Music Production: 5 Tips For Using Studio Monitors

Studio monitors should be placed about 8" to 12" away from a wall, and should always be placed right side up, not laying on their side, with the tweeters as close to ear level as possible.

You should place yourself as close to the "sweet spot" as possible. To position yourself in the "sweet spot", place yourself perfectly centered between your monitors, then imagine a big equilateral triangle (A triangle in which all angles are 60 degrees), with two points being your monitors. Back away from your monitors until you are positioned at the third point of that triangle. That is the "sweet spot", you should position yourself as close to that spot as you can whenever using your monitors. Once you find the "sweet spot", rotate your monitors so that they are both facing you directly, instead of lining up with the wall behind them.

Using monitor isolation pads (foam pads) underneath your monitors will help to reduce resonance vibrations from interfering with your mix.

Even more important than buying a good pair of monitors, is getting used to the monitors that you have. You will achieve much better results using a pair of cheap monitors that you have been using for years than you will with a really expensive pair of monitors that you are just hearing for the first time. Before you start creating music, listen to a bunch of your favorite songs with your monitors so that you can hear how they interact with various sounds and frequencies.

When using monitors, you should never be wearing anything on your head that covers your ears such as a hat or beanie. No equipment or clothing should be obstructing the path from your monitors to your ears.

When looking to purchase studio monitors, your goal is to get flat response speakers, speakers that don't add or remove any frequencies. This way you can confidently know that the sound you are hearing is as it actually sounds and isn't being edited by your speakers.