BoatBanter.com - OT New hobby

BoatBanter.com (https://www.boatbanter.com/)

- General (https://www.boatbanter.com/general/)

- - OT New hobby (https://www.boatbanter.com/general/65223-ot-new-hobby.html)

"-rick-" wrote in message
...
Shortwave Sportfishing wrote:

nothing like that transformer sound.

It's interesting how the old tube amps with output transformers were
pretty bad in terms of bandwidth and fidelity yet had more pleasing
distortion, especially when pushed hard and the non-linear speaker load
reflected back to the output tubes and the wimpy tube rectifier power
supply started sagging. It makes a pretty complex system when combined
with room acoustics, guitar resonances, and multiple feedback paths.

Theres been a lot of work on DSP emulation and modeling that so far I've
not found nearly as satisfying but it's sure nice to be able to come close
at low volume.

oh crap, Moss just got a gift in the end zone.

-rick-

Saw an interesting study on amplifier distortion ratings recently. Typically
expressed as "THD" or Total Harmonic Distortion, it is generally considered
that the lower the number the better, resulting in amps with ratings of 1%
or less, often much less.

Turns out that in a series of blind tests with a control group for
comparison that were told what levels of distortion existed, the human ear
is very non-sensitive to relatively high levels of distortion. Furthermore,
the ear is frequency dependent in it's ability to detect distortion. I
forget the exact numbers, but it was something like above 8khz the ear was
most sensitive and both the blind group and the control group detected
distortion at about 3 percent. As the frequency lowered, both groups were
unable to detect higher levels of THD. At low frequencies (bass) it took
almost 100% THD for the groups to detect any distortion. Both group results
were almost identical also.

I also remember reading about Carver amps which were of a "magnetic amp"
design. Bob Carver, the designer of the original Carver amp claimed the
same thing as the tests described above. Carver amps typically have a much
higher THD rating than those of comparable competitors.

Oh, well. Useless information on a rainy day, 40 minutes from kickoff of
the Patriot's next victory on the way to the SB.

Eisboch

On Sun, 15 Jan 2006 00:11:43 GMT, Shortwave Sportfishing
wrote:

On Sat, 14 Jan 2006 16:05:46 -0800, -rick- wrote:

oh crap, Moss just got a gift in the end zone.

if the seahawks are the best of the nfc, the nfc is gonna lose another
one.

The Seahawks were the second best. We got robbed. Obvious pass interference
in the end zone. Chicken refs. Paid off.
--
John H

******Have a spectacular day!******

"JohnH" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 15 Jan 2006 00:11:43 GMT, Shortwave Sportfishing
wrote:

On Sat, 14 Jan 2006 16:05:46 -0800, -rick- wrote:

oh crap, Moss just got a gift in the end zone.

if the seahawks are the best of the nfc, the nfc is gonna lose another
one.

The Seahawks were the second best. We got robbed. Obvious pass
interference
in the end zone. Chicken refs. Paid off.
--
John H

******Have a spectacular day!******

Oh my.

I've3 been playing bass guitar for 35 years (man! time flies!!!)

I wish i had taken guitar lesson's when I was a kid, it would have made
learning bass a whole lot easier.

But I suppose I do ok....

DSK wrote:

It's true that there's a fine line between having a hobby
and being obsessed.

Regards
Doug King

I'm obsessed! I own 72 bass's. Why? I'm trying to find the "perfect
one....LOL!

I have anythig from Squiers to Alembics... It's hard to beat an on
Fender J-bass though.

And If I hear any more crap about "real" Strats I'll bop you
over the head with my Fender arch-top... yes it's
acoustic... or if really annoyed will use my Gibson.

Right now I'm really digging a Squier Precision Special 5-string.

For a super cheap instrument, it plays great. No, it's not a "real
Fender" put plays better than many.

"Shortwave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 14 Jan 2006 19:23:21 -0500, "Eisboch" wrote:

"-rick-" wrote in message
...
Shortwave Sportfishing wrote:

nothing like that transformer sound.

It's interesting how the old tube amps with output transformers were
pretty bad in terms of bandwidth and fidelity yet had more pleasing
distortion, especially when pushed hard and the non-linear speaker load
reflected back to the output tubes and the wimpy tube rectifier power
supply started sagging. It makes a pretty complex system when combined
with room acoustics, guitar resonances, and multiple feedback paths.

Theres been a lot of work on DSP emulation and modeling that so far I've
not found nearly as satisfying but it's sure nice to be able to come
close
at low volume.

oh crap, Moss just got a gift in the end zone.

-rick-

Saw an interesting study on amplifier distortion ratings recently.
Typically
expressed as "THD" or Total Harmonic Distortion, it is generally
considered
that the lower the number the better, resulting in amps with ratings of 1%
or less, often much less.

Turns out that in a series of blind tests with a control group for
comparison that were told what levels of distortion existed, the human ear
is very non-sensitive to relatively high levels of distortion.
Furthermore,
the ear is frequency dependent in it's ability to detect distortion. I
forget the exact numbers, but it was something like above 8khz the ear was
most sensitive and both the blind group and the control group detected
distortion at about 3 percent. As the frequency lowered, both groups were
unable to detect higher levels of THD. At low frequencies (bass) it took
almost 100% THD for the groups to detect any distortion. Both group
results
were almost identical also.

I also remember reading about Carver amps which were of a "magnetic amp"
design. Bob Carver, the designer of the original Carver amp claimed the
same thing as the tests described above. Carver amps typically have a
much
higher THD rating than those of comparable competitors.

Oh, well. Useless information on a rainy day, 40 minutes from kickoff of
the Patriot's next victory on the way to the SB.

being a sufferer of perfect pitch, i can tell when something is
distorted or out of tune with reasonable accuracy.

i almost never listen to anything loud and i dont attend concerts for
much the same reason - the sound can just turn into noise for me.

then again, its a perfect excuse not to take the wife anywhere.

Ummm....pitch is to distortion as kleenex are to pencil erasers. But never
mind.

wrote in message
oups.com...

DSK wrote:

It's true that there's a fine line between having a hobby
and being obsessed.

Regards
Doug King

I'm obsessed! I own 72 bass's. Why? I'm trying to find the "perfect
one....LOL!

I have anythig from Squiers to Alembics... It's hard to beat an on
Fender J-bass though.

Which Alembic do you own?

Eisboch wrote:

Saw an interesting study on amplifier distortion ratings recently. Typically
expressed as "THD" or Total Harmonic Distortion, it is generally considered
that the lower the number the better, resulting in amps with ratings of 1%
or less, often much less.

Turns out that in a series of blind tests with a control group for
comparison that were told what levels of distortion existed, the human ear
is very non-sensitive to relatively high levels of distortion. Furthermore,
the ear is frequency dependent in it's ability to detect distortion. I
forget the exact numbers, but it was something like above 8khz the ear was
most sensitive and both the blind group and the control group detected
distortion at about 3 percent. As the frequency lowered, both groups were
unable to detect higher levels of THD. At low frequencies (bass) it took
almost 100% THD for the groups to detect any distortion. Both group results
were almost identical also.

I also remember reading about Carver amps which were of a "magnetic amp"
design. Bob Carver, the designer of the original Carver amp claimed the
same thing as the tests described above. Carver amps typically have a much
higher THD rating than those of comparable competitors.

Oh, well. Useless information on a rainy day, 40 minutes from kickoff of
the Patriot's next victory on the way to the SB.

More useless info...

As I recall the Carver "magnetic" amp (the cube?) was a bit
of a misnomer. I think this design had a number of
switching power supplies that produced a range of output
voltages (+/-10V, +/-20V, +/-30V, etc. for example). The
audio output was switched to the power supply that was most
nearly equal to desired gain * input signal. A low power
linear amp would then correct the residual error and
switching glitches were reduced with a low pass filter. It
was quite efficient and needed minimal heat sink but did
have higher noise and distortion than most linear amps, not
that I could hear it.

Hearing sensitivity is intensity and frequency dependent as
shown by the Fletcher-Munson curves which may explain the
distortion results you noted.

http://www.webervst.com/fm.htm

The thing is I *want* the guitar amp to distort when pushed.
But I want "nice" distortion, like Eric Johnson's 600lb
violin sound. Hey, would that be a Srativarius?

http://www.ericjohnson.com/

Maybe some day I'll find time to experiment with a low power
tube amp and novel ways of crippling it. I have a recent
Fender Hot Rod Deluxe (40 watt tube) and it's ok clean but
way too loud to push the output stage and the preamp
distortion on the overdrive channels is just nasty.

-rick-

--
10-3 Denver at halftime, will the Pats come back?