From Brian Willoughby Sent Mon, Jun 18th 2018, 02:06
From Brian Willoughby Sent Mon, Jun 18th 2018, 02:06
I don=E2=80=99t think it=E2=80=99s realistic to request a distinction = between units that =E2=80=9Ctruly=E2=80=9D sound different versus those = that merely need service. I can=E2=80=99t help but think of the =E2=80=9CN= o true Scotsman=E2=80=9D fallacy. * For one thing, your request assumes that adjusting the trimpots actually = makes two units sound alike. The thing about analog circuits is that = components have 5% and 10% tolerances, trimpots have imperfections that = make them difficult to adjust precisely, and there are simply a lot of = variables. However, I would be very interested to hear some recordings that = actually demonstrate an audible difference in noise transistors, even = though that would require very precise trimpot adjustment before it = could even be tested. I=E2=80=99d go so far as to say that it would be = very educational to purposely replace a =E2=80=9Cmagic=E2=80=9D Roland = noise transistor with a =E2=80=9Cpoor=E2=80=9D noise transistor, then = adjust the trimpot to service manual specifications and see whether = anyone could actually hear a difference. I say this as someone who got really interested in the different kinds = of random number distributions, and assumed they were audible. After = writing an audio plugin that can create every kind of noise (uniform, = triangular probability distribution, Gaussian, etc), I discovered that = they all sound like noise. Frequency spectrum manipulations are audible, = but the distribution of the random values does not seem to be audible. I = would be very surprised if transistor noise varied enough to be audible. On the latter note, Occam=E2=80=99s Razor says that Roland=E2=80=99s = =E2=80=9Cspecial=E2=80=9D transistors were just cheap ones that were = good for nothing else. I doubt that they=E2=80=99re better at making = snare and clap sounds, they=E2=80=99re probably just shite for anything = else. Brian * Don=E2=80=99t look up =E2=80=9CTrue Scotsman,=E2=80=9D look up =E2=80=9C= No true Scotsman.=E2=80=9D They=E2=80=99re quite different expressions. On Jun 15, 2018, at 11:14 AM, matt holland <xxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx> wrote: > To amend my previous request, I'm interested in hearing units that = truly sound different (not that just need to have their trimpots = adjusted or aging capacitors replaced). My suspicion all along when I've = heard these claims is that they fall in to that category, but maybe = there are units that (for example) have such different noise transistors = that their snares can't be trimmed to spec (or to sound alike). That = would be a solid example. >=20 > Also, just to remind everyone. Tom is looking for a minty 808 ;) >=20 > mh