Abstract:
A distorter is provided that allows a musician/sound engineer to affect the operation of a distortion circuit using a second musical instrument or a sound modifier, enabling the musician/audio engineer to vary the behavior of the distorter in real time. The invention enables a musician and/or sound engineer to achieve sounds and effects that are impossible to create using conventional distorters. The invention enables a user to provide a primary audio signal representing a musical instrument that is to undergo audio signal distortion; and to provide a secondary audio signal representing a sound modifier or a second musical instrument that is used to modify psycho-acoustic and/or musical effects of the audio signal distortion. An output signal is produced having substantially non-clipped parts for conveying the sound of the musical instrument, and having clipped parts for conveying psycho-acoustic and/or musical effects responsive to the second musical instrument or the sound modifier.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to electronic modification of audio signals, and more particularly to audio signal distortion for use in the music and film industries. 
     BACKGROUND 
     When producing amplified music, for example by using electric guitars or other instruments, it is often desirable to distort the audio signal representing the sound of the instrument so as to derive different musical effects from the instrument. 
     When an audio signal representing the sound of a musical instrument is “distorted” by a distorter, the audio signal is typically “clipped”, i.e., the amplitude is clipped beyond a threshold value, thereby creating a compressed version of the signal within the clipped portions of the signal. In most cases, the threshold value can be adjusted by the user of the distorter. 
     Also, the amount of limiting can be varied by the choice of configuration of the distortion circuit of the distorter, and/or can be varied by the choice of diodes that are incorporated within the distortion circuit of distorter. However, distortion circuits of this type do not provide an adjustment that enables the user to affect the operation of the distortion circuit so as to adjust the amount of limiting in any way. Thus, each distortion circuit limits the audio signal in a specific way. Consequently, a musician tends to accumulate multiple distorters so the musician can have access to a choice of distortion circuits, thereby giving the musician the ability to produce a variety of distortion effects. However, this can become expensive and/or cumbersome. Moreover, the choice of currently available distortion circuits is confined to a small number of similar-sounding distortion circuits. 
     SUMMARY 
     The invention is distortion apparatus and distortion method that provides a musician and/or a sound engineer with an ability to affect the operation of a distortion circuit, e.g. using a second musical instrument, so as to adjust the pattern of clipping of the input audio signal. Thus, the invention substantially enables the musician/audio engineer to vary the behavior of the distortion circuit of a distorter box in real time. Therefore, a musician no longer needs to accumulate multiple distorter boxes to have access to a variety of distortion effects. Consequently, a single distorter can replace a collection of conventional distorter boxes, thereby enabling the musician and/or sound engineer to save money, to enhance convenience, and to save space. Further, the invention enables a musician and/or sound engineer to achieve sounds and effects that are impossible to create using conventional distorter boxes. 
     A first general aspect of the invention is a method for audio signal distortion with enhanced control of psycho-acoustic and/or musical effects. The method includes: receiving a primary audio signal representing a first musical instrument to undergo audio signal distortion; receiving a secondary audio signal representing a second musical instrument used to modify psycho-acoustic and/or musical effects of the audio signal distortion; equally combining the primary audio signal with the secondary audio signal to provide a combined audio signal; distorting the combined audio signal to provide a distorted signal; and combining the distorted signal with the secondary audio signal so as to produce an output signal having non-clipped parts that substantially convey the sound of the first musical instrument, and having clipped parts that convey psycho-acoustic and/or musical effects responsive to the second musical instrument. 
     In some embodiments, distorting the combined audio signal to provide a distorted signal includes inverting the distorted signal. 
     In some embodiments, the secondary audio signal is inverted prior to combining the distorted signal with the secondary audio signal. 
     In some embodiments, combining the distorted signal with the secondary audio signal is performed in a non-equal ratio. 
     In some embodiments, the method further includes adjustably attenuating the secondary audio signal before equally combining the distorted signal with the secondary audio signal so as to produce the output signal. 
     In some embodiments, providing the secondary audio signal is accomplished by modifying the primary audio signal. 
     In some embodiments, the method further includes delaying the secondary audio signal before combining the distorted signal with the secondary audio signal. 
     Another general aspect of the invention is an apparatus for audio signal distortion with enhanced control of psycho-acoustic and/or musical effects. The apparatus includes: means for receiving a primary audio signal representing a first musical instrument to undergo audio signal distortion; means for receiving a secondary audio signal representing a second musical instrument used to modify psycho-acoustic and/or musical effects of the audio signal distortion; means for equally combining the primary audio signal with the secondary audio signal to provide a combined audio signal; means for distorting the combined audio signal to provide a distorted signal; and means for combining the distorted signal with the secondary audio signal so as to produce an output signal having non-clipped parts that substantially convey the sound of the first musical instrument, and having clipped parts that convey psycho-acoustic and/or musical effects responsive to the second musical instrument. 
     In some embodiments, the means for distorting the combined audio signal to provide a distorted signal includes means for inverting the distorted signal. 
     In some embodiments, the apparatus further includes means for inverting the secondary audio signal prior to combining the distorted signal with the secondary audio signal. 
     In some embodiments, the means for combining the distorted signal with the secondary audio signal includes means for performing combining in a non-equal ratio. 
     In some embodiments, the apparatus further includes means for adjustably attenuating the secondary audio signal before equally combining the distorted signal with the secondary audio signal so as to produce the output signal. 
     In some embodiments, the apparatus further includes means for modifying the primary audio signal so as to provide the secondary audio signal. 
     In some embodiments, the apparatus further includes means for delaying the secondary audio signal before combining the distorted signal with the secondary audio signal. 
     Another general aspect of the invention is an apparatus for audio signal distortion with enhanced control of psycho-acoustic and/or musical effects. The apparatus includes: an input capable of receiving a primary audio signal representing a first musical instrument to undergo audio signal distortion; an input capable of receiving a secondary audio signal representing a second musical instrument used to modify psycho-acoustic and/or musical effects of the audio signal distortion; an audio mixer capable of combining the primary audio signal with the secondary audio signal to provide a combined audio signal; a distorter capable of distorting the combined audio signal to provide a distorted signal; and a mixer capable of combining the distorted signal with the secondary audio signal so as to produce an output signal having non-clipped parts that substantially convey the sound of the first musical instrument, and having clipped parts that convey psycho-acoustic and/or musical effects responsive to the second musical instrument. 
     In some embodiments, the distorter capable of distorting the combined audio signal to provide a distorted signal includes an inverter capable of inverting the distorted signal. 
     In some embodiments, the apparatus further including an inverter capable of inverting the secondary audio signal prior to combining the distorted signal with the secondary audio signal. 
     In some embodiments, the mixer capable of combining the distorted signal with the secondary audio signal includes an attenuator capable of attenuating an input signal so as to combine the distorted signal with the secondary audio signal in a non-equal ratio. 
     In some embodiments, the apparatus further includes an adjustable attenuator for adjustably attenuating the secondary audio signal before equally combining the distorted signal with the secondary audio signal so as to produce the output signal. 
     In some embodiments, the apparatus further includes a sound modifier capable of modifying the primary audio signal so as to provide the secondary audio signal. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
         FIG. 1A  is a schematic circuit diagram showing an embodiment of the invention having an inverting distorter and a second audio mixer having an input ratio of 0.6 to 1; 
         FIG. 1B  is a schematic circuit diagram showing an embodiment of the invention having a non-inverting distorter, an inverter, and a second audio mixer having an input ratio of 0.6 to 1; 
         FIG. 1C  is a schematic circuit diagram showing an embodiment of the invention having an inverting distorter, an attenuator fixed at 0.6, and a second audio mixer having a 1:1 input ratio; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic circuit diagram showing an embodiment of the invention having an inverting distorter, an adjustable attenuator, and a second audio mixer having an input ratio of 0.6 to 1; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic circuit diagram showing an embodiment of the invention having a single audio input signal, a sound modifier to provide a secondary audio input signal, an inverting distorter, and a second audio mixer having an input ratio of 0.6 to 1; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic circuit diagram of an embodiment of the invention having a delay element, an inverting distorter, and a second audio mixer having an input ratio of 0.6 to 1; 
         FIG. 4A  is a schematic circuit diagram of an embodiment of the invention having a sound modifier, an adjustable attenuator, a delay unit, and a second audio mixer having an input ratio of 0.6 to 1; 
         FIG. 5A  shows a signal waveform prior to input to a non-inverting distorter; 
         FIG. 5B  shows a distorted signal waveform resulting from the signal waveform of  FIG. 5A  being processed by a prior art distorter; 
         FIG. 5C  shows the output waveform of  FIG. 5B  illustrating how a waveform can be partitioned into a plurality of Non-Clipped parts interleaved with a plurality of Clipped parts; and 
         FIG. 5D  shows the signal waveforms at various points in the circuit of  FIG. 1A , including the Primary Audio Signal, the Secondary Audio Signal, the Output Signal, and the intermediate signals that are produced by the 1:1 Audio Mixer and the Inverting Distorter. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1A  shows a basic embodiment of the invention which combines a Primary Audio Signal  101  (e.g., provided by an electric guitar output) and a Secondary Audio Signal  103  (e.g., provided by the output of a second electric musical instrument). The signals are combined by a first audio mixer A  105  which mixes them in equal proportion, and then the sum  107  of the signals  101  and  103  is distorted and inverted by an Inverting Distorter  109  so as to provide the inverted distorted signal at output  111 . The output  111  from the Inverting Distorter  109  is next combined with the secondary audio signal  103  at audio mixer B  113  to produce the output signal  115 . 
     To understand the nature of the output signal  115  of the invention, it will be helpful to first understand the behavior of a typical non-inverting distorter. Referring to  FIG. 5A , for example when input wave  501  is input to a non-inverting distorter, the result is a clipped output wave  503 , as shown in  FIG. 5B . 
     Referring to  FIG. 5C , the output waveform  503  can be viewed as consisting of an alternation of non-clipped parts  505  and clipped parts  507 , where the non-clipped parts  505  resemble corresponding parts of the input wave  501 , and the clipped parts  507  represent compressed parts of the input wave  501 . 
     Generally, a distorter allows parts of a wave that fall below an adjustable amplitude threshold to pass substantially un-altered, while causing other parts of the signal that are above an adjustable amplitude threshold to be substantially clipped, i.e. compressed to some extent determined by configuration of the distorter. 
     Referring to  FIG. 5D  for sample wave traces of the signals  101 ,  103 ,  107 ,  111 , and  115  of  FIG. 1A , the sample Primary Audio Signal  101  is depicted as a simple sine wave. The Secondary Audio Signal  103  is depicted as a sawtooth waveform of five amplitudes of increasing magnitude. The Output of Audio Mixer A  107  shows the “1 to 1” ratio addition of the Primary Audio Signal  101  and the Secondary Audio Signal  103 . The Output  111  of the Inverting Distorter  109  shows the inversion and clipping of the Output  107  of Audio Mixer A  105 . Finally, the Output  115  of Audio Mixer B  113  shows the addition of the Secondary Audio Signal  103  to the Output  111  of the Inverting Distorter  109  in a ratio of “0.6 to 1” respectively. 
     Note that the act of adding a 0.6 attenuated version of the Secondary Audio Signal  103  within Audio Mixer B  113  has the effect of substantially smoothing the Non-Clipped Parts of the Output  115 , thereby creating the audio illusion of substantially reversing the addition of the Secondary Audio Signal  103  to the Primary Audio Signal  101  by the Audio Mixer A  105 , while also perceptibly modifying the distortion of the Primary Audio Signal  101 . 
     Also note that the act of adding the 0.6 attenuated version of the Secondary Audio Signal  103  by the Output of Audio Mixer B  115  has the effect of selectively modulating the waveform of the clipped parts of the Primary Audio Signal  101 , thereby creating a unique audio effect whereby the perceived distortion of the Primary Audio Signal  101  is controlled by changes to the Secondary Audio Signal  103 . Further, at higher amplitudes of the Secondary Audio Signal  103 , such as by using an attenuation factor that is higher than 0.6 within or prior to the Audio Mixer B  113 , subtle audio ghosting of the Secondary Audio Signal  103  enhances the perceived distortion of the Primary Audio Signal  101 . At still higher amplitudes of the Secondary Audio Signal  103 , more pronounced audio ghosting of the Secondary Audio Signal  103  more assertively synergizes with the perceived distortion of the Primary Audio Signal  101 . 
     Typical distorters tend to sound monotonous when applied to steady amplitude instruments, such as an electric organ, because the dynamics of the boundary between the clipped and non-clipped parts of the waveform are excessively stable. By contrast, the invention enables injection of enhanced instability at the boundary between the clipped and non-clipped parts of the waveform, resulting in increased richness and pleasurableness of the perceived distortion. Thus, the invention enables distortion to be applied to a wider variety of instruments and other sound sources. 
     When using typical distorters, with a guitar for example, the musician can change the sound of the distortion by increasing the amount of clipping. However, the more clipping introduced, the less the original sound of the guitar can be heard due to the loss of more sound information represented by the waveform. To change the sound of the distortion without compromising the clarity of the sound of the guitar, the musician would need to change the sound of the guitar. Thus, it was impossible to change the sound of the distortion without changing the sound of the guitar, or cutting out significant aspects of the essential sound of the guitar. 
     The invention allows a musician to change the sound of the distortion without changing the sound of the guitar, and without changing the amount of clipping. This is accomplished in part by adding the Secondary Audio Signal to the Primary Audio Signal, and then clipping the wave sum, such that the dynamics of the boundary between the clipped and unclipped parts can be controlled by changing the Secondary Audio Signal instead of by changing the Primary Audio Signal and/or the clipping threshold. Further, by subtracting an inverted and attenuated version of the Secondary Audio Signal from the clipped wave sum, the purity of the wave shape of the non-clipped parts of the Primary Audio Signal is substantially restored, while also changing the wave shape of the clipped parts from merely compressed, to a sum of the inverted attenuated Secondary Audio Signal and the compressed version of the wave sum, so as to impose an entirely new wave shape upon the clipped parts of the output signal. This results in novel and controllable psycho-acoustic effects. 
     As mentioned above, adding the 0.6 attenuated version of the Secondary Audio Signal  103  by the Output of Audio Mixer B  113  has the effect of modulating, using the Secondary Audio Signal  103 , the clipped parts of the Primary Audio Signal  101 , thereby imposing an entirely new wave shape upon the clipped parts of the output signal, while also changing the dynamics of the boundaries between the clipped parts and the un-clipped parts of the wave at Output  115 . Thus, changes to the Secondary Audio Signal  103  result in changes to two aspects of the clipped portion of the waveform that are correlated with psycho-acoustic properties which the ear/brain hears as distortion. 
     The mixing ratio of 0.6 to 1, the ratio of the Secondary Audio Signal amplitude to the Primary Audio Signal amplitude, is implemented by the Audio Mixer B  113  and determines the relative contribution of the two aspects of the clipped waveform that help drive the psycho-acoustic properties of the distortion, the dynamics of the boundary between clipped and un-clipped parts, and the wave shape of the clipped parts. 
     Ratios higher than 0.6 to 1, wherein the Secondary Audio Signal  103  is attenuated by an attenuation factor of greater than 0.6, will result in perception of the Secondary Audio Signal  103  along with perception of the novel distortion effects created, due to imposition of the Secondary Audio Signal  103  within the clipped portions. Ratios lower than 0.6 to 1 will also result in perception of the Secondary Audio Signal  103  along with perception of the novel distortion effects created, due to imposition of the Secondary Audio Signal  103  within the un-clipped portions. Thus, the ratio of 0.6 to 1 allows the greatest amount of the Secondary Audio Signal  103  to be introduced while minimizing the perception of the Secondary Audio Signal  103  in the output signal  115 . Higher levels of the Secondary Audio Signal  103  input to the Audio Mixer B  115  will result in raising the minimum, such that the Secondary Audio Signal  103  becomes more recognizable as audio ghosting of the Secondary Audio Signal  103 , which is perceived along with the novel distortion sound. This can provide yet further creative aesthetic possibilities to the musician. 
     The amplitude of the Secondary Audio Signal  103  cannot be increased indefinitely without causing undesirable noise artifacts. To avoid this problem, the peak amplitude of the Secondary Audio Signal  103  times 0.6 (determined by the mixing ratio of Audio Mixer B) should be less than the absolute clipping threshold voltage of the Inverting Distorter  109 , which threshold is typically 0.6 volts in a traditional distorter implementation that employs silicon diodes. 
       FIG. 1B  shows a basic embodiment of the invention which uses a Non-Inverting Distorter  119  instead of an inverting distorter as shown in  FIG. 1A . Consequently, in this embodiment, an Inverter  117  is included so that the polarity of Secondary Audio Signal  103  is reversed when input to Audio Mixer B  113  but not reversed when input to Audio Mixer A  105 . This configuration ensures the desired relationship between signals where the polarity of the Secondary Audio Signal component of the Non-Inverting Distorter  119  output signal is opposite to the polarity of the original Secondary Audio Signal  103  when the signals are mixed at Audio Mixer B  113 . 
       FIG. 1C  shows a basic embodiment of the invention which includes Attenuator  121  providing a 0.6 attenuated version of the Secondary Audio Signal  103  to a 1:1 Audio Mixer A  123  instead of Audio Mixer B  113  as shown in  FIG. 1A . 
       FIG. 2  shows an enhancement of the embodiment of  FIG. 1A  where an Adjustable Attenuator  201  is provided that allows the user to adjust the amplitude of the Secondary Audio Signal  103  before it is input to audio mixer A  105  and Audio Mixer B  113 . This allows the user to control the impact of the Secondary Audio Signal  103  on the distortion process. Increasing the attenuation will smoothly adjust from a pronounced effect to more subtle effect. With attenuation at maximum, the Secondary Audio Signal  103  has no effect, and the embodiment provides musical distortion in a conventional manner. 
       FIG. 3  shows a variation of the embodiment of  FIG. 1A  where the Secondary Audio Signal  103  is derived by inputting the Primary Audio Signal  101  to the Sound Modifier  301 . The Sound Modifier  301  implements any method which serves the purpose of altering the audible characteristics of the Primary Audio Signal  101 . The Sound Modifier  301  is configured to accept an audio signal representing sound as its input, and to provide an audio signal representing an altered sound as its output. Sound modifiers of this type are used extensively by musicians and sound engineers, and include filters (which adjust signal level according to frequency), phase shifters, flangers, chorus, distortion, and echo/delay. The waveform-changing action of the Sound Modifier  301  ensures that the wave shape of the signal from the Audio Mixer A  105  supplied to the input of Inverting Distorter  109  is not identical to the wave shape of the Primary Audio Signal, thereby ensuring that the operation of the Inverting Distorter  109  will be influenced by the operation of the Sound Modifier  301 . Most sound modifiers allow real-time control of how the sound is changed. In this embodiment, the sound modifier controls (if any) can be used to modify the distortion effect at the Output  115  in real time, something which cannot be achieved in embodiments that use conventional interconnection of sound modifiers and distorters. This embodiment also has the advantage of not requiring a separate external source for providing the Secondary Audio Signal  103 , thereby allowing greater simplicity of use, and enabling the user to easily replace a conventional distorter with the distorter of  FIG. 3 . 
       FIG. 4  shows an modification of the embodiment of  FIG. 1A  which includes a Delay  401  so that Secondary Audio Signal  103  is delayed before input to Audio Mixer B  113 , but not delayed before input to Audio Mixer A. The amount of delay is most usefully set to equal the delay due to Audio Mixer A  105 , plus the delay due to Inverting Distorter  109 , thereby minimizing the phase error (timing difference) between the Secondary Audio Signal component of the output of the Inverting Distorter  109 , and the Secondary Audio Signal  103 . In a typical implementation of Audio Mixer A  105  and Inverting Distorter  109 , the inherent delay is small, but without the use of Delay  401 , there may still be enough phase error to add unwanted noise which degrades the sound quality of the output signal in a subtle manner. The use of Delay  401  has the desirable effect of avoiding noise associated with phase error, thereby allowing the Output Signal  115  to achieve noticeably greater overall clarity. In other embodiments wherein the delay of the non-distorted path of the Secondary Audio Signal might actually be longer than the delay of the distorted signal path, to repair the phase error, the Delay element must be placed in the distorted path instead of in the non-distorted path. 
       FIG. 4A  shows a variation on the embodiment of  FIG. 1A , wherein the Secondary Audio Signal  303  is derived by applying Sound Modifier  301  to the Primary Audio Signal  101 . The Secondary Audio Signal  303  is then attenuated by the Adjustable Attenuator  201  that allows the user to adjust the amplitude of Secondary Audio Signal  303  before it is input to Audio Mixer A  105  and Audio Mixer B  113  via the Delay  401 . 
     The circuit and/or block diagrams in the various drawing figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each element in the circuit and/or block diagrams may represent one or more modules or components for implementing the specified function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the circuit and/or block diagrams may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be performed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be performed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each element of the circuit and/or block diagrams may be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions. 
     Other modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.