In Regards To Aux Fed Subs

03-11-2007, 09:50 PM

Being a fan of the "subs on a knob" idea, I think I have a theory that fits why I like it, and might fit for other people as well. It essentially boils down to having very direct control of a "boom!" channel. (This is not necessarily "stupidly over the top boom.") It's not that you couldn't get the same overall results out of a classical setup and some half-decent channel EQ - it's just that it's direct and instantaneous.

I might also theorize that, for little guys working in little rooms (like me), that the ability to just hit the subs harder (with no effect on the tops) is a big help - I don't need any more kick drum in the tops, because I'd need to get insanely loud to hear the "click" anyway. Going right back to the above idea, the "subs on a knob" means that this can happen very directly, with no EQ work required.

In other words, maybe part of the "super noticeable effect" is the change in workflow, and effectively having to manage fewer things to get a desired result.

Maybe.

It's just a theory. I could be full of it. I often am.

Just anecdotally, I once mixed an artist (Cary Judd) who would pound his guitar to get a "boom" for his looper. This was on my install, which is a "subs on a knob" variation. We got a fun boom. It was cool. Good times had by all.

The next time I mixed him, it was at a different venue, on a different install that was "classic." Music sounded good through the system, etc, etc. It was all basically comparable to the install I had used for him the last time, except for the "classic" sub configuration. For some reason, I just could not get the same, ever so satisfying "boom" from the guitar. I can't remember if it was "unreachable," or just "muddy," or whatever - I just couldn't make it happen. (Of course, I was really having a bad first hour or three of what was going to be a 14-hour mini festival, so that might have been part of the equation as well.)

In my case, subs on a knob gets me the results I want in a way that I like, so I just go with it. Maybe it is more workflow than anything else - but I like it.