The Bass Hunter Technique 2.

Fix the bass in your studio. Find the best possible sweet spot position in your (non- 6. Slowly roll along the central axes from one end of the room to the other.
rectangular) room for a balanced low end. You need: a. Test all available axes.
a. One speaker (a subwoofer is not necessary) b. I like to move in small steps, getting an idea of the low end balance at each point before moving on.
b. Music (I like to use Spotify so I don’t have to adjust the volume)
c. Tape 7. Pay attention to how the low end changes as you move through the room.
a. Try to ignore the mids and highs, you’ll get those in check later by positioning your speakers.
Have an open mind, the results can be surprising. That’s OK. Especially if you’ve been working from a b. Try and feel the bass in your body.
massive bass hole or peak for while. c. Closing your eyes helps.
Sometimes facing the long side is actually better than facing the short side!
Test all your options frst, then decide what is practical. Know what compromises you are making. 8. For each song, make a mental note of where the low end sounds the most
No need to empty your room, even bass traps. Just get everything out of the way of the speaker. balanced.
Moving stuff (like your desk!) out of the way does help though.. Believe me, it’s worth it. You’ll
probably end up wanting to move it anyway. Otherwise you just have to do a bit of acrobatics. ;) a. Take your time, be deliberate. Get a ball park idea frst, then focus your eforts on the prime locations.
b. To mark the position, you can drop a coin or pick a mental reference point along the wall.
c. Be accurate! 10cm can make a huge diference.
1. Identify the central axes of your room that split it in half.
“But what exactly does “a balanced low end” sound like?”
a. Your listening position will end up on one of
these axes to give you left-right symmetry.
b. In an asymmetrical room, fnd axes with You want a “conservative” low end where nothing sticks out too much or is lost completely.
localized symmetry and focus on that part of Focus on the relationship between the kick and the bass.
the room. In a melodic bass line, all the notes should roughly be at the same volume.
c. If symmetry is no option, compromise. A standard kick should have some sub and some punch.
Asymmetry is easier to fx than an Put your head right up against the wall. That’s what too much sub sounds like. Move back into the
unbalanced low end.
room. Where do you still hear the sub, but the punch comes back it?
Focus on the sub in your stomach and the punch in your chest. You want to feel both at equal
2. Place one speaker on the foor in the corner, facing the room. strength.
a. Make sure to get right into the corner with the speaker. It shouldn’t be too much fun, or too boring to listen to!
b. Pick a corner close to where you’d ideally like your sweet
spot to be.
c. Set EQ to fat on the speaker. 9. Find the best compromise between all the songs. Mark the position on the foor
d. Disconnect the other speaker. with tape. This is your listening position!

3. Pick 3 songs that you know in and out, in different keys and genres, covering 10. If you are unsure, or cannot decide between 2 positions, you can refne further
the entire low end spectrum. with a sin warble (click to download → download here).
a. I like Shiba San – “Okay” and Monte - “True”. a. Listen to the sin warble run through entirely at each position without moving your head.
b. Set the volume so you can comfortably hear the bass, but not too loud. b. Does the energy drop away at any point, or does it noticeably stick out?
c. Choose the position with the least change in volume.
4. Sit in your chair, making sure your head is at the height you work at.
11. Set up your speakers to form an equilateral triangle in line with your test axis.
a. If you use a standing desk, then do the test standing up.
The apex should align with your listening positions.
5. Start playing the music. a. Face the closest wall.
b. Make sure the distance to the left and right walls is exactly the same.
c. Don’t worry about setting up some arbitrary distance x from the front wall.

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