Stretch tuning a resistor string... why NOT to!

[KA4HJH]

>Well (the snipped comments were mine so I'll take this one...)
>
>If you are making a monosynth (or polysynth)... don't bother. The 
>reason for the
>sharp and flat (atretch) tuning of the piano is beacuse the harmonics of the
>strings are not correct... the piano strings are "real" not ideal.

As I understand it, in the real world elastic materials become more 
resistant to being deformed the more rapidly you try to deform them, 
and so the deformation gets propagated more rapidly. In other words, 
the higher the frequency, the stiffer the wire, and the higher the 
frequency. This is what makes the pitch of the overtones increasingly 
sharp (they ain't harmonics anymore). This is also one of the reasons 
why the DX7 (the first affordable FM synth) was so incredibly 
popular--FM can simulate this.


BTW, this is also the main reason why I absolutely hate synthetic 
percussive metallic timbres. Every cheesy ballad on the radio has one 
in the mix somewhere--along with the explosive, gated-reverb snare. 
Thank god someday we'll be out of the eighties.

Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
"The Mac Doctor"

ICQ: 45652354