Sound Quality

Pitch perception beyond the traditional existence region of pitch

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“…the perception of musical pitch at high frequencies is not constrained by temporal phase locking in the auditory nerve but may instead stem from higher-level constraints shaped by prior exposure to harmonic sounds.” Humans’ ability to recognize musical melodies is generally limited to pure-tone frequencies below 4 or 5 kHz. This limit coincides with the … Read more

Soloist evaluations of six Old Italian and six new violins

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Claudia Fritz, Joseph Curtin, Jacques Poitevineau, Hugues Borsarello, Indiana Wollman, Fan-Chia Tao, and Thierry Ghasarossian PNAS 2014 111 (20) 7224-7229; published ahead of print April 7, 2014, http://www.pnas.org/content/111/20/7224.full.pdf+html “Soloist evaluations of six Old Italian and six new violins” conducted by Claudia Fritz, Joseph Curtin, Jacques Poitevineau, and Fan-Chia Tao. This research was published in the … Read more

How to Set Up and Intonate an Acoustic Guitar

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intonation scaled

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9ywORU5EUs Setting up and intonating an acoustic guitar properly is crucial for ensuring that the instrument plays in tune across the entire fretboard. While intonation adjustments on acoustic guitars can be more challenging than on electric guitars due to their fixed bridge systems, there are several steps you can take to improve intonation and overall … Read more

Tubes vs Transformers – What good tube “tone” looks like

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Metal and wire is just metal and wire. The real sonic magic comes from the tubes. GAGA gets all that metal out of their way. An examination into the esoterica shrouding audio output transformers, tubes and “tone”, or the various unpleasant effects of bulky metal on faithful, musical amplification. Whereas traditional output transformers – homogenizing … Read more

Tubes vs Transistors – Perception of Loudness, Clarity, Distortion, Sound Quality

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In general, with other variables held steady, as the power rating goes up dramatically (10x), the perception of loudness only doubles. 3,000 Watts sounds only “four-times louder” than 30 Watts. It seems unlikely, but measurements and anecdotal evidence have consistently shown it is generally true. People often ask, how does the Milbert BaM-235ab compare, in … Read more