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Monday, August 31, 2026
Lowering The Boom: Keeping Bass Energy Under Control As Part Of A Semi-Silent Stage
ProSoundWeb: Bass players provide the foundation for nearly all contemporary music. Without them, our mixes sound thin and nobody wants to dance. Add the right amount of bass and all of the sudden it’s a show. But while we love bass, it often leads to trouble, particularly in small rooms.
This was, as a rather practical article, interested and contained some very practical advice. While I don't know much about sound, it is good to learn that the position of the bass amp actually has a large impact on the sound. However, what interested me the most was the "Buttkicker" transducer, basically mounted on a wooden, isolated plate the bass player stands on, physically transmitting the low frequencies without creating sound. This is a really interesting idea I hadn't thought of---of course I've felt the vibrations that come with bass, but I've never thought about the possible uses of the vibrations on their own; I'd be interested to see a bass player (or other instrument's) reaction.
As someone who plays bass and has had to deal with issues regarding low frequencies, this article was extremely informative. I find it interesting that the author, Mike Sokol, used such a mathematical algorithm to figure out which frequencies were causing issues in the theatre he was working in and to find a way to fix it. Additionally, I find the way the issue was remedied quite creative, as Sokol utilized powerful Buttkicker transducers and attached them to a platform created out of wood. Sokol also discusses ditching bass amps entirely, which I disagree with. While it is possible to utilize other amplifiers to transduce lower frequencies, it makes much more sense to utilize a bass amp while limiting some lower frequencies, and it is possible to do so without issues, even in smaller spaces. Overall, I believe Sokol’s creative way to remedy this issue is great, but I don't think his belief that bass amps should be taken away is viable.
I have always been interested in how low frequency work and how they straddle the line of being auditory and physical. I have mixed feelings about bass being turned up high. While I understand that to some the ability to literally feel the music within a space is appealing, I feel like this is often taken too far. My own personal grievance with loud bass stems from having to endure riding in my sister’s car in which the bass and volume are frequently turned to the max. The extreme bone rattling bass in my sister’s car often hurts my ears; that is just one of the many reasons that I prefer to drive whenever we have to go anywhere. Bass can be the heart hand driving part of a song, but that doesn’t mean that it has to be the loudest part. The difference between frequencies people can hear versus frequencies that they can see has always been interesting to me and I know that bass instruments can be so close to being un audible that they have a particularly unique sound.
3 comments:
This was, as a rather practical article, interested and contained some very practical advice. While I don't know much about sound, it is good to learn that the position of the bass amp actually has a large impact on the sound. However, what interested me the most was the "Buttkicker" transducer, basically mounted on a wooden, isolated plate the bass player stands on, physically transmitting the low frequencies without creating sound. This is a really interesting idea I hadn't thought of---of course I've felt the vibrations that come with bass, but I've never thought about the possible uses of the vibrations on their own; I'd be interested to see a bass player (or other instrument's) reaction.
As someone who plays bass and has had to deal with issues regarding low frequencies, this article was extremely informative. I find it interesting that the author, Mike Sokol, used such a mathematical algorithm to figure out which frequencies were causing issues in the theatre he was working in and to find a way to fix it. Additionally, I find the way the issue was remedied quite creative, as Sokol utilized powerful Buttkicker transducers and attached them to a platform created out of wood. Sokol also discusses ditching bass amps entirely, which I disagree with. While it is possible to utilize other amplifiers to transduce lower frequencies, it makes much more sense to utilize a bass amp while limiting some lower frequencies, and it is possible to do so without issues, even in smaller spaces. Overall, I believe Sokol’s creative way to remedy this issue is great, but I don't think his belief that bass amps should be taken away is viable.
I have always been interested in how low frequency work and how they straddle the line of being auditory and physical. I have mixed feelings about bass being turned up high. While I understand that to some the ability to literally feel the music within a space is appealing, I feel like this is often taken too far. My own personal grievance with loud bass stems from having to endure riding in my sister’s car in which the bass and volume are frequently turned to the max. The extreme bone rattling bass in my sister’s car often hurts my ears; that is just one of the many reasons that I prefer to drive whenever we have to go anywhere. Bass can be the heart hand driving part of a song, but that doesn’t mean that it has to be the loudest part. The difference between frequencies people can hear versus frequencies that they can see has always been interesting to me and I know that bass instruments can be so close to being un audible that they have a particularly unique sound.
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