Never heard of it!
*Edit* I've been looking into this, it could well be that Eddie Van Halen didn't have synesthesia. Article.
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Audiophiles and "Synesthesia / Chromesthesia"
- Thread starter MattHooper
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*Edit* I've been looking into this, it could well be that Eddie Van Halen didn't have synesthesia. Article.
I hesitate to discuss any sort of medical related information but...
I'm sure this falls far short of Synesthesia, in fact I suspect many/most people would notice these if they looked for them... However, I have experienced the following (usually just before sleep, whilst in a darkened room and with eyes closed)...
If I hear a sharp sound (i.e. a surprising click or impact of some kind) it can cause me to perceive a brief burst of white light (even though my eyes are closed and the room is dark).
The other effect is similar in appearance to the afterglow that you see after looking at a bright light. The colours are not particularly vivid, but unlike an afterglow, they tend to swirl and move/pulse. The motion can appear to be correlated with music if it is playing at the time, however, this can also occur in silence.
I have to be in a fairly relaxed state to experience the above (I don't mean that as a euphemism for any sort of chemical modification)!
None of this really has any impact on what I'm looking for from my audio gear.
I'm sure this falls far short of Synesthesia, in fact I suspect many/most people would notice these if they looked for them... However, I have experienced the following (usually just before sleep, whilst in a darkened room and with eyes closed)...
If I hear a sharp sound (i.e. a surprising click or impact of some kind) it can cause me to perceive a brief burst of white light (even though my eyes are closed and the room is dark).
The other effect is similar in appearance to the afterglow that you see after looking at a bright light. The colours are not particularly vivid, but unlike an afterglow, they tend to swirl and move/pulse. The motion can appear to be correlated with music if it is playing at the time, however, this can also occur in silence.
I have to be in a fairly relaxed state to experience the above (I don't mean that as a euphemism for any sort of chemical modification)!
None of this really has any impact on what I'm looking for from my audio gear.
OP
MattHooper
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Never heard of it!
Ok, sorry, famous among hard rock guitarists (and classic hard rock fans)
Exploring Edward Van Halen’s Early Legendary “Brown Sound”
Legendary Tones - Edward Van Halen's "Brown Sound"
In this article, we investigate Edward Van Halen's distinctive tone of his career during the 80s, known as the "Brown Sound."
legendarytones.com
I like classic hard rock, but I've never been a big fan of American "rawk". Not being disparaging - I used that to distinguish from the likes of Led Zep, Deep Purple, Floyd, Hendrix, Lynyrd Skynyrd, etc. that I do enjoy listening to.Ok, sorry, famous among hard rock guitarists (and classic hard rock fans)
Exploring Edward Van Halen’s Early Legendary “Brown Sound”
Legendary Tones - Edward Van Halen's "Brown Sound"
In this article, we investigate Edward Van Halen's distinctive tone of his career during the 80s, known as the "Brown Sound."legendarytones.com
Thank you. That's good writing that makes me want to explore her work.
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Rhubarb
Member
Richard Cytowic revived scientific research into synesthesia — scientists(!) had come to believe it was bunk — and written several fascinating, serious, accessible books about it.
Synesthesia is a world unto itself that extends far beyond perceiving color hearing sound — or vice versa! — all of it mindblowing stuff — and on top of that, the cunning of the tests that had to be developed in order to investigate, tease things apart, and prove anything at all are cathedrals to science. For me, some of the most exciting science history I have read.
Anyhow, this book is short and easy but a vast feast:
mitpress.mit.edu
Synesthesia is a world unto itself that extends far beyond perceiving color hearing sound — or vice versa! — all of it mindblowing stuff — and on top of that, the cunning of the tests that had to be developed in order to investigate, tease things apart, and prove anything at all are cathedrals to science. For me, some of the most exciting science history I have read.
Anyhow, this book is short and easy but a vast feast:
Synesthesia
An accessible, concise primer on the neurological trait of synesthesia—vividly felt sensory couplings—by a founder of the field.One in twenty-three peopl...
mitpress.mit.edu
OP
MattHooper
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Was reminded of this thread today:
I was at my friend's place listening to a super expensive system - big Estelon speakers, giant Hegel solid state amps and preamps etc. As he has a very nice turntable I brought some records I know well. The system was "super resolving" in terms of recorded detail, tight image focus, palpable presence of instruments and vocals. But to my brain it all sounded "the wrong tonal color." Basically, all versions of gray. So acoustic guitars on Gordon Lightfoot tracks which on my system evoke in my brain a 'golden sparkly warm woody tone' - much as my own acoustic guitar does - sounded...well..sort of tonally black and white. In terms of comparing to real life, this means that I can close my eyes on my system and somewhat sink in to the illusion of hearing something like the real thing in timbral terms. On that system, as vivid as it was, I could never gain that same experience.
Nothing at all scientific about that, just a report of subjective experience (as the experience evoked in each of our minds in front of different sound systems will of course be subjective).
I was at my friend's place listening to a super expensive system - big Estelon speakers, giant Hegel solid state amps and preamps etc. As he has a very nice turntable I brought some records I know well. The system was "super resolving" in terms of recorded detail, tight image focus, palpable presence of instruments and vocals. But to my brain it all sounded "the wrong tonal color." Basically, all versions of gray. So acoustic guitars on Gordon Lightfoot tracks which on my system evoke in my brain a 'golden sparkly warm woody tone' - much as my own acoustic guitar does - sounded...well..sort of tonally black and white. In terms of comparing to real life, this means that I can close my eyes on my system and somewhat sink in to the illusion of hearing something like the real thing in timbral terms. On that system, as vivid as it was, I could never gain that same experience.
Nothing at all scientific about that, just a report of subjective experience (as the experience evoked in each of our minds in front of different sound systems will of course be subjective).
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In order to hear it you have to make sure the knob is set to the right selection! Otherwise you'll hear something else, like clean or crunch.Never heard of it!
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