chinese tube amp?

[kf4hcw]

On 02/04/2017 07:37 PM, Phil via Tacos wrote:
> by “warm” I understand “seriously limted in the upper frequencies”

As a music producer (one of my hats) I'll toss in that this isn't quite 
right...

Warm really tends to mean "not harsh" which typically involves a 
roll-off of higher frequencies, but is also dramatically effected by the 
kinds of harmonics that are present and their phase relationships.

What folks tend to like about "valves" is that when they distort they 
tend to do so softy at first -- acting more like compression than 
clipping, and since this tends to add even harmonics more than odd ones 
it is more pleasant because even harmonics are octaves.

Odd harmonics can also work -- but the even harmonics have to be present 
to bring them in line with 5ths... otherwise they don't harmonize and 
tend to sound harsh (dissonant). In some styles of music that's what 
they're going for, but most of the time not so much.

This kind of "soft clipping" is also something that comes from 
saturating tape and transformers - which gives some famous audio gear a 
distinctive character that folks often want to recreate.

Hope this helps,
_M


-- 
kf4hcw
Pete McNeil
lifeatwarp9.com/kf4hcw