Archive 'Harmonics'

This quantity measures the introduction of a noise by a device on a sound signal passing through it. This mainly happens because in not reproducing the exact rate of the input signal, the device modifies the signal's slope (mainly by introducing saturation), thus modifying its frequency content.

This effect adds light saturations to the input signal. As already mentioned, a saturation generates new harmonics based on the frequency content of the input signal. Therefore, the exciter effect is capable of generating high frequencies out of signals which lack them, as is sometimes the case with vocals which, though being in tune, don't bite enough.

We have said how the frequencies audible by the human ear go from 20Hz to 20KHz. Lets now try and label these frequencies so as to have a better idea of where to place the sounds we listen to.

Psychoacoustics studies the brain's sound elaboration mechanisms. A knowledge of such mechanisms is indispensable for the practice of sound engineering, in that it allows, through appropriate manipulation, very sophisticated sound-effects to be obtained.

Elementar waveforms, description, characteristics, sounds

What we've said up to now with regards to sinusoids is a fundamental truth upon which we will base the rest of our sound reality. An aspect which contributes a lot to the characteristics of sound is its harmonics.