A common problem I hear is that many of you out there still aren’t getting your mixes to sound the way you want out in the real world. My first suggestion to many people is to “learn” your studio. Figure out what your room is telling you so you can be prepared to make the necessary tweaks. No room is perfect and all rooms give you a “version of the truth”. BUT, there are three simple things you can do to optimize your studio space and help in the process.
Via walknboston Flickr
Location, Location, Location
The common theme to the 3 keys to optimize your studio is location. Where your desk is located, your speakers are located, and your acoustic treatment (whether purchased or homemade) is the key. It’s all about location. Here are the three tips:
- Place your desk or mixing station in the center of your chosen wall space. Basically don’t be in a corner. You want to ideally be evenly spaced from the walls to your left and right. This will give you the most balanced sound.
- Place your speakers in a equilateral triangle with your head, pointed toward you, at ear level. The key here is to make sure your speakers cones are the same distance from each other (across your desk) as they are from your ears. Also you want them positioned at ear level for obvious reasons. Not too high, and not too low.
- Place acoustic treatment on the walls to the right and left at the point of first reflection. This one isn’t as complicated as it sounds, but to make it easier I think you should watch the video below.
Francis Buckley’s Studio Rescue
Grammy award winning producer Francis Buckley has done a cool series for Rode Microphones where he “rescues” people’s home studios. In each video he pretty much hits the above 3 points. I figured it was easier for you to learn it just by watching one his rescues so take a minute and learn from the master!
Remember, these tips are all free (assuming you have some acoustic treatment or at least can hang a blanket or two). You can make huge improvements simply by changing the location of your mixing setup!
Do Not Create Another Song Until You Read This Guide
(Price: $17 Free Today)
Discover the 6 Steps for Creating a Radio-Worthy Song From Scratch
My name is Graham Cochrane and I'm the founder of The Recording Revolution, one of the world's most loved audio recording and mixing blogs with over 200,000 readers each month. 
Great video but wouldn’t the bass traps be better placed in the top and bottom corners rather than midway up the wall corner?
um, i could use MY studio fixed with a free Rode nt2a. please? actually, i did all that stuff, but the more bass traps the better, so i ned to use some of my big fat tax refund for more rockwool and burlap! stinky but effective!
@dave, good question. i feel like those 2 dinky bass traps aren’t going to do much ANYwhere without alot more bt’s in place. bass is hard to control.
Nice article Graham.