AW: tubes, transistors......

[Bill Layer]

>When we look at sound generation (instead of sound 
>reproduction), everything is different. How many guitarists
>have you heard complaining about the distortion of the
>tubes in their amp ? There's also a lot arguing if this
>sound can be emulated to some degree with solid
>state circuits or not, but the point is that the *distorted*
>tube sound is the *reference* here, and "tube distortion"
>is a compliment, not an insult. 
>
>With building electronic music instruments and FX devices,
>I always feel much closer to a guitar amp than to the HiFi
>stuff, and I'm sure most people here feel similar.
>Any complaint about the distortion of a Moog cascade ?
>The distortion of a timbre modulator ?
>I think you get the point. So if anybody here mentions "tube
>distortion" in a subordinary clause, you can bet he has no
>bad intention, and more important, he may be completely
>RIGHT in this context.
>
>Hi All/Juergen,

You have brought up a VERY interesting point, and one that is not so off
topic as to be beyond discussion in this forum. Please everyone, indulge me
for a few moments.

Juergen's comments have raised a deep and perplexing Zen-type issue, that
is: What is the actual sound of an electronic instrument? The design or the
parts or the patch or???? (and you thought I was going to ask what is the
sound of one bifet clapping!)

A logically related question is: what is the sound of an instrument, if not
the sum of it's fundamental and distortion products, irrespective of the
source of that distortion? How is it defined? How should we define it?

Finally, the most intersting question of all arises: Where does the
instrument begin and end? This is even more puzzling if you consider a
modular system, where the issue is most cloudy. 

Now that I've brought this zen discussion to the table, a bit of my own
un-zenlike dogma. I think that electroinc instruments are being used at
their worst and weakest, when one endeavours to duplicate the sound of a
real accoustic instrument; that is: the original goal of music synthesis
(that of flawless emulation), is just flat pointless and moreover,
tasteless (don't agree? listen to Switched on Brandenburgs or anything by
Tomita EXCEPT for the Englufed Cathedral) for any purposes other than
academic.

I for one would NEVER tolerate transistor artifacts in my stereo PERIOD,
but on the other hand, I think they are fine for Emusic apps, INCLUDING
signal processing. Why this apparent contradiction? Because IMO, there is
nothing inherently 'correct', genuine  or natural about the sound of an
eMusic instrument, but there IS something inherently correct about the
manner in which it is reproduced.

Someone elses's thoughts?


>

------------------------------
Bill Layer
Sales Technician

Viking Electronics, Inc.
1531 Industrial St.
Hudson, WI 54016

Phone: (715)386-8861 Ext. 210
Fax: (715)386-4344
E-mail: b.layer at vikingelectronics.com

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