So now that I can feel sub frequencies through my SubPac, I am now realizing what I have been missing in my sonic perception. It’s as if sub frequencies and the rest of the frequencies are two separate bodies that have different movements going on that work together. Over the months that I have had it I realize that many producers as well as bands don’t have this perception whereas more modern producers take advantage of understanding the differentiation to push the boundaries of music.
I understand that the best way to get the best sound is to make it sound good on multiple systems so, having said that, is there a certain frequency that is best? Is this a secret? Some songs I hear have such an amazing low end, so amazing that I wonder if there is a very certain frequency range they are staying in.
What are your experiences on discovering sub frequencies? Do you think having sub frequencies on my back instead of my head (I only mix on headphones - monitors are out of question) is good or dangerous since when they are on my head, they are all in one place? Or maybe it’s better?
One thing I am finding when I am sound designing is that I find I start to want to get ‘that feeling’ of sub frequencies. Do you think it’s best to do sound design with lower frequencies cut off or not?
Good systems will go down to that low D, some only manage G.
For bass heavy music I usually aim for F as the lowest, that way most systems can reproduce it (you don’t want to write a good song, go to play it on a system only to find their bass rolls off so high it cuts your sub bass off!)
Based on my limited experience I find it best not too worry about hitting a certain sweet spot and choosing notes etc… That work best with your track. But on the odd occasion I whip out fruity I’m still mixing on earphones/headphones and my shitty 2.1 system so there’s a lot of trial and error
like others have said lots of rigs won’t go that low. always awesome when it does on a nice system of course…but i think the club impact comes from eq/compression techniques more than hitting that super low sub note.
I mean you’ve gotta think about the fact that it’s not a real sub producing real sound waves. It’s recreating the feel. So there are going to be some freqs that it might have a little trouble with but that doesn’t mean they’ll fall flat on real speakers. That being said I’ve found that around 30hz and 50hz feel really good on the sub pac and 50hz is a really good sub imo. It always sounds very powerful and pronounced (although that has a lot to do with mixing obviously)
