Moog patented removing every other upper partial to get brightness without raspiness
Evidence
When electronic synthesis of sounds became routine, one had a choice as to how much amplitude to give the upper partials. Too much amplitude to the high partials, and the synthetic tone too starts to sound irritating and raspy, due to self-dissonance. However, Robert Moog had a great idea, for which he received a patent: to get brightness without the raspy tone, simply remove every other partial, or say two out of three partials in the upper registers. That way, there are high partials, but not residing within the same critical band. This works very well, as can be verified in the MAX patch Partials. — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 2342
Categorization
Category: Factual Claims
- XREF: Ties the critical band concept directly to a practical synthesis patent.
- SEED: Article angle: the physics of a musician’s problem-solving — how perception science translated into a synth patent.