RIP John Backus

[riskadverse]

I thought I was an old programmer . . . till I saw how many of you used punch cards. I maintained a few fortran programs and the compiler up until the late 90's. Finally moved the code from the big iron over to a peacee. Probably paid IBM $250 a month for 20 years for the fortran compiler.

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bosco Between him and Frank Zappa (inventor of the wa-wa pedal, among other things), the world would be different!

Just a side note, but it does not appear that Zappa invented the wah-wah pedal. It was in use way before that:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wah-wah_pedal#History

Maybe you're taking that 'Mothers of Invention' connection too literally?

-ERD50

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

A famous scientist (whose name I forget) once said, "I do not know what programming language I will be using in twenty years, but I do know that it will be FORTRAN."

I learned FORTRAN IV (?) in '68 in the Army first with punch cards, then TTYs. Stories I can't tell.

[bosco]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERD50 Just a side note, but it does not appear that Zappa invented the wah-wah pedal. It was in use way before that: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wah-wah_pedal#History Maybe you're taking that 'Mothers of Invention' connection too literally? -ERD50

nuts

I must have had some sort of need to believe that....another dream over the dam....

[HFWR]

I would give Frank, and another unknown named Jimi something, credit for using the wah-pedal as an oscillator, instead of just "wah-wah-wah-wah"...

A bit fuzzy on the electronics, but a wah pedal is basically a bandpass filter, and there's a sweet spot, matching the frequency of the string/note range you're playing, which results in a really kewl sound, particularly when used in conjunction with a distortion pedal, or a Marshall cranked to 11... :P

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HFWR I would give Frank, and another unknown named Jimi something, credit for using the wah-pedal as an oscillator, instead of just "wah-wah-wah-wah"... A bit fuzzy on the electronics, but a wah pedal is basically a bandpass filter, and there's a sweet spot, matching the frequency of the string/note range you're playing, which results in a really kewl sound, particularly when used in conjunction with a distortion pedal, or a Marshall cranked to 11... :P

Yes, it is a bandpass filter. And when they move the pedal up and down, the frequency peak moves up and down. The sweeping of the freq as you play gives that 'wah' burst, or it can be held steady to make some higher harmonic or lower frequency more pronounced. And, if a bandpass filter is set to be very, very peaky (high-Q), it will oscillate on it's own.

And yep, even more fun with those fuzz boxes and Marshalls.

-ERD50

[spideyrdpd]

Wow you guys sure do remember a lot of details. Fortran was only part of my computer class. I think its also what convinced me not to go into computers. Although I really didnt want to be tied down to a computer all day. Seems it was my destiny anyway.