Question: What's the difference?

Wimblees@AOL.COM Wimblees@AOL.COM
Mon, 8 Nov 1999 09:12:15 EST


In a message dated 11/7/99 1:24:56 AM !!!First Boot!!!, 
gharvey@netsource.co.nz writes:

<< One thought I had was that although each note is digitally sampled
 (therefore possibly contains the partial series from the sampled piano) how
 about when more than one note is played at once. Electronic pianos must (?)
 produce their chords as a collection of single sampled notes without the
 blend of partials that would occur in an acoustic piano. Perhaps the blend
 of notes once amplified and put through a speaker creates the blend?
 Maybe I'm off track here but I too am interested in this question.
 
 So many questions, so little time....
 
 Graeme Harvey >>


I agree with you, Graeme. The engineers took a small sampling of overtones 
produced by a real piano, and had the electric piano copy those overtones. 
Once  these sound are programmed into a note, it cannot be changed.  As you 
said, there are a multitude of overtones produced by a piano, with an endless 
combination of harmonics produced by different chord structures. And these 
overtones change when the piano goes out of tune a little. Even though we 
want a piano to be in tune, I think part of the "character" of a piano is 
when it is slightly out of tune. I think it adds a certain amount of warmth 
to the sound. And this is something that can never be duplicated 
electronically. 

Willem 


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