Distortion Flashcards
(13 cards)
What is clipping and how does it occur?
Distortion of output when an input is too high for the system it is passing through or if an amplifier is pushed beyond its maximum limit.
What happens to waveforms when they are distorted?
Peaks / troughs are flattened.
Why might people desire distortion when recording?
Gives a more fuller sound, adds harmonic content above fundamental frequency.
What type of clipping is normally not desirable?
Digital
At what level on a dBFS scale will the signal begin to clip?
0dB
What are valve amplifiers and when were they invented?
Soft clipping. Amplifiers that use vacuum tubes to amplify signals. Invented around 1910s.
What are solid state amps and when were they introduced?
Hard clipping. Uses small, cheap transistors. Introduced in late 60s / early 70s.
What is saturation?
Type of distortion that occurs when the input into an analogue system is close to the point of distortion.
Put the types of distortion in order of most extreme to least.
Fuzz, overdrive, distortion.
How does an exciter work?
Adds harmonics by distorting a specific frequency range.
How does bit distortion work?
Reducing the bit depth.
What DAW plug-ins are used to recreate the sounds of desired amps?
Amp simulators
How did tape delay units create distortion?
High levels of feedback.
