Good morning.
My setup is in an alcove. Monitor output sounds quite bass-heavy. Jarring bass resonance, when the speaks have a very flat response. I think this is called a bass well?
Any tips on how to remedy this?
I think I have bass and treble gain knobs on the back, but I rather leave everything at zero.
¬~
I never heard the word “alcove” before, but it sounds like it’s a room where you can’t do too much to optimize it… you could get some giant bass traps, but those are usually quite expensive… so maybe you could try one of the software solutions that promise to optimise your output to your room…
For me it’s the opposite… I can’t really hear deep bass where I sit and have to walk into a corner of the room to hear it proper.
‘superchunks bass traps’ (DIY) in every corner and along the ceiling etc. Massive absorption is the only way for this. It’s small room acoustics. Sadly the best source of info seems to be gone. The studiotips forum.
A thanks. For some reason a search for studiotips turned up nothing. Poke around on that forum, there is a lot of useful information in it written by well regarded acousticians that have built good studios and often have a down to earth approach. No complex diffusers, just poly-cylindrical ones in the right spot.
There is a cheap thing to try. Move the speakers a bit. It can help quite a bit. But not in all cases…
Thanks for the feedback. Yeah, looking for a super cheap solution. I can’t build anything to save my life. Just had a look and apparently lifting them from the desk with foam stands can help. Could also put some foam behind.
Moving away from walls often helps.
If you’re in an alcove, I’m assuming you don’t have much space to work with. Here’s a basic pdf for setting up your studio (starts on page 9). https://www.musicianonamission.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/HomeStudioSetup.pdf If money’s an issue, you may be able to turn your desk around and face out of the alcove. You would still have some sound reflection issues from behind you, but it should cut down on boomy bass. There’s always the almost worst case solution of hanging thick blankets. That will solve some issues, but it’s not great (speaking from personal experience). Per Squinky Labs suggestion, I think your supposed to have the speakers at least 12" away from any walls.
Isn’t this what graphic and/or parametric equalizers are for?
Equalizing out a strong bass resonance it not easy. And a lot of the time these things can depend of exactly where the listener’s head is, making equalization ineffective. When it’s possible and affordable, placement of walls and room layout is much preferred.
Your monitors should be placed in 38% of your room for the best bass response
Don’t guess, get REW and measure https://www.roomeqwizard.com/ Active solutions can work. Multiple subwoofers properly located and adjusted for phase and amplitude can partly cancel standing waves. Parametric EQ can help too, they result in less energy input into the room, but a standing wave still is a standing wave, even if you excite it only a little bit.