Monitoring Sub Woofer

B

Boz_B

Guest
Hi,

I've been making a few dancy/gritty type tracks lately, almost going for the prodigy's Music For The Gilted Generation feel, and I'm using Alesis MK2's which aren't the best monitors in the world but are my first pair.

I'm having a bit of trouble getting the bass to sound exactly how I want it to... In the sense that when I try tracks in my car with a sub woofer the bass can be way too intense and not what I expected, whereas on my monitors some of my tracks don't sound as bassy as some profesionally mastered tracks.

Do you think this is to do with my monitors not outputting the ultra low end of the spectrum? Would a sub solve this problem, and would you say it's an essential piece of kit when making this style, or should I just keep practicing getting it right on my current setup?

Thanks!
 
95% of the time (perhaps more) it's the room and the position OF the speakers more than the speakers themselves.

IF your room is well-controlled, with a decent amount of low-end and broadband absorption, then I'd say to add a sub to the system. If it's properly calibrated, it can certainly help.

On the other hand, if the room ISN'T properly treated, a sub is going to make matters worse. Perhaps much worse.
 
MASSIVE Mastering said:
95% of the time (perhaps more) it's the room and the position OF the speakers more than the speakers themselves.

IF your room is well-controlled, with a decent amount of low-end and broadband absorption, then I'd say to add a sub to the system. If it's properly calibrated, it can certainly help.

On the other hand, if the room ISN'T properly treated, a sub is going to make matters worse. Perhaps much worse.
Click to expand...

Exactly what I was going to say.
 
The room itself isn't massive, probably about 8.5m x 4.5m. the desk is at one end, facing one of the 4.5m walls with the speakers about 10inches from the walls facing me to form a triangle. The speakers are sitting on Auralex foam but that's the only treatment in the room.

Any more advice?

Cheers
 
Low end & broadband absorption and lots of it. Starting with the rear corners.

That's quite a decent sized room, so the big problems are going to be in the extreme low end.

I'd suggest flipping through the acoustics information at www.realtraps.com and go from there.
 
After listening to Pendulum's "Fasten your seatbelt" I'm sure that the ultra low end is just none existant in my monitors... ie I'm convinced I heard stuff through my cars sound system that I can't really hear on my monitors... which to me suggests I am working a bit blind in that frequency range.

I'll look into acoustic treatment, but after telling you this would you still say that there's no need for a sub?
 
Depending on the room, with more low end absorption, you'll actually *hear more low end* as the signals aren't cancelling each other out anymore. It's not uncommon at all.

If you play the music in the room and it's bassy near the walls but not in the center of the room, that's somewhat of a giveaway.
 
So I could do with putting some bass traps in each of the four corners of the walls. Would you recommend I put them at the tops where the wall meets the ceiling, or mid way up the wall?

What particular products could you recommend to someone on a budget? The Auralex stand mounted pannels seemed attractive, but they are £410. I don't really want to do anything permanent, that's why the stand mounted traps seem appealing.

Thanks
 
Owens Corning 703 or 705, or 8# per sq ft mineral wool or rockwool in 2' x 4' sheets. Yes, the top corners would be a good thing also. Rear corners and top rear corner first - Then front corners and perhaps one or two dead center in front of the mix position.

STRADDLE the corners - You need air space behind the panels.
 
Seeing as though I should probably have a few more songs before I actually start turning my room into something a bit more professional, is it not possible to actually learn where the frequencies are peaking and dipping and work to that?

Would a sub be such a damaging investment? As I'm starting off, I wanna buy the more exciting things that I can play with rather than buy some foam etc. Although a pro would probably slap me for saying that, I think a sub may just help me out.
 
See, there's the problem though - That's like buying an really awesome car stereo that has no car around it.
 
MASSIVE, I really can understand what you are saying, and I appreciate what is needed to build a full accoustically sound room... but surely you could say exactly the same thing about my monitor speakers alone, never mind the sub. If the low end isn't going to be correct on the monitors in the first place then what's the point in anyone buying them if they aren't going to invest in bass traps as well? Why don't manufacturers give you bass traps with their speakers if they are so concerned about getting the flattest response?
 
Well, I did it! I bought an M-Audio SBX sub woofer, fairly cheap, cost me £199.

It has solved all of my low frequencies problems, I can instantly tell that a lot of my mixes were missing those low frequencies, and ones that had them were muddy and undefined. My stuff sounds better on my car stereo right through to headphones now, very pleased with my purchase indeed. Not too sure the neighbours will be as thrilled as me though... I can wholeheartedly recommend the SBX, such a good value sub!
 
I was thinking about buying a subwoofer too, so i'm gonna check this M-Audio SBX... But i wanna ask u guys where is the best place to position subwoofer???
Moreover i'm kinda limited in space so i worry whether i could position it right.
 
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