Most likely things wrong if a pedal doesn't work

[zpyder]

Equal temperament.

Its a crock.  It defies nature.
...
We are just lucky that most of the first few even order harmonics are so much closer to the natural harmonics than most of the odd ones.

Actually, to follow this order of thinking you could say that musical scales in essence defy nature.  There is no one possible temperment inwhich all harmonics align for all scales - this is why we have different temperments.  Sound (frequency in Hz) is logarithmic whereas scales (notes, A,B,C...) are, in a sense, linear.  At least we intend to understand and denote them as linear.  In fact, it just so happens that every octave is exactly double the previous in frequency, yet the distance between each octave's responsive region in our cochlea is equal... stange but true.  It's a couple millimeters or micrometers between each, I can't remember...

By creating scales, we're basically trying to superimpose a linear system over a logarithmic phenomena - it just won't always line up if you do the math.

It was all fine until we starting playing the same instrument in different keys.  I'm not exactly a proponant of equal temperment (aside from the fact that I get paid to play in it - even then I sometimes alter my tuning slightly depending on what I want for a certain song, you're damn straight that 3rd ain't right!!), but I will say that it's purpose is to spread the error out equally over all scales so that the same instrument can play REASONABLY accurately in all of them, rather than having the C maj scale sound perfect, but the D maj all @#$%ed up at 5.  It's a sacrifice...

[gaussmarkov]

in my experience, visual inspection of connections and dmm continuity checks are not enough to find some poor connections.  i once had an intermittent popping problem that turned out to be a solder joint that looked beautiful--but the wire was sliding up and down through the solder when i moved the wire!

so now my circuits have to be robust to some poking and prodding before they go in the box.

[goosonique]

make this sticky please....good info