hi all, newbie here. my dad and i share a home recording studio in our basement. We have a Yamaha subwoofer that we use with a pair of Behringer B2031p's. i was wondering, though, as to how the subwoofer should be placed in relation to the monitors? or to rephrase, where is the best place to put a subwoofer?
Subwoofer Placement
- Thread starter RobbieL
- Start date
miroslav
Cosmic Cowboy
There isn't as much symmetrical criticality with a sub as there is with your monitors.
I'm sure there may be better/worse spots in a given room...but I would say, where it sounds best when heard with the monitors...experiment.
Here's some reading:
http://www.sonicdesign.se/subplace.html
I'm sure there may be better/worse spots in a given room...but I would say, where it sounds best when heard with the monitors...experiment.
Here's some reading:
http://www.sonicdesign.se/subplace.html
Massive Master
www.massivemastering.com
I'm going to play "bad cop" on this one --
I'd trash the sub unless you have the gear/know-how to properly shoot the room and calibrate it properly to your system.
There's a B-I-G difference in getting a system to "Wow, that sounds great" with a sub and actually be accurate with a sub. One is incredibly simple, the other is an extremely precise operation. You'll do a lot more harm than good unless it's done right.
I'd trash the sub unless you have the gear/know-how to properly shoot the room and calibrate it properly to your system.
There's a B-I-G difference in getting a system to "Wow, that sounds great" with a sub and actually be accurate with a sub. One is incredibly simple, the other is an extremely precise operation. You'll do a lot more harm than good unless it's done right.
piso3studios
New member
I hate to say it but Massive Master is 100% right on this one.
That said, I have a sub in my homestudio, even though my calibration skills are less than adequate. The important thing is to be aware that you are mixing in an environment that is not ideal by any means. One way to make sure (my preferred method) your mixes are good is to have reference mixes while you are working on a mix of your own.
I'll usually have 3-4 reference mixes that might approximate bass levels & overall sound Im trying to accomplish in a song or a song section. Obviously this isnt foolproof, and you end up relying quite a lot on your ears (although frequency analyzers tend to help).
The reason I've decided to take the particular risk of adding yet another variable to a uncalibrated setup is this: Studio Monitors cannot reproduce bass properly, at least to my ears, especially below 100Hz, which is where all the sub-bass frequencies lie.
For example, recently I was mixing a song, and decided to use a Red Hot Chili Peppers song as a reference for the kick drum sound. Due to the limited bass reproduction of my studio monitors I always ended up boosting frequencies between 100 & 250 Hz, effectively making the bass stand out in my system, but really just making it muddy overall. I soloed my reference track and turned on my sub, low and behold the kick bass was thumping like mad. when I placed a frequency analyzer on the track I realized the bass thump of the kick was at around 60-70Hz.
This was the first time I realized you kinda need subs or some very huge monitors like a lot of professional studios have. Otherwise you're just shooting in the dark with the lower bass frequencies. Granted reference mixes are a big part of it, since without them you are shooting in the dark as well, unless you follow MM's advice and do some meticulous calibrating of your room and equipment.
Regarding placement, I have mine below my desk a bit off center relative to my speakers (due to lack of space) and it seems to do the job just fine.
anybody feel free to provide alternate advice, since I am not an expert by any means
That said, I have a sub in my homestudio, even though my calibration skills are less than adequate. The important thing is to be aware that you are mixing in an environment that is not ideal by any means. One way to make sure (my preferred method) your mixes are good is to have reference mixes while you are working on a mix of your own.
I'll usually have 3-4 reference mixes that might approximate bass levels & overall sound Im trying to accomplish in a song or a song section. Obviously this isnt foolproof, and you end up relying quite a lot on your ears (although frequency analyzers tend to help).
The reason I've decided to take the particular risk of adding yet another variable to a uncalibrated setup is this: Studio Monitors cannot reproduce bass properly, at least to my ears, especially below 100Hz, which is where all the sub-bass frequencies lie.
For example, recently I was mixing a song, and decided to use a Red Hot Chili Peppers song as a reference for the kick drum sound. Due to the limited bass reproduction of my studio monitors I always ended up boosting frequencies between 100 & 250 Hz, effectively making the bass stand out in my system, but really just making it muddy overall. I soloed my reference track and turned on my sub, low and behold the kick bass was thumping like mad. when I placed a frequency analyzer on the track I realized the bass thump of the kick was at around 60-70Hz.
This was the first time I realized you kinda need subs or some very huge monitors like a lot of professional studios have. Otherwise you're just shooting in the dark with the lower bass frequencies. Granted reference mixes are a big part of it, since without them you are shooting in the dark as well, unless you follow MM's advice and do some meticulous calibrating of your room and equipment.
Regarding placement, I have mine below my desk a bit off center relative to my speakers (due to lack of space) and it seems to do the job just fine.
anybody feel free to provide alternate advice, since I am not an expert by any means
I hate to say it but Massive Master is 100% right on this one.
That said, I have a sub in my homestudio, even though my calibration skills are less than adequate. The important thing is to be aware that you are mixing in an environment that is not ideal by any means. One way to make sure (my preferred method) your mixes are good is to have reference mixes while you are working on a mix of your own.
I'll usually have 3-4 reference mixes that might approximate bass levels & overall sound Im trying to accomplish in a song or a song section. Obviously this isnt foolproof, and you end up relying quite a lot on your ears (although frequency analyzers tend to help).
The reason I've decided to take the particular risk of adding yet another variable to a uncalibrated setup is this: Studio Monitors cannot reproduce bass properly, at least to my ears, especially below 100Hz, which is where all the sub-bass frequencies lie.
For example, recently I was mixing a song, and decided to use a Red Hot Chili Peppers song as a reference for the kick drum sound. Due to the limited bass reproduction of my studio monitors I always ended up boosting frequencies between 100 & 250 Hz, effectively making the bass stand out in my system, but really just making it muddy overall. I soloed my reference track and turned on my sub, low and behold the kick bass was thumping like mad. when I placed a frequency analyzer on the track I realized the bass thump of the kick was at around 60-70Hz.
This was the first time I realized you kinda need subs or some very huge monitors like a lot of professional studios have. Otherwise you're just shooting in the dark with the lower bass frequencies. Granted reference mixes are a big part of it, since without them you are shooting in the dark as well, unless you follow MM's advice and do some meticulous calibrating of your room and equipment.
Regarding placement, I have mine below my desk a bit off center relative to my speakers (due to lack of space) and it seems to do the job just fine.
anybody feel free to provide alternate advice, since I am not an expert by any means
HEY piso .... welcome to the zoo
Great 1st post. I'll have some rep for ya when your post count hits 50.
piso3studios
New member
Thanks moresound!
(Although I wasnt sure if you were welcoming me or making fun of me, haha, hope its the first one.)
timtimtim,
My monitors' response goes down to 50hz, which in theory should reproduce 60-70Hz just fine. But it's my feeling that requency response RANGE is really not the same as frequency response, and in my case frequencies below 100Hz are just weak.
I should've added that I only turn on my subwoofer ocassionally to gauge bass levels across the board and fine tune bass instruments in accordance with reference mixes I have deemed appropriate for the situation.
(Although I wasnt sure if you were welcoming me or making fun of me, haha, hope its the first one.)
timtimtim,
My monitors' response goes down to 50hz, which in theory should reproduce 60-70Hz just fine. But it's my feeling that requency response RANGE is really not the same as frequency response, and in my case frequencies below 100Hz are just weak.
I should've added that I only turn on my subwoofer ocassionally to gauge bass levels across the board and fine tune bass instruments in accordance with reference mixes I have deemed appropriate for the situation.
I bought my Monitor Audio speakers a while ago after I was given some money as I would'nt normaly be able to afford to spend that much on speakers, but I havn't regretted it. They are beautiful. Smooth response right down to the lowest bass you can possibly hear (29Hz in my case), not boxy like with many monitors, or boomy like with some subwoofers. I'm not being paid by Monitor Audio by the way - I ought to be
dodgeaspen
New member
I second the rep points. I thought the advice was a good starting point.
piso3studios
New member
I bought my Monitor Audio speakers a while ago after I was given some money as I would'nt normaly be able to afford to spend that much on speakers, but I havn't regretted it. They are beautiful. Smooth response right down to the lowest bass you can possibly hear (29Hz in my case), not boxy like with many monitors, or boomy like with some subwoofers. I'm not being paid by Monitor Audio by the way - I ought to be
Yeah I agree you ought to be since now I feel like I should get some and ditch the woofer.
If only I had money to spend.
Thanks for the link. i showed me some different ways to place the sub and how to listen for where the bass sounds the bass that i might try out.
miroslav
Cosmic Cowboy
Oh I agree!
I personally don't use a sub...
...but some folks really want to have one.
They get addicted to the low-end THUMP.
Supercreep
Lizard People
The trunk of your car.
