Is it important to mix with a subwoofer? This is one of the most common questions by beginners in mixing. The shortest answer is that subwoofer may not be required but it is still important that you can hear bass frequencies correctly. This is if you want to mix bass levels accurately. Still confused? The details are discussed as follows.
The golden rule of mixing is that you cannot mix what you cannot hear. So it is very important that you can listen to both very low and high frequencies when mixing. If you cannot hear bass frequencies very well during the mixing session, then do not expect that your bass in the mix sounds great and balanced.
Rely FIRST on Nearfield monitors for mixing bass
Your nearfield monitor should be your first complete guide of mixing bass all the way up to treble frequencies. Your nearfield monitor should be your sole guide in balancing the level of all instruments in the mix. With a proper nearfield monitor, you can do all that tasks very well:
nearfield monitor
Photo credits: Stone Ray
Below are important specifications when selecting a nearfield monitor that could eliminate the issue of needing an additional subwoofer unit:
a.) Flat frequency response (from the lowest possible frequency all the way up to high frequencies).
b.) Very wide frequency response – it is recommended that the nearfield monitor capture frequencies like 45Hz to 60Hz very well. 45Hz to 55Hz is a very important frequency range for mixing deep bass.
For example nearfield monitor like Dynaudio BM 6A Mk II (active monitors) have a frequency response accuracy of 40 Hz – 21 kHz at ±3dB. This is very accurate nearfield isn’t it? This means that from 40Hz (which is a sub-bass frequency) all the way up to 21 KHz, the SPL that will reach into your ears (assuming your room is perfectly treated also) will only vary by 3dB. One issue is that this type of monitors can be very expensive and beyond the budget of beginning home studio engineers. A pair of these monitors can cost around $1500. However nearfield monitors like this can behave like a subwoofer + nearfield monitor all-in-one. So it is a good trade-off in terms of overall performance even though it costs more.
But most home studio enthusiasts can only afford low cost nearfield monitors. These monitors though it can still reach deep bass like 50Hz is not as accurate as those expensive monitors. Based on experience, you can still mix bass with this type of nearfield monitors, how?
Double check the bass levels by turning on the subwoofer
This is the time you need to check the bass levels of your mix with an additional subwoofer unit. You only need to turn on the subwoofer when double checking bass levels. For most of the time in the mix, you will be mixing middle/high frequencies and balancing the levels. So you won’t need the subwoofer when mixing these frequencies because most nearfield monitors can reproduce these very well. Bear in mind that adding a subwoofer in your mixing studio requires your room to be fully TREATED with bass traps for accuracy. Not the ordinary foam bass traps or sofa but real traps like rigid fiber glass, placed in the corner of your room. Discussing to build bass traps is beyond the scope of this post. I suggest you read Ethan Winer bass trap guides. Without proper room acoustical treatment can result to big problems in mixing because bass frequencies can easily create standing waves in small rooms (typical for home studio) drowning the mid/high frequencies and creating an overall muddy monitoring environment.
subwoofer picture
Photo Credits: Front Room Cinema
Double check your mix OUTSIDE your studio
Not all home studio environments have that laser-accurate sound reproduction environment especially with the bass levels. The solution is to play your mix outside your home studio. It can be another playback system such as your car stereo, iPod, hi-fi speakers, etc. The objective is to check how well your mix bass levels translate to another system.
Although an added task, I would highly recommend this if you are very serious in creating a high quality mix. Even though you are confident that you have well-treated rooms; the reality is revealed when you play your mix outside your studio. So the main question is that why you would be mixing with accurate nearfield monitors in the first place and not hi fi speakers?
The mix should translate to a variety of systems not just on a single hi-fi monitor. If you would be mixing using a hi-fi monitors and not a nearfield monitor, it will only sound good to your hi-fi monitors and not on other systems. It is because hi-fi monitors do not have FLAT frequency response. But mixing with a nearfield monitor then double checking your work with hi-fi systems ensure that you have done the job properly.
Back to main question: Is it important to mix with a subwoofer or not? It’s important for monitoring bass frequencies accurately. You do not need to buy additional unit if you have a nearfield monitors with reliable low bass capabilities. If not, you can still double check your mix bass levels with an additional subwoofer unit or listening in another monitoring environment.
Content last updated on August 8, 2012