Les Paul Forums - View Single Post - The five factors which create the ‘1959 burst’ sound

SKATTERBRANE · 05-06-2012, 12:37 PM

Tone (such as the difference between a saxophone, piano, and oboe) playing the same note, has to do with the relationship between the various harmonics to the root frequency. A pure tone generates NO harmonics at all. It essentially has no tone.

The only way one can tell the difference between a flute and a banjo, has to do with overtones undertones, how loud or soft each mulitiple of the basic note is produced, and how many mulitples of that note is generated.

How one plays does affect it to some degree. But the basic tone is in the instrument itself.

05-06-2012, 12:37 PM	#128 (permalink)
SKATTERBRANE Banned Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 21,441 Thanks: 603 Thanked 549 Times in 185 Posts	Re: The five factors which create the ‘1959 burst’ sound Tone (such as the difference between a saxophone, piano, and oboe) playing the same note, has to do with the relationship between the various harmonics to the root frequency. A pure tone generates NO harmonics at all. It essentially has no tone. The only way one can tell the difference between a flute and a banjo, has to do with overtones undertones, how loud or soft each mulitiple of the basic note is produced, and how many mulitples of that note is generated. How one plays does affect it to some degree. But the basic tone is in the instrument itself.