In the mix, there are those who cut everything at 20 Hz (or even higher) to avoid problems with lower frequencies; does that make sense? ...Even with virtual instruments?
And why are sub-bass frequencies felt even with speakers that are not capable of reproducing them? Is it a psychoacoustic phenomenon, or is it unrelated?
Why do spectrum analyzers stop at 20 Hz?
How and when can sub-bass be added to the mix, and using what criteria? In your opinion, does it make sense to send them to a bus and compress them to avoid messes while maintaining their effect?
Below 20 Hz, our ear no longer recognizes the vibration as a sound but as beats, so it seems useless to me to add beats to a mix... Besides this, however, one avoids going too low also for reasons related to the health of the speakers. Slowing down the frequency until it tends toward 0, the waveform becomes asymptotic to a DC signal. In essence, if we take the 220 volts at 50 Hz that is used in homes and imagine being able to slow down the frequency until it reaches near 0 Hz, this will become 220 volts tending towards DC. However, direct current is not compatible with speakers. If DC reaches the speakers, the coils burn out. Since for audio, speakers can often cost as much as a nice car, it is preferable not to use material that contains frequencies that could create problems. In any case, it is truly difficult to reach such low frequencies in practice. If you record acoustic instruments, there is no one who produces frequencies lower than 20 Hz, the same goes for libraries coming from these instruments. The problem could arise when working with sound synthesis, but one just needs to be a little careful. In any case, summarizing, there is no sense in going below 20 Hz.
Yes, but that plugin generates two sine waves starting from the analysis of a track, typically a bass track; in other words, it is used to enrich. For example, it can work to provide an octave doubling, but you must be very careful as I was telling you, because if you create an octave doubling that drops below 20 Hz, you can seriously damage the speakers, so always take into account how you set up that plugin; evaluate the notes you write carefully and do the necessary calculations, or alternatively, put a nice high-pass filter set at 20 Hz with a slope of 48 dB per octave—nice and steep like that—so you can rest easy knowing that if the bass were to drop below that, the filter will intervene and limit the damage.
