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Originally Posted by Powder Kutz  Even, Odd, 2nd, 4th.....how can harmonics be altered to acheive a desired effect/sound. I've read statements that odd harmonics sound ***** and evens sound ***** but i just don't get it yet. Are there methods to eqing the harmonics? What situations lead you to making changes to them? I'm just trying to wrap my head around it. Thank you for your time. |
The easiest way is with an eq. You can suppress or exaggerate harmonics by effecting harmonically relevant frequencies. Harmonics effect timbre, which is analogous to "tone" and "texture", with some amount of argument permitted. If you want a different tone without changing the basic harmonic structure - just the degrees at which harmonics are emphasized, get to an eq.
However, other effects such as distortion/saturation/excitation will change the fundamental shape of the sound, which alters the harmonics in much more complex ways, generates non-harmonically related sound, changes the contour of the sound envelope in various ways across the frequency spectrum, and changes the micro-harmonics as well.
Long of the short - you can think of "tone" instead of "harmonics" and go from there. The even partials are generally characterized as "smooth", while the odds are generally characterized as "hard." However, I've found this not to be a perfectly adequate description.