The Science of Pop Rock

Musical tastes keep changing, but the science of sound remains the same.

You may not realize that some of the most popular rock music ever made was largely the work of an accomplished M.I.T.-trained engineer and inventor - Tom Scholz. (pronounced like Schultz) -- co-founder of the rock and roll band: Boston.

While many people consider Scholz to be one of the kings of Dinosaur Rock (i.e. outdated music), there is no doubt that his inventions fueled a whole new era of analog (non-digital) technology.

His Rockman guitar effect is still a genius blending of chorus (a phase-shifted audio doubler) and analog distortion, the forerunner of all current production-quality guitar "enhancement".

Okay, the guy didn't invent guitar, but he invented a clever method of making rock guitar audibly-pleasant to a vast cross-section of the world's population who might have never listened to ANY rock-music.

And let's not forget the beautiful vocals of the late Brad Delp, the band's lead-vocalist and co-founder.

It's not brainy, but its authors are.

This fortunate mix of music, pre-digital sound reinforcement, and electronic genius made Boston one of most listened-to bands in human history.

And while your taste in music might be different than mine, you almost certainly know Boston's music.

Not bad for an American band. ;)

2100 PDT 10/02/07

I realize that the links are to buy Boston's music, but if you scroll down a little, you'll find samples of their work...for reference.