LEFT: In a studio, position your chair and monitors so your head forms
an equilateral triangle with the tweeters. This “sweet spot” provides the
ideal listening position for mixing music that translates well to the rest
of the world. Note the acoustical treatment above the sweet spot, on
the walls, and in the corner.
RIGHT: It’s important to have all your essential instruments, mic preamps,
and processing gear within reach.
Ergonomics. While it sounds
like a fancy word in a college
business course, it’s actually
an important factor in helping
us work in the studio. Merriam-
Webster defines ergonomics as
“an applied science concerned
with designing and arranging
things people use so that the
people and things interact most
efficiently and safely.” But for
musicians, it’s more than that.
When applied properly, it can literally
make you more productive.
Here’s what I mean: Many of
you probably have some kind of
home studio, which can range
from a simple laptop rig to a
full-blown setup with a separate
control room. No matter what
it is, to keep your creative flow
it’s important that you can easily
get to all the tools you need
from your “sweet spot.”
The sweet spot is that particular
place where your head forms
an equilateral triangle with the
tweeters in your studio monitors
(assuming you are using monitors,
as opposed to headphones,
for your primary mixing). This
lets you properly hear the timing
of the audio coming out of the
speakers and gives you the best
shot at making sure your mixes
will translate to the rest of the
world. An easy way to do this is
to use a tape measure to mark
the distance from your left ear
to the left tweeter. Then position
the right tweeter at this identical
distance from the left tweeter.
Sometimes it’s easier said than
done, but do the best you can to
form the equilateral triangle.
However, you can’t stop there.
When listening back to your
work, you’ll need to be in a comfortable
resting position where
your ears are the same height as
the tweeters. If you’re leaning forward
to mix at a desk, you may
be placing yourself in a position
where the timing of the frequencies
is “off.” Try to acquire a good
comfortable chair that lets you sit
in that sweet spot without leaning
forward or backward.
Where you place your gear
is also important. Hard, flat
surfaces will reflect sounds from
the speakers, so if you sit at a
desk, it will most certainly be
throwing certain frequencies up
at you. While there is not much
you can do about that, take it
into consideration when setting
up your system. Fewer surfaces
means fewer reflections.
Also, while it’s handy to have
a pair of giant computer displays
to stare at, they will also reflect
(or block) frequencies from your
speakers. If your mixes are not
intended for the public, then it
doesn’t matter. But if you want
people to hear your work, then
you’ll need to think about such
details. Try to position the computer
displays so you don’t have
to strain your neck up or down
to see the screen. In my home
studio, I’ve purposely opted to
have only one medium-sized
display. This setup minimizes
reflections and allows me to have
additional gear at my fingertips.
Through trial and error over
the years, I’ve learned to lay out
my studio very simply. My room
is intended to be a personal
production studio, where I can
mix projects (both in stereo and
5.1 surround sound), compose
for TV, and do sound design.
Being primarily a guitar player,
it’s also set up to focus on that
instrument.
On a basic IKEA table, I
have my control surface—with
its transport controls and faders—
on the left, which puts
everything within easy reach.
Next to that, I have the remote
control unit for the rack unit
that controls my headphone
and speaker levels. Beside that
sit a single computer display, a
keyboard, and a trackball (the
latter is ergonomically better
for your wrist than a mouse). A
pair of monitors angle inward
toward my sweet spot when I’m
sitting upright, and I hook up
surround speakers as needed.
To my right is a small rack
with a Pro Tools HD interface
that connects via a single optical
cable to the main remote-control
rack unit (located under the
table with a voltage stabilizer
and a subwoofer), which in turn
feeds the speakers. Then there
is a rack tuner, which is fed by
a Creation Audio Labs MW1
Studio Tool—a useful for guitar
tracking and reamping. While
keeping the tuner in-line, I can
use the MW1 for DI recording
or run a signal out of it to any
of my amps—or both.
Above the MW1 are a mono
Grace Design m103 channel strip
and a power conditioner. I use the
m103’s preamp for microphone-based
work (such as acoustic guitar
or vocals), and its compression
and EQ sections for electric bass
(fed from the MW1’s DI output).
When I need a keyboard, I
plug in a USB-powered model
and place it to my right. When
I don’t need it, it goes under
the desk and out of sight. My
Mac and hard drives sit next to
the table on the right. Farther
out to the right, a small rack
houses a tube EQ (which is
strapped across my Pro Tools
master bus) and a selection of
tube and solid-state preamps.
My room is a few floors up
in a condo, with a ton of natural
light streaming in—a bonus that
doesn’t require running wires to
extra lighting—but I still needed
to treat the room with products
that absorb or diffuse certain
frequencies. The goal with such
treatments is to ensure that what
I hear back is minimally colored
by the environment and devoid
of unwanted reflections.
With this setup, I can do
just about everything I need to,
directly from my chair. It’s all
within reach—I can plug in guitars,
amps, tuners, headphones,
microphones, and keyboards,
and adjust all levels from one
single spot. This has definitely
helped me be productive.
With your home setup, try to
think ergonomically. Streamline
whatever you can, and make
sure your speakers are at the
right height and distance from
you. Get rid of unwanted gear
or stow away infrequently used
items to keep it simple. Then
focus on putting it all to good
work making music.
Rich Tozzoli is a
Grammy-nominated
engineer and mixer who
has worked with artists
ranging from Al Di
Meola to David Bowie.
A life-long guitarist, he’s
also the author of
Pro Tools Surround
Sound Mixing and composes for the
likes of Fox NFL, Discovery Channel,
Nickelodeon, and HBO.