LoAir: Subharmonic Low-End Enhancer Plugin by Waves

Waves describes LoAir as a tool for creating earth-rumbling lows. Its core function is subharmonic generation, which produces content an octave below the source material. This is the technique behind the heavy low end heard in film sound design, where it is used to make impacts and creature sounds feel larger.

In music production, the same process can add subs to a synth, kick or bass line without requiring a separate sine layer. Waves also positions LoAir for restoring low end that is often lost in field recordings, where microphones and environments tend to thin out bass content.

Subharmonic generation on chords or dense mixes can produce muddy results. LoAir addresses this with a filter for polyphonic material, which lowers the input by one octave before the subharmonic is generated. This makes the plugin more usable on full mixes and multi-note parts, not only monophonic sources.

Use it on the parts that need weight, such as a bass, kick or synth lead, and check the result in context to keep the added low end controlled.