However, a square wave can be equally if not more effective, depending on the context of the track, as, to a lesser extent, can a triangle. Hip to be squareįor that classic smooth, deep sound – particularly under a higher layer, as described above – a sine wave may well be your first port of call for sub bass synthesis.

Watch out for phase issues when doing this, though – the phase invert switch is your friend. This will also bring clarity and presence to the low end on larger systems, and is in fact the way sub bass is often deployed in the first place: as a reinforcement layer under a higher line. While, of course, there’s no escaping the laws of physics, you can imply the presence of the missing sub by layering a ‘regular’ bass instrument over the top, an octave up, mixed in at whatever volume feels effective. If your bassline comprises nothing but a sub, it’ll be completely lost on the smaller playback systems so prevalent today: laptops and iPads, portable bluetooth speakers, etc.

Sublab vst review