You might recall that funny test in 2018, which invited (and divided) listeners to see which name they heard in a clip. Let's explore phantom frequencies.
"Yanny or Laurel" was the name of a famous auditory illusion that came up in 2018. An auditory illusion is the equivalent of an optical illusion, where the listener hears something that is either not there or even technically impossible, due to a false perception or bias.
In the case of "Yanny or Laurel," listeners voted on which of the names they heard when listening to a specific audio clip. (You can listen to it on Wikipedia.) The results were so extremely divided that several college professors chimed in and The New York Times even offered a spectrographic analysis of the short spoken clip. In the end, both camps are right, but the result depended on their focus on a frequency range or their ears' capability to detect higher frequencies, as the clip had both words mixed simultaneously: Laurel in the lower frequency and Yanny in the higher spectrum.
It would be interesting to see the separate results for this test among bass players and guitarists. Would bass players hear "Laurel" and guitarists hear "Yanny"?
Do you think you could play a real low B on a standard E–A–D–G tuned 4-string? We usually think of a string's fundamental to be the lowest possible frequency that is accompanied by a set of higher harmonics. But playing two notes at a time can lead to an effect called the phantom, or missing, fundamental.
Try fretting the lowest possible B on the 3rd string and an F# on the 4th string. Play them simultaneously by hitting the strings softly around the 12th fret. The reason for the 12th fret soft plucking is that it enhances the low fundamentals and thereby boosts the effect. The perception is because our brain is interpreting existing repeating patterns in the resulting waveform. In other words, and as shown in Photo 1: The two fundamentals overlay in a form that they produce another and initially nonexistent periodicity of an even lower frequency with the resulting pitch being the greatest common divisor of the frequencies present. It's worth noting here that some explanations and basics of the effect are still discussed. One is an autocorrelation within our brain filling harmonic patterns with said fundamental.
Playing two notes at a time can lead to an effect called the phantom, or missing, fundamental.
The effect has been used for audio software since the late 1990s, a patented algorithm for Waves Audio's MaxxBass plug-in, as well as for small speaker devices reproducing frequencies they're not usually capable of, by adding synthesized harmonics.
Historically, the MaxxBass plug-in, and even more so the L1 Ultramaximizer, are said to have heavily contributed to the "loudness wars" of the 1990s. And, as always, the dynamics and clarity of the bass range are the first to suffer from this.
There are lots of other psychoacoustic effects that are worth taking a look at, while the phantom or missing fundamental is the one that most influences our bass range.
Another one worth mentioning here is the McGurk effect, which refers to a perceptual interaction between hearing and vision. The original research publication was titled "Hearing Lips and Seeing Voices," issued in Nature (December 1976). The McGurk effect occurs when the audio component is combined with video of a different sound, whereby the mouthed visual component changes the audible content a person hears, sometimes even altering to a third variation. This effect has a lot to do with knowledge and training and therefore also affects experts, sometimes even more.
As bassists and trained listeners to our instrument, we can have our own version of the McGurk effect and it can cost us severe amounts of money. Having test-played lots of different basses teaches us an unconscious preconception of judging gear by its visuals. It's not only the classic perception of a pink P bass as a funk machine and the very same sunburst model as a soul version. The effect also applies to connecting an instrument's ornamentals or veneered tops with an elegant, complex boutique tone.
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EBS introduces the Solder-Free Flat Patch Cable Kit, featuring dual anchor screws for secure fastening and reliable audio signal.
EBS is proud to announce its adjustable flat patch cable kit. It's solder-free and leverages a unique design that solves common problems with connection reliability thanks to its dual anchor screws and its flat cable design. These two anchor screws are specially designed to create a secure fastening in the exterior coating of the rectangular flat cable. This helps prevent slipping and provides a reliable audio signal and a neat pedal board and also provide unparalleled grounding.
The EBS Solder-Free Flat Patch Cable is designed to be easy to assemble. Use the included Allen Key to tighten the screws and the cutter to cut the cable in desired lengths to ensure consistent quality and easy assembling.
The EBS Solder-Free Flat Patch Cable Kit comes in two sizes. Either 10 connector housings with 2,5 m (8.2 ft) cable or 6 connectors housings with 1,5 m (4.92 ft) cable. Tools included.
Use the EBS Solder-free Flat Patch Cable Kit to make cables to wire your entire pedalboard or to create custom-length cables to use in combination with any of the EBS soldered Flat Patch Cables.
Estimated Price:
MAP Solder-free Flat Patch Cable Kit 6 pcs: $ 59,99
MAP Solder-free Flat Patch Cable Kit 10 pcs: $ 79,99
MSRP Solder-free Flat Patch Cable Kit 6 pcs: 44,95 €
MSRP Solder-free Flat Patch Cable Kit 10 pcs: 64,95 €
For more information, please visit ebssweden.com.
Upgrade your Gretsch guitar with Music City Bridge's SPACE BAR for improved intonation and string spacing. Compatible with Bigsby vibrato systems and featuring a compensated lightning bolt design, this top-quality replacement part is a must-have for any Gretsch player.
Music City Bridge has introduced the newest item in the company’s line of top-quality replacement parts for guitars. The SPACE BAR is a direct replacement for the original Gretsch Space-Control Bridge and corrects the problems of this iconic design.
As a fixture on many Gretsch models over the decades, the Space-Control bridge provides each string with a transversing (side to side) adjustment, making it possible to set string spacing manually. However, the original vintage design makes it difficult to achieve proper intonation.
Music City Bridge’s SPACE BAR adds a lightning bolt intonation line to the original Space-Control design while retaining the imperative horizontal single-string adjustment capability.
Space Bar features include:
- Compensated lightning bolt design for improved intonation
- Individually adjustable string spacing
- Compatible with Bigsby vibrato systems
- Traditional vintage styling
- Made for 12-inch radius fretboards
The SPACE BAR will fit on any Gretsch with a Space Control bridge, including USA-made and imported guitars.
Music City Bridge’s SPACE BAR is priced at $78 and can be purchased at musiccitybridge.com.
For more information, please visit musiccitybridge.com.
The Australian-American country music icon has been around the world with his music. What still excites him about the guitar?
Keith Urban has spent decades traveling the world and topping global country-music charts, and on this episode of Wong Notes, the country-guitar hero tells host Cory Wong how he conquered the world—and what keeps him chasing new sounds on his 6-string via a new record, High, which releases on September 20.
Urban came up as guitarist and singer at the same time, and he details how his playing and singing have always worked as a duet in service of the song: “When I stop singing, [my guitar] wants to say something, and he says it in a different way.” Those traits served him well when he made his move into the American music industry, a story that begins in part with a fateful meeting with a 6-string banjo in a Nashville music store in 1995.
It’s a different world for working musicians now, and Urban weighs in on the state of radio, social media, and podcasts for modern guitarists, but he still believes in word-of-mouth over the algorithm when it comes to discovering exciting new players.
And in case you didn’t know, Keith Urban is a total gearhead. He shares his essential budget stomps and admits he’s a pedal hound, chasing new sounds week in and week out, but what role does new gear play in his routine? Urban puts it simply: “I’m not chasing tone, I’m pursuing inspiration.”
Wong Notes is presented by DistroKid.
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PG contributor Tom Butwin takes a deep dive into LR Baggs' HiFi Duet system.