From bruce@ashbysolutions.com Wed Jan 02 14:14:08 2002
Subject:Re: drawbar question: why is 5 1/3 not between 8' and 4'?

Dan,

>But daddy, why is 5_1/3 as an exception not in ascending line? And why is it brown and not black like the other "odd" numbers?]
>
>There seems to be lots of myth around this. The 5-1/3 drawbar is not a subharmonic. It is the second harmonic (an octave and a fifth) of the sub-harmonic (an octave below the fundamental).

It may not be a sub-harmonic in the purest sense of the word, but it acts like one. Use your ears to try the following: Start with 00 8800 000, and slowly dial in the 16' drawbar. You will hear the bottom end fatten up significantly. Now, do the same with the 5 1/3' drawbar: The timbre is quite different, but it still fattens the bottom end, particularly if the note is in the lowest octave. As I mentioned previously, this is a well-documented acoustical phenomenon, and makes the positioning all the more valid.

Regards,

-BW

--
Bruce Wahler
Design Consultant
Ashby Solutions™ http://consult.ashbysolutions.com
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