adding a sub?

I'd say there's going to be a split opinion on this. Personally I find the seperation between the sub and the rest of it a little difficult to manage. I'm not even too keen a sub for listening to music. It's more of a movie thing for me. I suppose you have to get the crossover just right. Others do like to use a sub though.

I guess it also depends on the music you're making. I think if I was making dance/techo type stuff, or anything with a lot of sub-bass, I'd probably opt for a sub.
 
I love my sub and it's not really such a big deal to get the crossover set right.
One way is to set the level to have the low end sound as if it's really coming out of your near-fields. I have a tune I always use to judge the level, Silly World by Stone Sour, so it's a good idea to use a commercial CD to adjust the settings and have it sounding right to your ears. Of course, testing your mixes at first on other systems to check how they translate is also a good way to know if you have it set right. But you get used to it in time.
 
:eek: BEWARE THE SUB :eek:
You'll notice if it's not set just right you'll be mixing bass heavy or visa-versa
From time to time I turn mine down or off to hear the mix that way as well.






:cool:
 
There was Dolby, then there was EQ on home listening devices, now there are sub woofers.
All three have been added by the manufacturers to distort the music which we produce.
By adding a sub in the studio, you are distorting your music during the process rather than hearing it flat.
I'd say, unless you are doing surround sound, there is no need for a sub until after the production is completed.
In other words, for playback only.
 
Calibrating a stereo playback system is a relatively simplistic thing with the right tools and a modicum of experience.

Calibrating a system with a subwoofer is an art form in which very few people I know are up to the task.

Throwing a sub on a home theater for some rumble is one thing - Using a sub for accuracy across the audio spectrum is another thing entirely.


I'm not saying to to get a sub - I'm just saying that there's an awful lot that goes into adding a sub and it's never as simple as "plugging it in" and making sure it's running...
 
Jim Lad said:
... All three have been added by the manufacturers to distort the music which we produce...
Click to expand...

Interesting.

I use a homemade sub setup. The important thing is that you understand the harmonic series and the crossover needs to be set so that only the fundamentals go through the sub. The common mistake is that the crossover frequency is set too high and then the fundamental plus the first harmonic goes through the sub.

I have my crossover set at 50Hz. Many subs have crossovers at say 80Hz and that's too high.

To me, using a sub has many advantages. If nothing else, when people say "more bass! more bass!" and you know there's already enough you can turn the sub up and make them happy.
 
dintymoore said:
Interesting.

I use a homemade sub setup. The important thing is that you understand the harmonic series and the crossover needs to be set so that only the fundamentals go through the sub. The common mistake is that the crossover frequency is set too high and then the fundamental plus the first harmonic goes through the sub.

I have my crossover set at 50Hz. Many subs have crossovers at say 80Hz and that's too high.

To me, using a sub has many advantages. If nothing else, when people say "more bass! more bass!" and you know there's already enough you can turn the sub up and make them happy.
Click to expand...

:laughings: I know, this works every time dinty. ;)






:cool:
 
My favorite is when someone is dancing around my studio to a song and then they say "Oh, I hate subwoofers".

At that I will turn off my sub (which you can't tell is on until you turn it off) and watch them go totally limp.
 
dintymoore said:
My favorite is when someone is dancing around my studio to a song and then they say "Oh, I hate subwoofers".

At that I will turn off my sub (which you can't tell is on until you turn it off) and watch them go totally limp.
Click to expand...

:laughings::laughings: That is funny dinty! I can just picture that in my minds eye.






:cool:
 
Subs are one of those things like eq, compression and reverb that have the potential of fucking things up beyond belief.

I think that you need to understand the harmonics series. You need to be able to be walking around and hear a truck go by and here the fundamental and the the 8va and the 5th about that. You need to be able to understand why your dog hits harmonics and what you are hearing in the wind.

The harmonic series and time are the only two things there are in music and sound. Everything comes under those two headings. The harmonic series is easier, although it takes a long time to be able to hear it when a door creaks and know what you are hearing and to recognize a B from an Eb takes even longer.

But time is way, way more complicated - takes a lifetime.
 
bstarstudios said:
im thinking of adding a sub to my monitoring set up something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Fostex-PM0-5-Sub-Active-Monitor-
Subwoofer/dp/B000ET07LO

i'm using a pair of fostex near field monitors currently. would this be a good idea?
Click to expand...

Two things...
1) Maybe this is common knowledge and I missed it from another thread, but what monitors are you using now?
2) What, if any steps have you taken to treat the acoustics in your room?

If you haven't already, treating the acoustics in your studio will breath new life into any decent monitor you're using now. If you're using a 6 or 8" monitor now, you might even find that fixing the low end acoustics in your room makes them totally usable. If you've already addressed the acoustics, and you have a set of monitors with small 4 or 5" drivers, I'd actually look at trading up to a larger set, but adding a sub might get you somewhere...
 
thanks for all the response, i see there is mixed opinions on subs, and i think it looks like ill stay away from then (for now).

im running fostex 4.0 subs, 5" i think. i think ill save up for some larger monitors, like krk 6's or 8's.
 
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