Would a pair of subwoofers help the bass presets sound better?

I am getting the 18S. I'll report back on how it all works out. Furthermore, I don't mix, and I am not an audiophile. Anyway...just a caveman!
 
JWDubois said:
The flip side of that is when I listen to recordings and clips on my sub-equipped system, I can tell when someone mixed or tweaked using a system with no bass, because the bass will be overhyped.
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I used to have a similar problem, but my low end always ended up flubby, slow, and weak, rather than overhyped. I'd compare my mixes to pros, and mine sounded weak. As soon as a I got a subpac my low end improved dramatically. Of course the most important thing was adding "effective" absorption panels.
 
It's impossible to give a blanket statement about whether a sub will help your specific setup, but if you're using a stereo pair of FRFR speakers in general, then yeah there's a good chance a sub will help, as most stereo FRFR speakers don't really extend evenly down to the lows except for the highest-end stuff, so it's likely you won't get accurate representation of the lows, and a sub will help.

Another thing is that if you don't use a sub, you could get used to dialing in WAAAY too much bass in your presets without knowing what's happening below what your speakers are capable of outputting. I did that with a pair of monitors for a while, then once I got a sub I realized how out of control my lows were and corrected them in a hurry, which helped my sound a lot.

And finally, if you're using a sub to dial in guitar tones, and if you're on this forum then that's likely... you're going to want a 9 or 10 inch sub at most. Anything bigger has a good chance of loosening up your low end too much.
 
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As with all speakers. It's all about knowing the speakers you end up using. There are several ways to test the speakers you are using and do adjustment to the global out eq if needed. Implementing a sub can be a real lifesaver, but test your setup with some music you know. Tweak the balance until the music sounds evenly balanced and there you go. Now try your patches

For bass I'd like to get a vibe of what's going on in the lower register. Every one's taste is different but I don't think you could go wrong with adding a sub. I like to test my patches on several different speakers, just to get a feel for what it would sound like in different situations. (Recording/live)

Some times you get an ampeg 4x10 and other times a mark bass cab or what not. Other times you go straight to the PA.

The axe has a capture ir function. And this sweep could be enough to find problem spots and such.
 
I wouldnt think youd want much sub bass coming from your bass rig. Unless its some sort of synthy pop project or something. I usually cut anything below 60hz anyway to get rid of mud. And 60 to 100 is very tonescaped.
 
I added a 18s sub to go with the LYD 48's and the bass presets sound night and day better! I was playing my bass this morning - lovely!

(using AB's bass preset pack)
 
The physics of it is that sub bass is omni directional: these sounds can't be perceived as directional, much less stereo, so one sub is preferred. And since low frequency wave lengths are longer than even medium sized rooms, there's bound to be problems with accurate sound in small rooms. A 10" or 12" sub sure is handy to give a bit of umph in the 30-60 hz range with synthy stuff, keys, playing with a mix, or a 5 string-presuming the bass tone isn't mostly overtones and has a bit of low fundamental to push.
 
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