thebigkevdogg

This question is for Pete. I'm a musician (big fan with 4 of your masterpieces) and geophysicist. Am I correct that your (and everyone else's) DSP algorithms represent the "empirical" approach, where you are trying to recreate something by modeling the results of a physical process, but not modeling the physics themselves? The alternative would be the simulation approach, where for the example of a leslie effect, you would compute the wave equation in a virtual environment with a moving source, velocity contrasts for reflections, etc. Obviously the latter is incredibly computationally demanding, especially for real time high frequency applications, but I'm wondering if you see a future down the road that could incorporate this approach. Do you think that empirical modeling will always be able to beat simulation ignoring computational demands?

I'm interested because I do numerical modeling in my day job, and wrote a leslie simulator finite difference code for a class which actually worked decently well. Doesn't sound as good as the lex and has some problems with high frequencies (and is very slow), but it was a fun project that got me wondering about the long term future of digital audio. You can check out my paper here (I got permission from Rick to use some of your figures...thanks!) and an animation of a leslie simulation here.

Keep up the great work guys!

When did you last check? Earthquake insurance rates went down significantly about 5 years ago when CEA adopted the latest national seismic hazard model.

Note that largely building codes only affect new construction, won't force you to upgrade your existing building to meet them (though there are a few specific cases where that has happened).

Also, note that building codes are designed for life safely (your ability to survive), and "succeed" even if the building is a total loss and has to be demolished after.

https://www.earthquakebracebolt.com/

I used the program to bolt my foundation a few years ago

That's what I love about pedal building, you can make something very specific to your needs. Looks like you've thought this through a lot - I say build it. I've never used delay and reverb in parallel, usually one into the other. I don't have a good feeling for how that would sound.