Interesting new patent.

[no one ever]

"Musical effect customization system".

"This invention provides a system for customizing musical instrument signal processing enabling users to produce different tonal characteristics in created musical pieces. In order to create such tonal characteristics, a new mathematical model of tonal characteristics may be digitally created based on two or more initial mathematical models of tonal characteristics. After simulating a first and second initial mathematical models of tonal characteristics, the new mathematical model is created by interpolating one or more coefficients of the first and second initial mathematical models. The new mathematical model may also adjust a control parameter where the control parameter may exist between two values. When the control parameter is the first value, the new mathematical model is the first initial mathematical model. When the control parameter is the second value, the new mathematical model may be the second initial mathematical model. When the control parameter is located at a point between the first and second values, the new mathematical model may represent a convergence between the first and second models."


Patent applied for just last month... Seems like the age of innovation in analog signal processing is over?

[The Tone God]

The patent system should either be completely revamped or else abolished. Just my opinion.

Um, maybe this is lounge fodder ?

Andrew

[NoFi]

a mathematical model of tonal characteristics

Is that another way of saying audio spectrum analysis ?

[d95err]

Is that another way of saying audio spectrum analysis ?

If you write it generic enough, it can mean whatever you want it to mean... 

[R.G.]

In the immortal words of William Jefferson Clinton "It all depends on what your definition of "is" is."

[The Tone God]

In the immortal words of William Jefferson Clinton "It all depends on what your definition of "is" is."

Speaking of Presidents and the word "is":

"Rarely is the questioned asked: Is our children learning?" — G. W. Bush. Florence, S.C., Jan. 11, 2000



Andrew

[calpolyengineer]

Well, thanks for the politics, but moving on...
When I read through that abstract I got the impression that this is just a fancy way of saying "blend control."

-Joe

PS: Bush may not speak well, but what did Clinton ever do? (politically)

[Jaicen_solo]

Not wanting to get political, but i've got a list of things he DIDN'T do as long as my arm.
Come back Bill, all is forgiven..

[A.S.P.]

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?board=19.0

[George Giblet]

So they have patented the blending of two signals for a specific case.  Hmm let me see prior art:  Boss OS-2, and the idea of blending two signals from microphones at different positions.

Patents are the only place where you can claim a more specifiic case is yours - this is in complete opposition to mathematics where fundamental ideas are applied to lesser problems.

[NoFi]

To me it sounds more like the blending of the parameters from two different "patches", than the blending of two signals.

[Processaurus]

It sounds exactly like Line 6's thing they did with the big 4 button pedals, because the expression pedal acts like simultaneously twisting all 5 knobs between 2 user settings.  Laughably general wording, though.

[jonathan perez]

im going to figure out how i can write "generally", and "invent" the wheel.

or water.

[calpolyengineer]

To me it sounds more like the blending of the parameters from two different "patches", than the blending of two signals.

Yeah, thats what I thought too.

-Joe

[puretube]

it`s all in the claims...

btw: saw a patent recently, bout a new way of

back-lighting tubes with LEDs

(no, not by B*hr*ng*r...  )

[brett]

Hi.
Nobody needs to worry about these meaningless patents.  They're uncontestable.
I'm about to get my first patent, and I've been surprised how little justification is required concenrning improvement over, or differentiation from, prior work.

And concerning

Bush may not speak well, but what did Clinton ever do? (politically)

:
As a foreigner I obviously don't know the datails, but a couple of things arev obvious.  Bill kept your budget balanced, while it's gone to hell with Bush Jr.  Of course, Bill got in trouble for his conquests of women, but Bush Jr's failed conquests have resulted in thousand of deaths, imprisonment and abuse of the guilty and innocent, adults and children, alike.

cheers

[calpolyengineer]

Saying that Bill never did anything great does not in any way say that Bush has. I don't think Bush is that great either. The fact of the matter is that Bill was great at convincing both sides that he was on their side. To win the second election over Bob Dole (who was winning in the polls until right before the election) Bill signed welfare reform eventhough he had vetoed it twice before. He did this purely as a political strategy to win the election and it infuriated the Democrats. Guess what he said...I had to sign this bill because there are some good things in there, but if you elect me I promise to fix it. And it worked! His other accomplishments...balanced budget (balanced by the REPUBLICAN congress, not Bill), signing NAFTA (Republicans proposed it), etc etc. Most of his success was at the behest of the Republican Congress. The problem now is not with Bush, it is that this "Republican" congress is not acting like it. Heck, when Bill was president, the Republicans proposed the balanced budget amendment and it failed because the Democrats didn't like it, it failed by one vote. Now the Republicans spend worse than Democrats, merely because they can. They haven't controlled congress in a long time, so nows their chance to go to town. But, not to get caught up in politics...

-Joe

[RaceDriver205]

Lol, all of you stop saying "<twenty lines of politics> But lets not talk about politics"! 
I think Bush wants an empire.  Hey, brittish-decended people have done it before!

The patent system should either be completely revamped or else abolished. Just my opinion.

I agree it should be revamped, as do a great number of people. Abolishing the patent system wouldn't work in a capitalist nation though!
I recon ASP will not be totally pushed aside by DSP, no matter how powerfull the computers get.
I think ASP is the generally the right tool for the job as far as audio effects go. Its a bit like the Americans spending a million bucks on a pen that works in space, and the Russians using a pencil.

[H S]

The patent system should either be completely revamped or else abolished. Just my opinion.

Hmmm . . . did you take that job with Behringer?

Guys like Bob Moog and Leo Fender ought to get the benefit of their ideas, not knock-off manufacturers.

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

From the bit quoted, it isn't clear that it is merely a blend, certainly not a blend in the simple sense of adding a fraction of one distorted signal to another distorted signal.
I'm thinking, at the least, we're looking at two non-linear transformations, and deriving a third that has coefficients that place its curve between the other two. Being NON-LINEAR transforms, this is going to give a different result from a simple blend.. bu not necessarily a BETTER result.
The degree towhihc this is covered (or not) by prior art, I leaveto the lawyers.. and our resident patent expert (we know who you are )