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Re: ELP and directional bass Re: Re: surround looping



Guys,

Bass is not just bass.  There are plenty of localize-able overtones 
produced in a good bass.

The low E on a bass (E1) is a bit more than 41Hz (and has a wavelength 
27 feet long) which can not be localized very well.

There are at least ten harmonics you can hear however, which brings it 
up to 410 Hz - which is high enough to localize on (2.7 feet).  A 
conventionally tuned four string bass G string at the 12th fret (G3) 
has a fundamental of 196Hz (and a wavelength of 5.7 feet) - the tenth 
harmonic of this is 1960 Hz with a wavelength of a bit less than 7".

This is extremely easy to localize.

Also when Greg Lake plays through a fuzz box (or breaks up his amp) - 
guess what - lots more harmonics - that is what fuzz is - gobs of 
harmonic (and also not so harmonic) distortion.  The net result is - it 
is even more easy to localize.

So you are quite right in thinking this is quite directional to you.

Howard


On May 20, 2005, at 6:53 PM, Timothy Mungenast wrote:

> I'm with Richard:
> There's a song on Emerson, Lake, and Palmer's first album where Greg 
> Lake's
> fuzz bass is panned vigrously... sure seems directional to me.  ;-)
> ~Tim
>
>
>> [Original Message]
>> From: Richard Zvonar <zvonar@zvonar.com>
>> To: Jon Southwood <jsouthwood@gmail.com>;
> <Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com>
>> Date: 5/20/2005 2:54:09 PM
>> Subject: Re: Re: surround looping
>>
>> At 1:14 PM -0500 5/20/05, Jon Southwood wrote:
>>> Regarding the 10.2 and the 16.8.1, I have to ask a potentially
>>> stupid question:
>>>
>>> I was always under the impression (having it read it many times) that
>>> the low frequencies for which a subwoofer is designed to reproduce 
>>> are
>>> not 'directional'. By that, I mean (in case my terminology is off
>>> [likely]) that one cannot determine the direction from which the low
>>> frequencies came, or rather one cannot 'locate' the source of the low
>>> frequencies.
>>
>> I don't agree with this "truism" about bass having no directionality.
>> It's simply more difficult to localize bass frequencies, but given
>> that you hear bass with your whole body I think you can perceive
>> where different bass sounds are coming from.
>>
>> In a complex system with many speakers I think it works pretty well
>> to use multiple subs. This is especially true in a listening
>> environment such as a club where the audience is free to circulate.
>>
>> Also be aware that in a specialized setup the crossover frequency
>> could be tweaked to suit the combination of speakers and architecture.
>> -- 
>>
>> ______________________________________________________________
>> Richard Zvonar, PhD
>> (818) 788-2202
>> http://www.zvonar.com
>> http://salamandersongs.com
>> http://ill-wind.com
>
>
>
>