Fuzzbox Physics and Popular Distortion

Fuzzbox Physics and Popular Distortion
This is a hands-on exploration of sound
amplification and distortion. Through this course,
students will understand the relationship between
human perception and acoustic media. The course
explores acoustic instruments and the human voice,
amplification, and how how stereo systems at home
and in vehicles changed music and how this made
distortion into an aesthetic.
We will start by studying resonance and how bodies
and acoustic instruments amplify sound. We will
consider different strategies for amplification in
air, wood, tubes, and solid-state electronics.
Students will experiment with harmonic frequencies
and signal transmission in various media and
consider how these physical effects are
represented by amplification.
We will turn to electronics and the kinds of
distortion that they introduce especially the
differences in distortion produced by vacuum tubes
and solid-state electronics. We will consider the
relationship between distortion produced by vacuum
tubes, solid-state electronics, and digital
effects.
We will also study vinyl records, microphones, and
guitar pickups to see what they capture and how
they render sound waves into electricity. We will
explore the differences between mechanical,
magnetic, and piezo-electric listening devices and
the signature sound of each approach.
The course closes with an exploration of early
digital sound synthesis.