Tag: analog hardware

Class AB Amplifiers

Class AB amplifiers are a combination of Class A and Class B amps. They are also a specific variation of a Class B one. Both Class A and Class B conduct, at the same time, around the waveform’s crossover point. This action removes the crossover distortion conflicts of the latter. For its convenience, the Class…
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Drum Machines: an Introduction

Drum machines are electronic musical instrument that creates percussion. They are able to emulate the sound of drum kits and percussion instruments. In addition, drum machines can also create their own distinctive sounds. Most of them allow players to program their own rhythms and are able to produce a variety of sounds using analog synthesis.…
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Class G/H Amplifiers

Class G/H amplifiers refer to different designs that boost Class AB output stages. Both denominations, either G or H, are interchangeable. Yet, the terms vary from one manufacturer to another. Experts commonly use these devices in large audio amplifiers. They have effective techniques that allow them to achieve greater efficiency with low distortion. Class G…
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Early Drum Machines

As you can imagine, early drum machines are the ones that made modern drum machines possible. To pay homage to these predecessors, here we offer the highlights of their history. Early Drum Machines: a History An Arab engineer invented the first programmable drum machine. It appeared in Ismail al-Jazari’s The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious…
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Class D Amplifiers

Class D amplifiers, also known as a switching amplifiers, are electronic amps in which the transistors operate as electronic switches. These transistors are usually MOSFETs and they operate by switching back and forth between the supply rails. They are fed by a modulator using diverse techniques that encode the audio input into a pulse train.…
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Modern Drum Machines

The history of modern drum machines is a fascinating one. By definition, drum machines are electronic musical instruments that create percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns. On the one hand, they may imitate drum kits or other percussion instruments. On the other, they may produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones. Modern drum machines usually have pre-programmed…
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Class T Amplifiers

In every article that deals with Class T amplifiers you will find it linked to Class D ones. The reason is simple. They are similar, but the difference between them is that Class T uses a Tripath chip. That is, these amps have an audio amplifier IC design officially registered by Tripath’s amplifier technologies. (Although,…
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Amplifier Class XD

The Amplifier Class XD has a British patent owned by Cambridge Audio. The term XD comes from Crossover Displacement, which means this amplifier is based on a Crossover Displacement Technology. This technology removes a certain amount of distortion without collateral compromises. It first appeared, many years ago, in the Azur 840A integrated amp, and has…
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Vacuum Tubes Amplifiers (Guitar)

Vacuum tube amplifiers (or valve amplifiers) are a type of electronic amplifier that uses vacuum tubes to increase the  amplitude or power of a signal. Before the solid-state semiconductors appeared, vacuum tubes were fairly common. At that time, the latter conquered the active electronic components in most instrument amplifier applications. Solid-state semiconductors, also known as transistor amps, took over since they are more affordable,…
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Solid-State Guitar Amplifiers

Solid-state guitar amplifiers are based on a semiconductor or on a transistor. They are lighter, tougher, cheaper, and more reliable than the tube-based versions. In addition, they have many versions that vary in output power, size, price, and sound quality. This type of amps also vary in terms of functionality. Solid-State Guitar Amplifiers: Main Features…
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