Missing fundamental

When a sound has overtones that suggest a fundamental frequency that is not truly there, this is called a missing fundamental.1 For instance, a note may have a pitch of 100 Hz, but when played on small speakers that cannot replicate 100 Hz, we still hear it as 100 Hz because the speakers are still able to replicate the note’s overtones.

Using a saturation that generates even harmonics nixes the fundamental frequency because the fundamental (x^1) is an odd harmonic.2

  1. Missing fundamental - Wikipedia ↩

  2. You Don’t Understand Saturation ↩

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