More even order harmonic distortions than odd order harmonic distortions. |
Screw high order harmonic distortion. Harmonic distortion is related to the signal itself. IM distortion is, by definition, enharmonic, and much worse. Many factors contribute to sweet sound, frequency response, harmonic distortion spectra, amp behavior at clipping, room treatment, etc., but a lack of IM distortion is certainly one of them. Viridian, I agree with your comments about the importance of having minimal IM distortion, and I would additionally mention TIM distortion. But note that I referred to harmonic imbalance, not harmonic distortion. The distinction being that I was using the term "imbalance" to encompass a much broader set of ways in which the harmonic structure of a musical note can get messed up (just one of which is harmonic distortion), including frequency response unevenness and the other variables I mentioned in my earlier post. Regards, -- Al |
Strings shouldn't sound overly aggressive, but they also shouldn't sound too sweet. Depending upon the instrument and the player it can be very appropriate to have a little bite or even rasp to the sound. The choice of microphone and its placement are the biggest factors in string recorded sound quality. |
What Onhwy61 said is exactly on the mark, as LIVE stringed instruments can sound very strident, when bowed aggressively. Good recordings will reproduce the edginess/bite, epecially if the mic was placed in front of the instrument. |
I fall into the microphone camp of believers, at least, most of the time. So often, one sees a microphone just above and oh so close to the instrument during recordings.
I suspect this was done in the past to compensate for (older) home equipment that had difficulty reproducing high frequencies. Unfortunately, the practice still seems to be in effect, even though the compensation is no longer necessary, and now, is even objectionable. |
