A subharmonic synthesizer is a device or system that generates

subharmonics In music, the undertone series or subharmonic series is a sequence of Musical note, notes that results from inversion (music), inverting the intervals of the harmonic series (music), overtone series. While overtones naturally occur with the phys ...

of an input signal. The ''n''^th subharmonic of a signal of fundamental

frequency Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. Frequency is an important parameter used in science and engineering to specify the rate of oscillatory and vibratory phenomena, such as mechanical vibrations, audio ...

''F'' is a signal with frequency ''F''/''n''. This differs from ordinary

harmonics In physics, acoustics, and telecommunications, a harmonic is a sinusoidal wave with a frequency that is a positive integer multiple of the ''fundamental frequency'' of a periodic signal. The fundamental frequency is also called the ''1st harm ...

, where the ''n''^th harmonic of fundamental frequency ''F'' is a signal of frequency ''nF''. Subharmonic

synthesizers A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

can be used in professional audio applications as bass enhancement devices during the playback of recorded music. Other uses for subharmonic synthesizers include the application in bandwidth extension. A subharmonic synthesizer can be used to extend low frequency response due to bandwidth limitations of telephone systems. Subharmonic synthesizers are used extensively in dance clubs in certain genres of music such as disco and

house music House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground ...

. They are often implemented to enhance the lower frequencies, in an attempt to gain a "heavier" or more vibrant sound. Various harmonics can be amplified or modulated, although it is most common to boost the fundamental frequency's lower octave. The kick drum can benefit greatly from this type of processing. A subharmonic synthesizer (or "synth" as it is known in the industry) creates a bigger presence and can give the music that much sought-after "punch".

History

During the

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

era, sound engineers aimed to create a more powerful, deep bass sound in dance clubs and nightclubs. A key approach used by engineers to get heavier, deeper bass sound was to add huge

subwoofer A subwoofer (or sub) is a loudspeaker designed to reproduce low-pitched audio frequencies, known as bass and sub-bass, that are lower in frequency than those which can be (optimally) generated by a woofer. The typical frequency range that is ...

cabinets to reproduce the sub-bass frequencies. The

Paradise Garage Paradise Garage, also known as "the Garage" or the "Gay-rage", was a New York City discotheque notable in the history of dance and pop music, as well as LGBT and nightclub cultures. The club was founded by sole proprietor Michael Brody, and ...

discotheque A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighting displays, and ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, which operated from 1977 to 1987, had "custom designed 'sub-bass' speakers" developed by

Alex Rosner Alex Rosner is an American sound engineer and designer. He is known as the sound designer for the club The Loft and as the inventor of the DJ mixer. Early life Rosner and his father survived the Holocaust and time at Dachau. After the war the ...

's disciple, sound engineer Richard ("Dick") Long that were called "Levan Horns" (in honor of resident DJ

Larry Levan Lawrence Philpot (July 20, 1954 – November 8, 1992), known as Larry Levan ( ), was an American DJ best known for his decade-long residency at the New York City night club Paradise Garage, which has been described as the prototype of the moder ...

). By the end of the 1970s, subwoofers were used in dance venue sound systems to enable the playing of " ss-heavy dance music" that we "do not 'hear' with our ears but with our entire body". One challenge with getting deep sub-bass was that in the era of vinyl records, "to get as much music as possible on a record, recording engineers must limit the depth and excursion of record grooves. So in the recording process, the lower frequencies are often deliberately reduced or cut off altogether." To overcome the lack of sub-bass frequencies on 1970s disco records (sub-bass frequencies below 60 Hz were removed during mastering), Long added a DBX 100 "Boom Box" subharmonic synthesizer into his system. The

DBX dbx or DBX may refer to: * dbx (debugger), a Unix source-level debugger * dbx (company), a professional audio recording equipment company ** dbx (noise reduction), a noise reduction system invented by dbx, Inc. * .dbx, the file extension for Micros ...

100 Sub Harmonic Synthesizer "recreates this lost portion of the audio spectrum by seizing information in the 50-100 Hz range, creating a signal one octave lower (25-50 Hz) and mixing this new signal back into the program." The dbx 120A Subharmonic Synthesizer with Modeled Waveform Synthesis provides two separate bands of bass synthesis and a subwoofer output jack.

History

References

See also