Distorted Reality
Myths about Harmonics and Distortion
When trying to understand how distortion and saturation work, we often look to harmonic distortion readings. But did you know that these tell you very little about what's really going on? Let's take a deep dive and learn how harmonics and waveshapers are tied together, and the ways their relationship is commonly misunderstood. We'll get into:
- Why harmonic distortion is practically inaudible
- Why odd harmonic energy mostly bolsters fundamental frequencies
- Why even harmonics can sound so fuzzy
- Why even and odd harmonics don't describe tube vs. transistor sound
- The relationship between harmonics and amplitude (peaks)
... and a whole lot more. We'll use basic signal math to dispel some common myths, better understand measurements, and gain conceptual tools to push sound in new directions.
Samuel Fischmann
Co-Founder
Musik Hack LLC
Sam is the technical co-founder of Musik Hack, and a seasoned software developer whose portfolio spans audio/DSP, Web development, data analytics, and embedded systems. He’s also a composer and longtime musician. Sam is obsessed with building creative, functional, major-label-quality products that don’t look like airplane cockpits, and helping spread the joy of music through more intuitive approaches to DSP. If you ask nicely, he can also cook up a mean marinara...