spot being the place where optimum sound quality is achieved.

As a starting point, think of the stereo speakers and your head forming an equilateral triangle,

so that if your monitors are positioned, say, two metres apart, the sweet spot will usually be

found centrally placed, two metres in front of the monitors. To get it spot-on, its a good idea

to experiment with the angle of your monitors. Some are designed to fire straight down the

room, while others perform better when the speakers are toed-in to point towards your ears.

Off-axisNot everyone listens to music glued in the sweet spot. Sometimes it can be useful to listen to

your mix off-axis, elsewhere in the room. Even moving to an adjacent room can reveal basic

sound-balance problems that may have gone unnoticed, particularly when critically listening

to the finer details within a mix in your usual recording and mixing position. Top producer

Trevor Horn likes to check his mixes standing at the back of the mixing desk, with the

monitors firing into the room in front of him.

Active monitorsMost ordinary loudspeakers are passive devices that require power from an externalamplifier. However, it has become increasingly popular to use active monitors in the studio.

These units have bespoke power amplifiers built-in to the cabinet enclosure, often with a

dedicated amplifier powering each individual driver. The main benefit of this type of

monitoring system (apart from not having to buy a separate amp) is that the amplifiers will

have been tailored to suit the speakers, both in terms of power handling and tonal balance.

AmplifiersIf you choose to use passive monitors, a power amplifier will be required to drive them.

Generally speaking, small speakers are less efficient than larger ones and require more

power. A common mistake when putting together a home recording setup is to blow the

budget on expensive monitors, then attempt to drive them from a cheap, low-powereddomestic amp. Using an underpowered amplifier will result in poor reproduction and, at high

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SPLs, will clip and produce a distorted sound. Its far better to use a powerful amplifier that

wont become stressed when high monitoring levels are required.

Stands and supports

In order to get the best possible performance from your monitors its important to place them

on suitable stands. Simply plonking them on the meter-bridge of a mixing desk or on arickety shelf will not produce stellar sonic results. Monitors are sensitive to vibrations and

will not reveal their full potential unless they are placed on sturdy supports. Speaker cones

move back and forth in operation and do not benefit from the cabinet dancing along. Some

engineers place spiked cones and other vibration-busting devices underneath their monitors to

further isolate them. However, a good pair of stands should provide adequate isolation, with

just a small amount of Blu-tack in each corner of the stands top-plate to secure the monitors.

Cabling

Passive monitors receive audio signals from a power amplifier by means of speaker cable.

Most cables are made from strands of copper wire (solid-core cables are less common) and

range from very thin and inexpensive types suitable for doorbells but not much else right upto thick multi-stranded types costing hundreds of pounds per metre. Its important that both

runs of cable are the same length, regardless of the location of the amplifier in relation to

each monitor. The bare wire can be attached directly to the amplifier and speaker terminals or

banana plugs can be used for easy connectivity. Active monitors usually accept XLR cables

from a preamplifier, with some also featuring phono inputs. Active monitors also require

mains power via IEC (kettle) leads.

WoofersIn large, full-range monitor systems the woofers job is to reproduce bass frequencies, with

separate drivers employed to handle mid and high frequencies. Nearfield monitors are usually

two-way designs, with the woofer responsible for both bass and mid frequency reproduction.

Woofers feature a diaphragm (speaker cone), traditionally made from paper although

nowadays synthetic materials such as woven Kevlar are often used. The cone is attached to a

voice-coil and magnet that drives the speaker cone as current from the driving amplifier flows

through.

Midrange speakersOnce referred to as squawkers, the majority of dedicated midrange speakers are constructed

in the same way as woofers, albeit on a smaller scale. Some manufacturers, such as ATC, use

dome-type speakers to reproduce frequencies in the 300Hz to 5kHz region. Horn speakers are

also employed for midrange duties, though they are more commonly found in PA systemsrather than studio environments. Midrange speakers operate in the audio spectrum where

most of the sonic action takes place.

TweetersProfessional high-frequency drivers tweeters are capable of reproducing frequencies well

above the limits of human hearing. Most tweeters are dome-type speakers, usually made of

fabric or very thin but stiff metal. Ribbon tweeters are becoming increasingly popular in

modern monitor design, with some very accomplished designs being produced by Elac,

among others. Because they are so light, ribbons possess an extremely fast transient response

characteristic along with superior high-frequency extension. Some monitors utilise super-

tweeters that deal with harmonic content that gives a sense of air and space.

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SubwoofersSubwoofers are relatively new to the world of monitoring systems, first appearing on the

scene in the late 1960s. Designed to augment existing setups and capable of delivering the

very lowest frequencies, the first known studio use of subs was during the mixing of Steely

Dans Pretzel Logic album in 1973. Most full-range monitors do not benefit from the addition

of a subwoofer; however, nearfield monitor users often find them indispensable, particularlythose producing bass-heavy electronica or similar genres. Professional subwoofers tend to

kick in at around 100Hz200Hz and reach down to 20Hz.

Bass-reflex ports

Many monitors, including subwoofers, utilise a bass-reflex port to aid bass extension.

Described in the most simplistic terms, the port is a physical hole in the cabinet that is tuned

to allow low bass frequencies to escape. Depending on the monitors design, the port can be

situated at the rear of the cabinet or on the front baffle. Some designs employ two ports,

while those that do not make use of bass-reflex port loading are known as sealed-box or

infinite-baffle monitors. Although good bass-reflex designs can usefully extend the bottom-

end output, some engineers complain of chuffing noises heard from the ports of poorlydesigned monitors.

Coaxial speakers

In the early days of studio recording, the majority of professional studio monitors were

coaxial designs. This type of speaker features a tweeter situated in the centre of the main

driver. The idea is to create a point-source, with the sound emanating from a single spot

rather than having the tweeter placed above the woofer. Tannoy is arguably the most famous

monitor manufacturer to use coaxial drivers, with its Dual Concentric designs gracing dozens

of models over the years. See the Studio Icons feature on page 114 for the full story on

Tannoy Dual Concentrics.

Surround soundThe vast majority of studio recording and mixing is performed in stereo; however, with the

advent of home theatre systems, recordings that contain front/rear audio information as well

as left/right have become increasingly popular. Obviously, extra monitors are needed for

these productions and studios equipped to mix in surround sound are much less common than

standard stereo studios. Surround sound isnt a totally new concept, though. Quadraphonic

sound was a 1970s phenomenon that failed to take off and now resides in the same graveyard

as the eight-track cartridge and the Ford Capri.

MonophonicIts quite common during the tracking stage of recording to monitor in mono, with stereopanning saved for the mixing stage. Although stereo recording techniques using two or more

microphones is not exactly an uncommon practice, many stereo mixes of pop music are

produced from a number of mono signals that are subsequently carefully panned to give a

sense of separation and space. It can be useful to collapse your stereo mix to mono in order to

check the basic balance and also highlight any phasing issues that may have arisen within the

recording.

Familiarity

Regardless of the size, quality or cost of your monitoring system, its crucial that you are

intimately familiar with its sonic signature. If, for example, your monitors are overly bright, amix that sounds great coming through them may sound rather dull when replayed on systems

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with a flatter response. One of the reasons why so many commercial studios possess Yamaha

NS10 nearfield monitors is that most jobbing engineers who very often work in many

different studios know what they sound like, so even if the studios main monitors are

unfamiliar models, the famous NS10s provide a frame of reference.

MetersWhether using a mixing desk or DAW, engineers rely on meters VU, LED or otherwise

to visually monitor the output of individual channels, sub-groups and the main stereo mix

buss. As useful as these are, its worth remembering that many great sounds have been

created with the meters well into the red, particularly when recording in the analogue domain.

Take note of what your meters tell you, but its better to mix with your ears rather than your

eyes.

PFL and solo

Most mixing desks feature a Pre-Fade Listen (PFL) and/or Solo switch on each channel. The

PFL switch allows an individual audio channel to be monitored before the signal reaches the

fader. This is useful when adjusting the input gain. When this switch is engaged all otherchannels are muted. The Solo switch, sometimes called AFL (After-fade Listen) allows the

individual channel to be heard at the level set for the mix. These features are useful for

identifying and subsequently dealing with audio imperfections.

Tone controlsSome monitors feature tone controls that allow you to tailor their sound to suit the room in

which theyre being used. Usually these controls will boost or cut the output from a specific

driver. Bass-reflex-ported monitors sometimes have a switch that reduces the output from the

port. This can be useful when rear-ported monitors are sited close to a wall (this increases the

perceived bass response). Dont engage tone controls to flatter your mix: if the sound isnt

right, adjusting the tone of your monitors will make no difference to the true sound of your

mix when replayed elsewhere.

Monitoring levelThere are no hard-and-fast rules when it comes to the SPL at which you monitor. Obviously,

if youre recording and mixing a mellow singer/songwriter theres little point in monitoring at

ear-blistering levels. Similarly, if youre making tracks designed to be played in clubs or

youre recording a heavy metal band, you wont get a feel for the final result unless you

occasionally increase the volume. However, no matter what you are working on, consistently

high SPLs can become fatiguing and cloud your judgement.

Recording monitors

Some sounds can be improved by routing the signal through an external amplifier/speaker

and recording the result. This is known as re-amping, and monitors can be used for this

technique. The re-amped sound can be used to replace or augment the original. Close-micing

the monitors can add punch and drive to previously recorded tracks, while positioning the

mic(s) at a distance from the monitors can add room ambience. Echo chambers operate in a

similar way, albeit in a more reverberant space.