Hey!

I know this will seem like elementary home recording 101 to most of you guys and it's ridiculous for someone who's been at this as long as me, but I really only got my studio up to "perfection" only a few weeks ago and for so long I was mixing with headphones and, well, you know what I mean.

With only a small bit of "fixing" (ie, need a small bit of deep curtains for my three small windows) to do, my studio should be acoustically perfect.  As you may know, I have a pair of JBL LSR308 studio monitors.  My question is: How do I use them effectively to get my mixes the best they can be?

I can only get them about three feet apart from each other because my room is only 5'x12' and I need to use the short wall.  The bass traps from the Auralex kit come out from the wall so much that there isn't enough room to spread them out any further,  Also, on the back of each monitor there is a Hi pass and a lo pass filter.

Should I get the mixes to balance out and sound the best in these speakers?  What am I looking to hear from them in a room that should now be as acoustically fit as it can be?  How should I set the filters?

Thanks so much for your education.
Below is a pic of my setup from the front of the room.



John B.

Don't worry about the distance between the speakers. Three feet may not be ideal, but you'll be OK as long as you don't sit too far back from them when you mix. I'd angle them outward a bit from the position in your photo. They have a wide-enough dispersion that you can get away with not having the tweeters aimed precisely at your ears.
 
Your biggest issue is that the speakers are rear-ported and their backsides are aimed at room corners. This will cause bass buildup beyond what your traps can absorb, which may result in bass-light mixes. For that reason, you may want to utilize the speakers' HPFs to take a little low end out - that's exactly why they're there.

i have the 305's...
good little monitors.
 
i set up an equilateral triangle, measured from center of top of speaker,
and at the sitting point, i mark an X on the floor with tape, and sit just inside of that.. my sweet spot.
 
with your tight arrangement, you will end up with a VERY small sweet spot...
make sure your ears are about as high as your tweeters
 
bit is right about the problems with the corners.....
pulling out away from the back wall as far as you can, will help.

http://arqen.com/acoustic...tup-speaker-placement/
http://johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=1
 

^^^ good reference. 
 
John Sayers is the guy you'd hire if you had a the budget for a great pro studio. Some good free information from Mr. Sayers here. It was written 20 years ago, but the laws of physics haven't changed since then.

Thanks guys!
In hindsight, maybe I should've gotten the 305s, but I wasn't thinking acoustic treatment at the time I bought them.
So, bit, are you saying max the Hi Pass filters and minimize the lo pass filters?
 
JB

There should be controls on the back to roll off the bass. It may be labeled in decibels or might just be a knob that makes you guess. You probably want to roll off 6 dB if that's an option. The trick, if the controls aren't indented, is getting both speakers to match one another. Luckily that's not critical for bass frequencies. I would not change the low-pass filter, though.
 
If you find that when you play your mixes elsewhere are too bass heavy or too bass light, let that inform you about making further tweaks to the speakers' filters. The general rule of thumb is whatever your mixes have too much of is what you're not hearing well, or conversely, whatever you mixes have too little of is what you're hearing too much of. Post a few songs on the Songs forum and let others advise you. Everyone will hear it a little differently, but there'll likely be a consensus overall if your bass levels are too far from the norm.
 
If your mixes are consistently bass-light and you've already turned the HPF as far as it will go, then you may end up adding more bass trapping in the corners. 

Hey, Bit!
 
The rear of my 308s have an LF Trim and an HF Trim each marked -2db, 0, +2db.  As per your advise, I have the HF at +2db and the LF at -2db.  Is this what you're recommending?
 
I don't wish to post my songs on the Song forum here because of past bad experiences.  They wouldn't review my mix.  They'd only tell me how crappy my song(s) or performances are. (Remember "Out in the Open" and J-in-saddle?).  What I would like to perhaps do (if OK with you) is PM you with a link (or links) to my songs for you to hear privately.
 
Thanks
JB

To be honest just listen to your favorite pro mixes on your setup. Listen critically to the frequencies and balance. That shows you a reference for what to achieve in your mixes in that particular room. So dont stress about placement and treatment. Bottom line is never mix in isolation always use reference tracks and you can mix on anything anywhere practically.

Sorry about your bad experience on the Songs forum. Unfortunately, there are always a handful of trolls lurking in such forums. They're usually ignorant youngsters who don't any post songs of their own and yet somehow feel qualified to give advice anyway. Don't let that deter you! 
 
That said, Enigmatic is entirely correct: listening to your favorite commercial records on your monitoring system is far and away the best thing you can do. Over time, your brain will adapt to whatever sonic limitations your speakers and room have, and you'll gradually come to unconsciously recognize what a good mix is supposed to sound like on those speakers.