String analyser | Tannoy Reveal instruction

to the speaker’s response, because the ear/brain reads reflections arriving within 10 milliseconds of the direct sound as being part of the speaker’s response, these reflections can pull the stereo image around in different directions at different frequencies. Enough theory, now to the lab.

Here’s where we have fun with science. Take the microphone stand and place it at the mix position. Attach one end of the string to the top of the mic stand, and stretch the string out to the front of one of the monitors. This is the direct sound path from the speaker to your mix position. To locate all the surfaces that will contribute reflections within that magic 2 millisecond window, add 600mm(24”) to the string you have stretched out. Take a small piece of gaffer tape and attach the string to the baffle (NOT the drivers!). Now, every surface you can touch with any part of that string can contribute a reflection to your mix position.

The STRING analyser

This same concern about reflecting surfaces applies to all nearby widgets such as computer monitors, outboard gear, coffee cups, rolls of tape, the producer’s wooden leg and all the other usual paraphernalia found in a studio environment. Cleaning up this short sound path between the speaker and your listening position is like using a cotton bud on your ear.

You can repeat the process with an extra 3000mm (10 feet) of string to see which surfaces will influence the timbre and imaging of your mix. This exercise is not just about finding places to stick fuzzy or foamy absorbers to, the last thing you want to do is make your room completely dead. What this process will show you is which surfaces you should try to angle to redirect reflections away from your mix position. If there are surfaces that you cannot move or shift, you can apply a small amount of absorbent material to specific surfaces, rather than covering the entire room in absorbers.

You may want to consider a speaker placement other than the console meter bridge, perhaps on an elevated mounting arm attached to the wall, or on a mid-field monitor stand, just behind the console. These positions can help clean up that 2-millisecond window. Keep your ears open for other problem reflections, like between the sloped connector panel on the back of the console and the baffle of the speaker, which will find its way back to the mix position a bit too late to be useful. The string trick works just fine for locating these reflecting surfaces.

It’s important that you listen to the effect of speaker placement on the sound character of your speakers, and understand what those changes are going to do to your mix. To make the point here’s are some more things to consider: -