New Music Gear Monday: Waves Submarine Sub-Generator Plugin

Low end. We can never get enough of it, especially in many musical genres. Yes, you can EQ some of it in if enough of it is not there, but that often results in a bloated, fluffy bottom that’s not very satisfying in the overall mix. Another way to get that big low end is to use a subharmonic generator, and the Waves new Submarine plugin provides not just one, but two to give you the ultimate control on what’s down below.

The secret to Submarine is that it features not one but two subharmonic generators. These are represented by two round radar-like screens in the middle of the plugin that control the amount of additional low end that’s added. The signal from these generators are supplied via Waves’ Organic ReSynthesis engine that strips the original signal down to its core elements—carrier, pitch, formant, and envelope— processes them individually, and then reconstructs the audio to create brand new sub frequencies which retain the exact pitch and time of the original signal. The result is deep subharmonic content that is clean, musical, and naturally blends with your source.

Below the two sub-generators is a Range control that adjusts the frequencies of the original signal that the generators receive their signal from. A Drive control adds some additional even-order harmonics to help glue the newly generated frequencies to the existing frequency spectrum of the instrument. Next to that is a Dynamics control that adjusts a compressor that works only on the newly generated low frequencies.

Below that is a Mix control that allows the amount of the newly generated frequencies to be blended in with the original signal. The Output control is cut-only since the generated low frequencies will mostly likely add to the output level and the overall level will need to be adjusted downward to prevent overload. There’s also a Dry/Wet control for effects buss mixing, and a Stereo/Mono switch when used on a stereo track.

The Waves Submarine plugin is normally priced at $79 but is currently on sale for $69 (although it’s even cheaper with a coupon or one of Waves many special deals). Like most new plugins, it’s available for both Mac and PC and on a variety of plugin formats.

Find out more details here, or watch the video below.

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