Subharmonic Synthesizer
Plinth Subharmonic Synthesizer
The subharmonic synthesizer that shows its work.
A subharmonic synthesizer that finds the fundamentals in your source, generates a sub phase-locked to it, and draws both on one display: the located subharmonics with their readouts and the sub it made. The sub is mono, dead center, and the whole box adds zero latency.
Signal path
Why it exists
A subharmonic generator that is roughly in time with the source adds a beat against it, and one that guesses on noise adds a burble. Plinth was designed on paper in a working studio to do neither. A filtered mono detector finds the fundamentals, up to three generated voices follow them phase-locked, and the screen shows both: the located subharmonics as chips with Hz readouts, and the generated sub drawn as the brightest element on the spectrum. Blend all the way up puts the sub at level with your low end by volume, not compression. There is no compressor, ducker or auto-makeup anywhere in the box.
The faceplate
It shows what it found and what it made.
01 · Rest
Nothing to find, nothing added.
At rest the display and the located-subharmonics strip are empty. Confidence is smoothed for about 30 ms before a voice can open, and unpitched material stays silent: the pink-noise battery renders exact digital silence on the sub bus, against a bar of minus 60 dBFS.
02 · Track
The fundamentals it found and the sub it made, live.
Tracking a bass source, the chip shows the located subharmonic with its readout and the generated sub is drawn brightest on the spectrum beside the detected source. Drift against an 80 Hz reference measures plus or minus 0.000 degrees over 60 seconds, against a 5 degree bar; correction is bounded at 10 degrees per cycle when locked, so re-locks are inaudible.
03 · Override
Pin the frequency yourself.
Override and its Engage switch take the detection frequency by hand when the material wants it, with the display following the pinned frequency. The octave-trap battery, a strong second harmonic over a weak fundamental, produced zero flips; octave hysteresis needs about 64 ms of persistent evidence before it moves.
04 · Clip
The clip stage, with no latency.
The optional soft clip is first-order ADAA with a worst non-harmonic spur of minus 104 dBFS on a clipped 35 Hz sine at full clip, against a bar of minus 80. Reported delay compensation is always 0, the clip stage included. Sub onset is tracking physics, about 7 cycles to 90 percent, not plugin latency.
Where it earns its keep
Built for the jobs you actually have.
Kick drums
A phase-locked sub under the kick's fundamental, at level with the low end by volume, with the clip stage catching the peaks when you want it to.
Bass guitar and synth bass
The detector follows the played fundamental and the chips show exactly which note it locked to, so the added octave never argues with the part.
808s and sparse low end
Blend brings the generated sub up to the dry low band by volume, with no compressor or ducker reshaping the groove underneath it.
Sound design
Override pins the frequency by hand, Resonance shapes the voice, and the display keeps showing what the box is doing while you push it.
What's in the unit
Real pixels, not promises.
The faceplate at rest
Blend, Resonance, Detect, Override, Clip and Output on a plate drawn by hand at Studio 4 Cleveland; the shipped layout is that sketch.
Located subharmonics, live
Chips with Hz readouts for the fundamentals it found, and the generated sub drawn as the brightest element on the spectrum.
Override and Engage
Pin the detection frequency by hand; the display follows the pinned frequency and the octave hysteresis stays in charge of flips.
The clip stage
First-order ADAA soft clip, worst non-harmonic spur minus 104 dBFS at full clip on a 35 Hz sine, and still zero latency.
Everything in the box
- Filtered mono detection sidechain; the dry path is never processed by the detector
- Up to three generated subharmonic voices on one mono bus, dead center
- Generated sub phase-locked to the source: plus or minus 0.000 degrees of drift over 60 seconds against an 80 Hz reference
- Correction bounded at 10 degrees per cycle when locked, so re-locks are inaudible
- Blend to 100 puts the sub at level with the dry low band by volume: no compressor, ducker or auto-makeup
- Unpitched material renders exact digital silence on the sub bus
- Confidence smoothed for about 30 ms before a voice can open
- Octave hysteresis: zero flips on the octave-trap battery
- Decorrelated stereo program yields bit-identical left and right sub contributions
- Override with Engage: pin the detection frequency by hand
- Optional first-order ADAA soft clip, worst non-harmonic spur minus 104 dBFS at full clip
- Zero reported latency, the clip stage included
- Display: located-subharmonic chips with Hz readouts plus the generated sub on the spectrum
- Faceplate drawn by hand at Studio 4 Cleveland; the shipped layout is that sketch
- VST3, AU and AAX on Windows 10+ and macOS, Intel and Apple Silicon
Specifications
Questions engineers ask
Is the generated sub really in phase with the source?
Measured drift against an 80 Hz reference is plus or minus 0.000 degrees over 60 seconds, against a 5 degree bar. When locked, correction is bounded at 10 degrees per cycle, so re-locks are inaudible.
What happens on noise or unpitched material?
The sub bus renders exact digital silence on the pink-noise battery. No burble, no guessing. Confidence is smoothed for about 30 ms before a voice can open.
Is the sub stereo?
No. The sub is mono and dead center: decorrelated stereo program yields bit-identical left and right contributions.
Does it add latency?
No. Reported delay compensation is always 0, the clip stage included. Sub onset is tracking physics, about 7 cycles to 90 percent, not plugin latency.
Which formats and platforms?
VST3, AU and AAX on Windows 10+ and macOS, Intel and Apple Silicon. That covers Pro Tools, Logic Pro, Ableton Live, Cubase, Studio One, FL Studio, REAPER and every other major host.
Is there a free trial?
Yes. Every released Vitric plugin has a free 3 day trial with every feature available during the trial window. Get the installer and your machine-bound trial license from the downloads page. At the signed expiry, audio processing and generated MIDI lock until you install a purchased license or a valid subscription grant. The plugin can still load so projects and saved settings are not deleted.
More from the line
Plinth Subharmonic Synthesizer
Phase-locked sub you can see.
The fundamentals it found and the sub it made, on one display, from a faceplate drawn in a working studio.