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Old 03-02-2009, 08:43 AM   #411
BoxOfSnoo
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
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Quote:
Originally Posted by yep View Post
We might reasonably speculate that modern lumber from heavily-irrigated rapid-growth forests might not resonate or sound the same as the dense-grained old-growth wood that was the norm in the mid-1900s, but why should ELECTRICAL circuits sound different?
Oh I agree with you, but here are possible answers:
1) Components have changed over the years. Germanium has been replaced by silicon, for the most part. Very different sounds. Tubes would have been entirely phased out by transistors if audio geeks didn't notice something exceptional that could not be replicated. Transistor models change frequently. Even the solder in modern electronics is quite different. You can take the same schematic from 40 years ago and build it today with the exact same specs and have a very different sounding device!

2) Much of the whole scope of tone is mechanical. Much more than we think, even in what we think of as an ELECTRICAL device. Tubes vibrate, speakers soften up over time, wood settles in - we know this to be true in acoustic instruments, why not electric guitars or even amp cabinets? Why should a poly vs. nitro finish on an electric make a difference otherwise? Or tuners? We've become attuned to the old way of doing things, and are sometimes realizing that technological advancement is taking us away from where we actually want to be. Sometimes.
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