A spring reverb is an electromechanical device that uses a system of transducers and steel springs to mimic reflections. The reverb effect denotes a collection of delayed sound repetitions. Some Context on the Spring Reverb Bell Labs Company created and patented the first spring reverb device. They wanted to mimic the delays occurring over long…
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Tape delay is one of the oldest effects in the music universe. This effect gives a unique sense of warmness and character to any given sound. For this reason, it became a widely used and iconic effect. Tape Delay: Where Does It Come From? The first time the term “echo” appeared was around 1950 when…
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An analog delay is an electronic device that temporarily stores an audio signal in order to create a time delay. This device transforms each sample to an average voltage value. An analog delay typically relays on a bucket-brigade device (BBD) chip that sends the analog signal through a series of capacitors. Because of this, they…
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Grain delay is a process that samples incoming audio in very small pieces known as grains. In this process, each grain is released after a specific delay measured in sync to tempo or milliseconds. The user can control the grain size. Grain Delay: a Bit of History The grain delay effect dates back to 1946,…
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Phase shifting and time delay are closely related. The first one is a process that occurs when a sound wave is reflected. These reflections might happen for several types of waves, including those on strings and light. The second refers to the process that records an input signal to a storage medium and then plays…
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The Haas effect, aka the precedence effect, is a binaural psychoacoustical effect. It explains how, when a sound follows another sound separated by a short time delay, listeners perceive it as a single auditory event. This phenomenon dates back to 1949. The first description of this effect appeared in The Precedence Effect in Sound Localization by Wallach, Newman, and Rosenzweig. The Physics…
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Subtractive synthesis, also known as analog synthesis, emerged around 1960—the same time the analog synthesizers did. Many of these synthesizers use the analog technique to produce sounds. The kind we’re talking about today here involves three main components: oscillator, filter, and amplifier. The Components of Subtractive Synthesis In the following paragraphs we’ll explain the three of…
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Granular synthesis is a type of audio synthesis that breaks a sound into small particles. After that, this process reorganizes the particles in order to create a new sound. In short, it is a sound manipulation technique that involves sound grouping, pitch control, and speed control. A Little Bit of History: Granular Synthesis Around 1946,…
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Wavetable synthesis is a technique that produces natural sounds. When the sound comes from an actual musical instrument, the process separates a single note into a sequence of wavetables. Analog Oscillators Analog oscillators offered four basic oscillator waveforms until a new form of audio synthesis appeared. Around 1970, Waldorf Music Company launched the PPG wave…
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Additive synthesis is one of the oldest and most researched types of audio synthesis. This technique was first used with church organs to accurately control the register-stops, as well as with the keyboard. The operation was quite simple. By pressing the keyboard’s keys and pulling several register-stops in different positions, the air released into the…
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