How to add dynamics to a circuit? Is it possible? Do I use magic dust?

[chumbox]

Hey All

I hear people mention pedal dynamics a lot and I totally respect a pedal with a lot of dynamics.  However I got to thinking, what makes a circuit more dynamic?  Are there tricks to this?  Is it component choice?  Is it a combination of a lot of things?  Is there a circuit snippet known to add dynamics to any pedal?  What are some dynamically rich off the shelf pedals?  Is it all just a buzzword and in my head?

I just want to learn more about this mysterious magic.  Discuss.

[MrStab]

to the best of my limited knowledge, carbon comp resistors with their higher tolerance and different (ie. older) types of cap should allow for more variation in how circuits respond.

alternatively, place your circuit in a box with a jar of poison and a source of radiation...

[mistahead]

I just put more knobs on - replace all resistors with pots and all caps with little fake "Vari-cap" circuits.

BUT, and this is the real killer, you have to get a bunch of knobs made up marked 1-100 with pips in between, rather than 1-10. This entirely redefines the range of dynamics available after you've increased the aspects of dynamics you can affect.

Magic dust just makes things seem more vivid and dynamic - but its a consumable and gets expensive if gigging a lot.

PM if you have any questions.  

[mistahead]

alternatively, place your circuit in a box with a jar of poison and a source of radiation...

This is great for (possibly) altering the dynamics - but if you attempt to identify if it has worked it doesn't.

On a side note I may or may not be giving someone a dead cat for their birthday.
EDIT: OK for the purists I AM in fact giving someone a living and dead cat for their birthday... 

[MrStab]

Magic dust just makes things seem more vivid and dynamic

that stuff can jam Rate pots on max for an hour before temporarily disabling the whole circuit. repeat applications may postpone this.

but if you attempt to identify if it has worked it doesn't.

that would be one confusing killswitch.

[mistahead]

Schrodinger's Burst Box...

[MrStab]

sensible discussion aside, i've sometimes wondered to what extent thermistors could be applied in effect design. probably none at all. i haven't really looked it up but i can imagine it might make for a really poor LDR analogue. hey, maybe even some LDR abuse could allow for more unpredictable response.

it's worth mentioning that there's some debate surrounding the possibility of making truly-random number generators, which no doubt extends to this kind of engineering. what i'm saying is that results can probably be more or less quantified if you have an obsessive grasp over every single component's rating, the temperature of the environment, electronvolts etc... but the human element of (probably) not knowing every single detail can create the illusion of spontaneity.

assuming all this is kinda thing you meant, chumbox. my bad if not.

[Thecomedian]

the problem is that the word itself is a vague meaning. If it's explicitly defined, then sure, you could argue how to get more dynamics. For instance, a very low impedance input would probably mute a lot of dynamics and it'd all sound flat and dull, if dynamics means how clean and articulated all the frequencies are in relation to each other.

[teemuk]

^Exactly.


"Dynamic" is not really a buzzword but people do use it to describe just about any effect of their preference.


For instance...

To some people "dynamic" can mean that the circuit accurately reproduces the amplitude variations, the so-called "dynamic range", of the signal. The circuit responses to pick attack by precicely covering the entire range from quiet passages to loud transients. Think, for example, playing an acoustic guitar. ...or perhaps drums. Very dynamic instruments at best. This characteristic is often achieved by designing for great headroom.

Then, to some other people the very same term means exactly the opposite: During transients the signal compresses (either by clipping or due to gain variation), actually limiting the dynamic range of amplitude variation. I think that in this case people use the term "dynamic" to describe how the tone colour interactively changes according to different picking styles and attacks. I guess you could also call it touch sensitivity or "feel". This characteristic can be enhanced with careful pre and post [compression/distortion] filtering (so that distortion doesn't immediately turn into buzzy mush) and by designing the compressing/distorting stages in a way where layers of different harmonics embed to the signal in relation to its overall envelope, not just amplitude. e.g. at clipping onset the signal clips asymmetrically, if driven harder always more and more symmetrically, if clipping sustains for long period some crossover distortion is also introduced to the mix and so on.


Anyway, as said, people use that term to describe just about anything (sometimes even things that are total opposites to each other) so it might be worthwhile to know what YOU mean before this discussion continues any further.

[GibsonGM]

There are a lot of things that can be done to make things 'more dynamic', as comedian just pointed out.  Really getting into how these devices (tubes, transistors, MOSFETs, JFETs, opamps etc) amplify - understanding EXACTLY how they work - can get you closer.   No holy grails here, but using a LOT of creativity, circuits CAN be designed to be more touch-sensitive and dynamic.

It may require a whole lot of "Side work" to get there, though.  Like, parallel devices to amplify a signal after a certain point when a threshold is reached, with specific rise and fall time elements.     Think of a noise gate, but almost in reverse, which 'adds' to the signal via a control voltage.   Can get VERY complex!

In the end, I don't know if the average person can really experience more than what we're already doing, though.  Given the extent of technology, there are so many ways to get a VERY nice tone, with sparkle, great low definition and proper control of levels (plus having a sound man!), is there anywhere else to go that wouldn't mean hundreds of design hours for an end product that won't be heard over the drums?  *shrug*      

Input sensitivity...multiple stages biased into the correct range for desired results...gradual shaping (accenting high/low freq's where needed)...that's all I personally can add, anyway!

***EDIT: above post came in at the same time, and yes, I'm using the 'traditional' meaning of dynamic....what do YOU mean by it?   

[chumbox]

I have always known the use of dynamic in the means of 'touch' and 'feel' and I guess vibe.  I also have heard it in relation to harmonic tones.  You have all raised some most excellent discussion.

[Gurner]

To me, 'dynamics' is the difference between the minimum signal & the maximum signal for a given song...in orchestra terms, from the tiniest little pluck of a violin to the cresecndo of an orchestra 'hit.

In guitar terms the difference between the softest you play & the hardest strum you'd play.

to get maximum dynamics, you'd normally want the strongest signal note you play (eg a power chord strummed hard) to progress through the circuit unhindered (clipping etc)....you can then be assured of maximum dynamic range.

The thought of 'adding in'  circuit generated dynamics  seems a little odd to me ....in my eyes, so long as the circuit can pass the strongest signal, then I reckon the dynamics should come from the player of the instrument (expressiveness etc).

I do however get the need for compressing dynamics (& for which you do really need a circuit to do for you) ...as this allows a given instrument to sit louder in the mix when playing live, or recording etc.

[Mark Hammer]

Apart from using expander circuits (see the Gibson RD Artist), dynamics are never added.  The signal has as much dynamic contrast as it has, and nothing is added.  Rather, restrictions on dynamics are minimized.  That's the whole thing behind the mystique of pedals like the Timmy, the Xotic boosters, and a host of others: a different complement of clipping diodes are used to raise the clipping threashold, thus permitting more dynamics.  Nothing is added; dynamics just aren't compressed as much.

In other instances, restrictions on dynamics are imposed by the lack of headroom that occurs when one is powering with a puny 9v battery (or 9v supply).  Using a higher supply voltage can improve the headroom and take some of the restrictions on dynamics off.  I still smile to think of a note I got from RG, prior to the release of the Visual Sound True-Tone booster, in which he light-heartedly remarked about "amplifiers trembling in fear" in response to the True-Tone's use of a charge-pump to triple the supply voltage.

So, the bottom line is that if one wants to have better dynamics in a circuit, stop imposing constraints on dynamics.

[MrStab]

ah right so we were talking "dynamics" as in sheer dynamic range.
i tend to fabricate ambiguity.

[Bill Mountain]

I look at dynamics as the lack of compression.  So if a pedal feels compressed I look for ways to add dynamic range.

An example would be adding LED clippers to a tube screamer.  The higher clipping voltage will allow for more dynamic range because you will get higher peaks and lower valleys in the clipped signal's amplitude.

[moosapotamus]

This discussion reminds me of the Penfold Fuzz Unit, which is apparently supposed to create dynamics. In other words, a dynamic fuzz. I've never tried it, but it's always looked interesting to me. Anyone ever tinkered with it?

~ Charlie

[Mark Hammer]

Both the Penfold fuzz and the EHX Graphic Fuzz used the input signal to control the gain of an OTA.  The idea was that, since the clipping diodes would detract from dynamics, by placing a hard ceiling on the signal amplitude, one could get the fuzz but keep the dynamics by making the gain at the output correspond to the signal properties at the input.  In the Penfold schematic, you can see that IC1b - which is a rectifier/envelope-follower - takes its feed from right after C2.

It is important to note, however, that these circuits seek to restore the original dynamics that have been diminished by clipping, and not enhance dynamics beyond what was originally there.

In the broader scheme of things, such circuits are essentially compressors working in opposite fashion.  Instead of the envelope being used to rein in the gain of an OTA, it gest used to make the gain of the OTA true to the input signal...except with some clipping inserted prior to the OTA.

[Bill Mountain]

If we're talking about dynamics control then I think an envelope controlled eq or fuzz would be amazing.  The dynamic range of the signal would control the mix between clean and effected or the gain applied adjusts with your playing.  In this way you could actually "play" your effect.

I know lots of pedals do this already like compressors and various funk-type effects.

[DougH]

Why I just open up the ol' dynamics box and pour some in!

[Mark Hammer]

Not me, Doug.  I use the side of the pick with the serrations.  Well, either that or a MUCH bigger pick.  Makes people insanely jealous.  I hear them mumble as I walk by "Guy thinks he's all that just 'cause he has a big pick!".  And I have to turn and remind them that it's not how big the pick itself is but how stiff it is.  

....and with that, I think I can successfully leave Grade 7 behnd for today.