Total Harmonic Distortion
Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 1:33 pm
I just finished reading a fascinating article on total harmonic distortion ("the amount of extra sound generated by the electronics in the piece of equipment itself"), and thought I'd share it here.
Now, I did a search through our archives and didn't find anything, but I'm sure we've already talked a great deal about it already under different names and situations. What I like the best about this article is how 'user-friendly' the explanation is, as he compares layers of harmonic distortion to layers of varnish. He even goes on to describe how it's useful for different types of music, be it lo-fi, techno, black metal, etc.
While I myself might not be able to hear the THD that a single piece of gear might impart, I can definitely tell when it's not there. I find home recordings are notorious for missing this bit of character (mine definitely included), and I'd recommend this article to beginners primarily, but I think it makes a good read for anyone.
Anyone here have any thoughts/comments on the article/concept?
Edit: I just noticed a helpful follow-up post in the comments section that discusses 'sonic varnish' in terms of DAWs: http://timothyshrout.wordpress.com/2010 ... c-varnish/
Now, I did a search through our archives and didn't find anything, but I'm sure we've already talked a great deal about it already under different names and situations. What I like the best about this article is how 'user-friendly' the explanation is, as he compares layers of harmonic distortion to layers of varnish. He even goes on to describe how it's useful for different types of music, be it lo-fi, techno, black metal, etc.
While I myself might not be able to hear the THD that a single piece of gear might impart, I can definitely tell when it's not there. I find home recordings are notorious for missing this bit of character (mine definitely included), and I'd recommend this article to beginners primarily, but I think it makes a good read for anyone.
Anyone here have any thoughts/comments on the article/concept?
Edit: I just noticed a helpful follow-up post in the comments section that discusses 'sonic varnish' in terms of DAWs: http://timothyshrout.wordpress.com/2010 ... c-varnish/