Howard wrote:Yes.hakey wrote:Without perfect intervals the harmonics are not at exactly the same frequency, so you lose any idea of harmonic phase sync
(a slight correction - where I wrote 'perfect' intervals I should really have written 'just' or 'pure')
The remaining question is whether any long cycle phase reset changes the timbre?
Using PJ's top octave divider data for every 451 duty cycles of C# there are 379 of E (379 is prime). There are a few notes for which the common denominator is lower - eg the ratio C#:G is 41:29. And then there is one pure/just 3:2 interval for D:A.
One way to test the effect of phase reset on timbre might be using two oscillators set to phase retrigger, their relative pitch as close as possible to the relevant integer ratio (eg 41:29) and then compare the resulting timbre with the same set up but one oscillator tuned 3 or 4 cents away.
Comparing an interval of 702 cents (the closest you can get to a pure fifth in Zebra) with one of 700 cents (equal temperament) there is, as expected, a difference in timbre - there's an audible slow phasing at 700 cents that is *almost* absent at 702.
My hunch is that for higher integer ratios - 41:29 rather than 3:2 - there will be so much enharmonic phase interference that any phase reset will not be audible.
