I've been trawling for academic papers on how guitar strings behave. Found the attached. Interesting, but doesn't look above 20kHz and doesn't zoom in on the transient.
LP vs CD I thought we finished that a while ago, and as Bill said a 16.5um spherical tip as an example of extended BW is interesting.
Back in the boom days I bid on two musical items, Noel Redding's bass amp and Bobby Beausoleil's (Manson family) guitar. On the first I got an email from some guy full of vitriol about if you are not a musician you have no right to buy this. On the second my wife refused to have such an item in the house. I was figuring on making some evil noise.
Me: "Modulation meaning "turning a volume control up and down at 4KHz" is not the same thing as modulation meaning "mixing two signals together in a multiplier". Only the latter produces new frequencies. Linear addition of two signals is not the latter."
Yes, thank you. My post was both over and under-edited. It should have ended with: Linear addition of two signals is not modulation at all.
Thanks very much for the correction,
Chris
Yes, thank you. My post was both over and under-edited. It should have ended with: Linear addition of two signals is not modulation at all.
Thanks very much for the correction,
Chris
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I read it and I dont agree with most of it. Some only. Lots of opinion and little fact.
I have my own definition of accuracy.... a flat frequency response from 20- to 20k and low noise and low distortions. The polar pickup pattern is not included but if I was to pick one, it would be an omni.
THx-RNMarsh
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About 40 years ago, when I was in college, I attempted to make a guitar synth using a CD4046 PLL. I found that guitar strings harmonics time decays certainly did track where you plucked the string. In order to get the thing to track, you had to pluck the string at it's length center - which means as you played notes up and down the fretboard, you had to chase this center with your plectrum. If you plucked down toward the bridge, the PLL might track the fundamental, jump to the second harmonic, then back to the fundamental.
I never could get it to perform anywhere near JG's Systems 360 synth, so I took the broken heart and an A grade for an electronic instrumentation elective (it could play in various keys up/down from where you were playing on the fretboard - digitally. This means I stuck a Mostek top octave generator in the PLL between oscillator and phase detector).
Several years later I got to audition an early digital oscilloscope from Tektronix, while working for Digital. I brought in my bass guitar to use as a transient signal source. I recall I was able to get 50V transients out of that instrument's 1/4" jack - which surprised the heck out of me, as I thought musical instrument amplifier input sensitivities were in the 100s of mV range. Quite a transient, to start off an exponentially decaying sine wave! Of course, depends on how you plucked it; I may have been hitting the strings with ...a screw driver handle, FAIK.
I never could get it to perform anywhere near JG's Systems 360 synth, so I took the broken heart and an A grade for an electronic instrumentation elective (it could play in various keys up/down from where you were playing on the fretboard - digitally. This means I stuck a Mostek top octave generator in the PLL between oscillator and phase detector).
Several years later I got to audition an early digital oscilloscope from Tektronix, while working for Digital. I brought in my bass guitar to use as a transient signal source. I recall I was able to get 50V transients out of that instrument's 1/4" jack - which surprised the heck out of me, as I thought musical instrument amplifier input sensitivities were in the 100s of mV range. Quite a transient, to start off an exponentially decaying sine wave! Of course, depends on how you plucked it; I may have been hitting the strings with ...a screw driver handle, FAIK.
I know it's just a forum for top recording professionals. I once went to a seminar with JC (I even treated him to dinner) by Ron Stricker (?) then an officer of the AES on Blumlein pairs. Well I have to behave so be it, hilarious though.
EDIT - I'm confused, back to 20k?
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I fully understand the creative use of microphone characteristics. And, how they are used to make a sound the producer wants. I dont object to it.
That said, most of my CD's dont sound well recorded nor sound good period. But musically, I like them. I listen past the distortions and muddied sounds.
The number of records sold is no indication of high quality sound, of course. But, many recording 'engineers' like to think what ever they did and what ever mics they used was the reason the LP/CD sold well. Isnt true. No correlation that I can tell.
There are many, fortunately for me, well recorded musicians. Kavi does it all the time. Just 2-3 good microphones.
So, I am not worried about finding accurate sounding acoustic music. it just takes a little more investment in time and resources.
THx-RNMarsh
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I know Pearl mics with Timothy de Paravicini tube electronics. The stuff you love. BTW Martin Kantola of Pearl is a great guy, his sound field mic with original Neumann capsules and NOS VF14 tubes is a labor of love. Panphonic.com
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I dont know about the mics that You say I love. Kavi loves them and he does get better results than most recording pro's you love can get. I co-produced one of his best selling records/CD $40-50K. That is a shoe string budget BTW. Fortunately, it sold well enough to get my investment back. Thats all we wanted... no profit for me. That goes to Kavi to support him. The master musician was at his peak and needed to be recorded right then, that year. [I was at the recording session in a very quiet empty church in Southern California that Kavi was fortunate to be able to use.]
Now, a sound field mic is a step up. I would like to hear how good they are today. It would make a great DIY project over here by someone. Maybe using electrets.
THx-RNMarsh
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For this I'm more concerned with taste. I was lucky enough to move within 1 mile of a wonderful shop that serves a small Greek community with everything imported directly. The goat feta is also good.
As fun as it is to entertain these kinds of comparisons as valid, unless the exact same source was physically moved from replication plant to another, there is no comparing. Record labels without exception (excepting maybe small or audiophile labels) stock replication masters in several locations, and merely issue orders for copies from mastering engineers when needed.
And unfortunately there is a big difference from one mastering recorder to another for most major labels...I know, I have had to return many masters for flaws that were unchecked by the mastering engineer before being sent for replication. (Don't even get me started on Atlantic's master QC 😕)
Consider that we at AMI replicated Dark Side of the Moon at least three times, and each master sounded quite a bit different...and keep in mind Harvest were making CDs to make money...not for comparison by audiophiles. And since 99.999% of all people only had a single copy, they could never even compare one master against the other, and if they DID have more than one copy, most people don't give a hoot about what sounds right, they are singing " Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day..." along with David Gilmour from the copy that works...in other words even the record label does not care if all versions sound the same.
As far as I am personally concerned the reference copy of DSotM on CD is one we mastered with Alan Parsons looking very large (and I'm 6' myself) in full clean-room garb in our glass mastering suite. We then replicated it using gold targets in the metallizer of one tweaked replication line. He left with reference CDs and multiple CD matrices. It sounded noticeably cleaner with better black than the MFSL LP of the title...and black is important to that album.
It would be a monumental project to do any sort of comparison of consumer delivery formats from a single master...and then the question would be: what if a different lathe had cut the lacquer? What if a different LBR had mastered the CD glass master...etc. I would suggest listening to a copy against another copy and keep the one you like best. (although at the risk of sounding like a snot I am 30 years sworn off of classic rock at this point in time...)
Cheers!
Howie
p.s. excuse me for being blunt, I am recovering from a knee operation and in some pain at the moment...
I have an original and a later Japanese super pressing and they are very different. There is no dark side of the moon BTW. 🙂
If we can't see it we don't know if it is dark or not. Sort of like quantum entanglement.
I must be honest, I cannot disagree...😀
I do not understand HR. Hire somebody now!!!! What don't they get???
Sigh.. Molasses I tell ya..
Jn