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Aux fed subs... whats the deal...
Aux fed subs are a way of eliminating all the low end junk that can permeate a live mix and leave out a lot of low end howl and garbage that muddies up the mix. The process involves the use of a mixer with an available auxiliary feed. This is an element of the channel strip that allows us to send that signal out either pre fader, or post. What that means is that if we send the signal out post fader (after), that any adjustments of the channel fader will affect the level of the subs…I like post fader for just that reason. Then I can MIX and I will be affecting the low output with fader movements on that channel.
Now, what type of low frequency information do we want in the mix? I like to put Kick… yo… DUH!!! Sorry.. I digress… bass, keyboards, some large floor toms…you get the idea.
So what causes this phenomenon anyway? Well imagine if you will a standard rock band… 4 vocals, 2 guitars, bass, and a 5 piece drum kit with timbale’ that is potentially up to 16 mics… if you use 2 on each guitar (like I do) and one on th3e top and bottom of the snare and only one on the kick….each and every one is in contact with the floor and is vibrating with the low frequencies that the PA, and the band are producing….Now compound that with the mic’s themselves picking up the airborne vibrations and you start to see that the preponderance of bass information that is bombarding the mics, their stands and elements.. and you can see that the overburden of low frequency sound if fed to the subs can really mess up the low frequency tightness.
So, how do you do this? Pick a post fader aux send… send that to a crossover ***NOTE *** the aux sends normally don’t have XLR outs so you will need to make a ¼ “ to XLR converter…. (the Driverack makes a great choice here, but, you can use an outboard unit like I did when I “Just HAD to run stereoâ€? .. and had ONLY one 260….I used an Ashley 4002 (which I have dogmatically carried around in the event of a failure in the Driverack system… which… hasn’t happened now in 6 years….that’s somewhere between 650 and 1000 shows without so much as a glitch…that’s only with my original 260 which I have 2 of.. and my DRPA , my 240, and my 4800….so suffice it to say I carry a spare..or two… but …I need not have. OR, you can use the 240/260 series and use one input as mains and one as subs as in a mono system, or a 400/4000 series and use one of the 4 inputs as a sub processor…
The final piece of the puzzle then is that we engage the HPF filter on any channel we don’t have need of LF info on. And we send only those instruments that actually HAVE LF info to the subs … and we use the channel strip EQ to limit the LF exposure of the individual channels.
If you find that your system sounds tinny, or lacks fullness with the above method… you have holes in your sound…you need to seek the other FAQ’s and the Gain structure to see what your system is lacking. I can cut the LF on a vocal channel completely WITH the HPF on and the vocal is still full and vibrant. With OR without the Aux fed method employed…
Now, what type of low frequency information do we want in the mix? I like to put Kick… yo… DUH!!! Sorry.. I digress… bass, keyboards, some large floor toms…you get the idea.
So what causes this phenomenon anyway? Well imagine if you will a standard rock band… 4 vocals, 2 guitars, bass, and a 5 piece drum kit with timbale’ that is potentially up to 16 mics… if you use 2 on each guitar (like I do) and one on th3e top and bottom of the snare and only one on the kick….each and every one is in contact with the floor and is vibrating with the low frequencies that the PA, and the band are producing….Now compound that with the mic’s themselves picking up the airborne vibrations and you start to see that the preponderance of bass information that is bombarding the mics, their stands and elements.. and you can see that the overburden of low frequency sound if fed to the subs can really mess up the low frequency tightness.
So, how do you do this? Pick a post fader aux send… send that to a crossover ***NOTE *** the aux sends normally don’t have XLR outs so you will need to make a ¼ “ to XLR converter…. (the Driverack makes a great choice here, but, you can use an outboard unit like I did when I “Just HAD to run stereoâ€? .. and had ONLY one 260….I used an Ashley 4002 (which I have dogmatically carried around in the event of a failure in the Driverack system… which… hasn’t happened now in 6 years….that’s somewhere between 650 and 1000 shows without so much as a glitch…that’s only with my original 260 which I have 2 of.. and my DRPA , my 240, and my 4800….so suffice it to say I carry a spare..or two… but …I need not have. OR, you can use the 240/260 series and use one input as mains and one as subs as in a mono system, or a 400/4000 series and use one of the 4 inputs as a sub processor…
The final piece of the puzzle then is that we engage the HPF filter on any channel we don’t have need of LF info on. And we send only those instruments that actually HAVE LF info to the subs … and we use the channel strip EQ to limit the LF exposure of the individual channels.
If you find that your system sounds tinny, or lacks fullness with the above method… you have holes in your sound…you need to seek the other FAQ’s and the Gain structure to see what your system is lacking. I can cut the LF on a vocal channel completely WITH the HPF on and the vocal is still full and vibrant. With OR without the Aux fed method employed…
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