Bass on small speakers

Harmonics are such a normal thing for our ears to hear that we don't need every single one of them. A while back, scientists discovered that if you hear a tone with the first, lowest harmonic removed, your brain would imply that it should be there and simply… hear it anyway.

Whatever the reason behind this ‘phantom fundamental' effect, there's a way to use it to our advantage. Small speakers – like those in phones, laptops and earphones – don't reproduce low frequencies, but that doesn't mean that listeners won't be able to hear ‘bass' when listening on these devices.

If you want to increase the weight of this ‘perceptual bass', you can raise the levels of the harmonics above it – the ones that small speakers can reproduce. A common tactic is to use saturation on bass frequencies; a send housing a lowpass filter and a distortion processor might offer a more flexible solution.

By its nature, though, this technique brings a trade-off. As you strengthen the higher harmonics of a low bass note, the lowest parts might get drowned out, becoming less powerful for those listening on ‘proper' full-range speaker systems. It's always best to check your mix on a diverse range of devices, to make sure you're striking the right balance for any playback method.