Re: plans/ schematic for a guitar/ instrument string sustaining device??

From: Kevin Aylward (salesEXTRACT_at_anasoft.co.uk)
Date: 10/29/04 

Date: Fri, 29 Oct 2004 07:18:51 GMT

ChrisGibboGibson wrote:
> Rich Grise wrote:
>
>> On Thu, 28 Oct 2004 10:19:54 +0000, ChrisGibboGibson wrote:
>>
>>> Rich Grise wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Wed, 27 Oct 2004 09:21:17 +0000, ChrisGibboGibson wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> This is to compensate for the way the human ear perceives tone. ie
>>>>> although 4000 Hz is exacty 2 octaves above 1000Hz the human ear
>>>>> will perceive it as being flat.
>>>>>
>>>> Where do you get this crap?
>>>>
>>>
>>> Yamaha, Roland, Korg, oh and 30 years as a musician.
>>>
>>> I posted a link to Roland's website where it tells you what stretch
>>> tuning
>> is
>>> for.
>>>
>>> It isn't crap Rich. It's fact. Just because *you* didn't know it
>>> doesn't
>> make
>>> it crap.
>>>
>> Well, I do know that 4000 Hz is exactly two octaves from 1000 Hz. And
>> they've always sounded like octaves to me.
>>
>
> I guess this crew are also taking crap then.....
>
> http://www.lafavre.us/tuning-marimba.htm
>
> <QUOTE>
>
> Unfortunately, we are not finished yet with the details! Apparently,
> human hearing is a bit quirky. We tend to hear high notes a bit flat.
> To compensate for this, an instrument with a wide compass can be
> tuned with the high notes slightly sharp.
>

>
> To make high and low notes on the same instrument sound good when
> played together, they would 'stretch' the overall tuning - making
> bass-end notes a little flat, and high-end notes a little sharp.
>
> Partly, this is due to string imperfections, and partly... because
> the human ear seems to like it that way! (Neuroscientists are still
> trying to explain why.)
>Even the tuned percussion bars used in junior
> schools need their tuning tweaked by a few cents, for notes above or
> below the middle octave.
>
> </QUOTE>

Well I will disagree with "need". Sure, this is a well known effect, but
today, its pretty much irrelevant. Essentially this stretch tuning is
never done with modern instruments. Its hard to say just what the ratio
is of real piano verses PCM synth piano is, but I'd wager that its 99.9%
electronic nowadays. Sure, modern keyboard can often be set to have many
different tunings (digitally) but the reality is that no one does it,
and no one notices. One should note that the piano is being played with
other instruments, so having its tuning slightly off when others are not
will cause a problem.

Kevin Aylward
salesEXTRACT@anasoft.co.uk
http://www.anasoft.co.uk
SuperSpice, a very affordable Mixed-Mode
Windows Simulator with Schematic Capture,
Waveform Display, FFT's and Filter Design.

Relevant Pages

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