The pair in question are Volume and Filter cutoff (see below), while the third, Pitch, does only affect the Synth. To the detriment of workflow, SubLab’s three independent ADSR envelopes are built into the Synth section, despite the fact that two of them actually apply to the Sampler layer as well. The one-oscillator Synth layer gives a choice of sine, triangle, saw and square waveforms, with up to three octaves of upward pitch adjustment in semitones, or five octaves downwards. It’s key to SubLab’s sound and effectiveness. X-Sub is always a ‘dry’ signal, bypassing the filter, envelopes, and Distortion and Compressor modules, so as to maintain sub-bass consistency in the patch, no matter what happens in the other layers. The spectrogram aids in visualising the two signals, but again, mute and/or solo buttons wouldn’t go amiss. The level of the fundamental is controlled by the Lows slider, while the Harmonics handle sweeps horizontally to balance odd and even harmonics, and vertically to set their volume level. With the Synth and Sampler layers presenting plenty of options for tonal and temporal editing, potentially going well above ‘bass’ territory, SubLab’s trademarked X-Sub engine not only ensures that the sub itself stays locked, but also that it translates on laptops, phones and other speakers incapable of handling low-frequency content.Īiming to be a more accurate and convenient alternative to psychoacoustic bass enhancers, X-Sub synthesises a fundamental sub note (a gently distorted sine wave) that tracks the MIDI note input but stays within the 30-65Hz (C0-B1) range, and a series of harmonics that can define an audible note from C1-B3 and extend above that at decreasing amplitude.

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