My mix room acoustics

jordan s · 15th October 2009

Hello all. I recently moving into a new place with an extra bedroom so I could set up a mix room. The room is about 11x11' and I know it's way less than ideal. After reading a lot on the room treatment sub-forum, I made a bunch of my own traps out of 6 lb. per square foot mineral wool.

I have 4 2" thick 2'x4' panels at first reflection points, two on the sides, one on the ceiling and an extra in the short hallway that leads to the door. I have 4" thick 2'x4' panels across all four corners and two on the back wall and also 4" thick 1'x1'x1' triangles in the four ceiling/side wall corners. This is pretty much all the trapping I can get away with in this size room.

My problem is, I fear I may have gone overboard. I've been working on my first mix in this room. First I just went for it and tried to make it sound right by my ears. After referencing my mix on a different setup/room, it sounds horrible. Totally muddy, WAY too much low end and way too much reverb. I then decided to mix against a reference, a similar song that was mixed very well. I ended up pulling out a lot of low end and low mids as well as bringing down the reverb and got things somewhat close sonically, to my ears. I brough my mix to a different setup/room, again same problems, slightly better.

My room does not allow me to hear low end or the nuance of reverb. I have never had problems like this while working in reputable studios. I know the consensus around here is that the more trapping, the better, especially in small rooms. I think that maybe I just sucked all the low end and life (what little it had) out of the room. My monitors are Yorkville YSM1-p and while I know I won't get much low end out of these, I have mixed in many small rooms with nearfields and no subs without problems. Any tips, comments or ideas are welcome.

Ethan Winer · 16th October 2009

If you can post a photo or two that will help. Better, measure your room using appropriate software and post the results. Here are my standard measuring suggestions:

ETF, Windows, $150
FuzzMeasure, Mac, $150
Room EQ Wizard, Windows and Linux, Freeware
Using ETF explains how I use ETF, but the principles apply to all such programs.
Comparison of Ten Measuring Microphones

--Ethan

bpape · 16th October 2009

Doesn't sound overboard to me at all in a small/square room. My only suggestion would be to take 2 of the wall panels and move them to the front wall behind the monitors to deal with SBIR.

I'd also consider a thicker panel on the ceiling to deal with height related bass issues depending on the ceiling height.

Bryan

renaud · 16th October 2009

Hi ,

maybe you 're in a null at listening position or your speakers are badly placed

in the room .

what about the tracks ? recorded acoustic tracks or electro music ?

jordan s · 17th October 2009

Thanks for the help everyone. I have also considered the possibility that I am monitoring at unrealistic levels. I have a neighbor above me and out of respect, I have tried not to push it too much. After getting out my SPL meter, I found I was mixing around at around 74db spl. Once I raised the level to around 85, I felt like I was hearing a more accurate representation, however, this won't fly too long considering my living situation....sigh.

15th October 2009	#1
jordan s Gear maniac Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Oakland, CA Posts: 161 Thread Starter	My mix room acoustics Hello all. I recently moving into a new place with an extra bedroom so I could set up a mix room. The room is about 11x11' and I know it's way less than ideal. After reading a lot on the room treatment sub-forum, I made a bunch of my own traps out of 6 lb. per square foot mineral wool. I have 4 2" thick 2'x4' panels at first reflection points, two on the sides, one on the ceiling and an extra in the short hallway that leads to the door. I have 4" thick 2'x4' panels across all four corners and two on the back wall and also 4" thick 1'x1'x1' triangles in the four ceiling/side wall corners. This is pretty much all the trapping I can get away with in this size room. My problem is, I fear I may have gone overboard. I've been working on my first mix in this room. First I just went for it and tried to make it sound right by my ears. After referencing my mix on a different setup/room, it sounds horrible. Totally muddy, WAY too much low end and way too much reverb. I then decided to mix against a reference, a similar song that was mixed very well. I ended up pulling out a lot of low end and low mids as well as bringing down the reverb and got things somewhat close sonically, to my ears. I brough my mix to a different setup/room, again same problems, slightly better. My room does not allow me to hear low end or the nuance of reverb. I have never had problems like this while working in reputable studios. I know the consensus around here is that the more trapping, the better, especially in small rooms. I think that maybe I just sucked all the low end and life (what little it had) out of the room. My monitors are Yorkville YSM1-p and while I know I won't get much low end out of these, I have mixed in many small rooms with nearfields and no subs without problems. Any tips, comments or ideas are welcome.

16th October 2009	#2
Ethan Winer Gear Guru Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: New Milford, CT, USA Posts: 12,033	If you can post a photo or two that will help. Better, measure your room using appropriate software and post the results. Here are my standard measuring suggestions: ETF, Windows, $150 FuzzMeasure, Mac, $150 Room EQ Wizard, Windows and Linux, Freeware Using ETF explains how I use ETF, but the principles apply to all such programs. Comparison of Ten Measuring Microphones --Ethan __________________ Ethan's audio book is coming!

16th October 2009	#3
bpape Lives for gear Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: St. Louis(Wildwood), MO Posts: 756	Doesn't sound overboard to me at all in a small/square room. My only suggestion would be to take 2 of the wall panels and move them to the front wall behind the monitors to deal with SBIR. I'd also consider a thicker panel on the ceiling to deal with height related bass issues depending on the ceiling height. Bryan __________________ I am serious, and don't call me Shirley Bryan Pape Lead Acoustical Designer GIK Acoustics

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16th October 2009	#4
renaud Gear interested Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 11	Hi , maybe you 're in a null at listening position or your speakers are badly placed in the room . what about the tracks ? recorded acoustic tracks or electro music ?

17th October 2009	#5
jordan s Gear maniac Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Oakland, CA Posts: 161 Thread Starter	Thanks for the help everyone. I have also considered the possibility that I am monitoring at unrealistic levels. I have a neighbor above me and out of respect, I have tried not to push it too much. After getting out my SPL meter, I found I was mixing around at around 74db spl. Once I raised the level to around 85, I felt like I was hearing a more accurate representation, however, this won't fly too long considering my living situation....sigh.