The missing phantom fundamental

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sm55onlsm55onl Frets: 28
Is this a <whoooosh ! (over the head)> moment/issue ?

http://timeelect.com/vacuum-tubes-tc-phantom-missing-fundamental.html
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Comments

  • CirrusCirrus Frets: 8481
    That is astounding.
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  • Flanging_FredFlanging_Fred Frets: 3008
    The phantom fundamentals - good name for a band that is.
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  • Shark_EyesShark_Eyes Frets: 373
    I read it, but didn't understand it. It seemed incoherent and stuffed full of buzzwords.

    Also it just sort of stopped! Then he went and told a story with so many irrelevant pieces of info that I had no idea what the point was.
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  • sm55onlsm55onl Frets: 28
    You mean the fundamental went missing....like a phantom ;-)

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  • simonksimonk Frets: 1467
    I read it, but didn't understand it. It seemed incoherent and stuffed full of buzzwords.

    Also it just sort of stopped! Then he went and told a story with so many irrelevant pieces of info that I had no idea what the point was.
    Likewise - it was confusing. I'd put it down to the Rioja I'd consumed.
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  • CirrusCirrus Frets: 8481
    edited May 2017
    No, it's total nonsense. Then at the end, a picture of an SPL meter, like some kind of weird punchline.

    The missing fundamental - it's a sound illusion, basically. Musical notes are usually composed of the basic frequency that we call the note, then higher frequencies that form a pattern above the note and give sound its texture/ tone.

    Turns out our brains hear the note, even if you get rid of it and only leave the pattern of higher frequencies (called harmonics or overtones). It's why we can hear the difference between the low E on a bass guitar and the E an octave higher, even through an amp and speakers that can't actually make the sound at about 41Hz for the low E. Our ears hear those higher harmonics and our brain fills in the missing low end.

    But this page just is insane, with loads of unrelated pictures and logical leaps. I do think it's either a madman or someone having a laugh.
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  • Shark_EyesShark_Eyes Frets: 373
    @cirrus I'm glad to find that there was a point. I'd hate to find out I'd read a page full of nonsense for nothing.
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71956
    The phantom fundamental is the theory behind the design of the Ampeg SVT 8x10" bass cabinet. It purposely rolls off the fundamentals in order to provide a tighter, punchier bottom end and more apparent volume from the same electrical power, and your ear/brain produces the frequency instead.

    Before that, bass cabs tried to go down to the fundamentals, but the speaker technology wasn't good enough back then to produce a tight, efficient output and the result was a farty mess which didn't actually sound that loud and often still missed the very lowest notes.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • jpfampsjpfamps Frets: 2723

    This is a well known phenomenon.

    It also explains why I think a lot of low bass in a mix is not needed.
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  • mbembe Frets: 1840
    The viola is rich in harmonics that together are sometimes louder than the fundamental. Viola has a reputation for having a 'veiled tone'.

    I used to play electric viola in the 70s and through an Electronic Harmonix Octave Multiplexer it sounded like a comb filtered arpeggiator hunting for the fundamental, when in fact the overtones were more prominent.
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  • SporkySporky Frets: 27576
    That's a terribly worded article. I know what a phantom fundamental is, but I'm not sure the author does.
    "[Sporky] brings a certain vibe and dignity to the forum."
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  • fandangofandango Frets: 2204
    sm55onl said:
    Is this a <whoooosh ! (over the head)> moment/issue ?

    http://timeelect.com/vacuum-tubes-tc-phantom-missing-fundamental.html
    Simple answer = yes.
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  • I thought I knew what the phantom fundamental is, but having read that, I don't even know my own name.

    It seems utterly incoherent. 
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