WAVGEN :: DUB TECHNIQUES

DUB TECHNIQUES

ECHO CHAMBER OF CONSCIOUSNESS

08 · REFERENCE

Dub Lexicon

Dub

Instrumental remix created by isolating, manipulating, and re-mixing individual tracks of a reggae recording. Emerged in Jamaica in the early 1970s through engineers like King Tubby and Rudolf Redwood.

Riddim

The instrumental track — drum, bass, rhythm guitar, and keyboard foundation — over which multiple vocal artists record separate cuts. One riddim can underpin dozens of recordings across years and labels.

Space Echo (RE-201)

Roland's classic tape echo unit using a loop of magnetic tape with multiple playback heads. Variable tape speed controls echo rate; feedback routes delayed signal back to the input for self-oscillating repeats.

Drop

The sudden removal of one or more instrument channels from the mix — bass drops out, melody drops out, leaving space that feels louder than its absence. The fundamental tension-release technique of dub production.

Echo Chamber

A physical room or chamber where audio is played through a speaker and recorded with a microphone to capture room reflections. Original studios used actual echo chambers before spring reverbs became standard.

Spring Reverb

Reverb unit using a suspended coil spring as a delay medium. Audio drives a transducer at one end; waves travel the spring's length and return as reflections. Distinctive crash and twang — the signature sound of dub reverb.

Send / Return

Routing architecture where a portion of a channel signal is sent to an effects unit (echo, reverb) via a send bus; the processed signal returns on a separate return channel. Enables shared effects with per-channel intensity control.

Version

The B-side of a Jamaican single — typically an instrumental or dub mix of the A-side. The version tradition established remix culture: the same riddim existing in multiple simultaneous forms for different audiences.

Pre-Fader Send

A send taken from the channel signal before the fader — so pulling down the fader mutes the direct signal but continues feeding the echo/reverb. Creates the effect of echoes hanging in space after the instrument disappears.

Sound System

A mobile DJ and amplification apparatus — often custom-built with custom speaker cabinets — used for outdoor dance events. The competitive sound system culture of Kingston in the 1960s was the nursery of Jamaican popular music.

Feedback Loop

Routing the output of an echo or reverb unit back to its own input, creating self-sustaining, building echoes that can escalate toward controlled chaos. A signature technique of King Tubby and Lee Perry.

Wow and Flutter

Speed variations in tape transport: Wow = slow pitch variation below 6 Hz; Flutter = faster variation 6-100 Hz. In dub, intentional wow adds psychedelic pitch wobble to echo repeats — an aesthetic feature rather than a defect.

One Drop

Reggae rhythmic pattern where the kick drum emphasis falls on beat three rather than one — the "one" is dropped. Creates the characteristic floating suspension of reggae and dub rhythm.

Plate Reverb

Large metal plate (typically 2m × 1m) suspended in a frame, driven by a transducer and sensed by contact microphones. Creates dense, smooth reverb — less mechanical than spring, more mechanical than digital.

Channel Strip

A vertical section of a mixing console containing gain, EQ, auxiliary sends, channel fader, and routing matrix for one input signal. In dub, the channel strip is played as an instrument — fader position is a performance parameter.

Delay Time

The time interval between input and echo repeat, typically synced to a tempo subdivision (quarter-note, dotted eighth). In tape echo, delay time is a function of tape speed and physical head spacing — continuously variable.

Autopan

LFO-driven panning effect rotating audio between left and right channels at a rhythmic rate. In dub, extreme autopan creates spatial movement that animates the stereo field and simulates echo chamber positioning.

Half-Step (Steppers)

Reggae subgenre with four-on-the-floor kick drum pattern — all four beats emphasised. Associated with the Rasta nyahbinghi tradition and 1970s roots reggae. The rhythmic foundation of much UK dub.

DUB Plate

An acetate disc cut one-at-a-time for exclusive use by a sound system or artist — not commercially released. Contains exclusive mixes, specials, or artist greetings for competitive sound system events.

Selector

The DJ role in sound system culture — choosing and playing the records. The Selector curates the selection of riddims and artists, responding to crowd energy and competing against rival systems' selections.

Roots Dub

The foundational style of dub — deep bass, sparse percussion, extended echo and reverb, politically conscious lyrical content. Pioneered by King Tubby, Augustus Pablo, and Scientist in the 1970s Kingston studio complex.

Oscillator (Dub)

In live dub performance, a test-tone oscillator fed through the echo chain creates pure sine-wave repeats that can be tuned to the key of the riddim, producing bass-frequency drone feedback effects.