# Sonic artifact > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Sonic_artifact > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Sonic_artifact.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_artifact > Source revision: 1334624249 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Audible defect generated during the recording or editing of a sound}} {{Refimprove|date=December 2009}} In [sound](/source/sound) and [music production](/source/music_production), '''sonic artifact''', or simply '''artifact''', refers to sonic material that is accidental or unwanted, resulting from the editing or manipulation of a sound. ==Types== Because there are always technical restrictions in the way a sound can be recorded (in the case of [acoustic](/source/acoustic_music) sounds) or designed (in the case of [synthesised](/source/sound_synthesis) or processed sounds), sonic errors often occur. These errors are termed artifacts (or sound/sonic artifacts), and may be pleasing or displeasing. A sonic artifact is sometimes a type of [digital artifact](/source/digital_artifact), and in some cases is the result of [data compression](/source/data_compression) (not to be confused with [dynamic range compression](/source/dynamic_range_compression), which also may create sonic artifacts). Often an artifact is deliberately produced for creative reasons, for example to introduce a change in [timbre](/source/timbre) of the original sound or to create a sense of cultural or stylistic context. A well-known example is the overdriving of an electric guitar or electric bass signal to produce a [clipped](/source/clipping_(audio)), distorted guitar tone or [fuzz bass](/source/fuzz_bass). {{anchor|Surface noise}}Editing processes that deliberately produce artifacts often involve technical experimentation. A good example of the deliberate creation of sonic artifacts is the addition of grainy pops and [click](/source/clicking_noise)s to a recent recording in order to make it sound like a vintage [vinyl record](/source/vinyl_record). [Flanging](/source/Flanging) and [distortion](/source/distortion) were originally regarded as sonic artifacts; as time passed they became a valued part of pop music production methods. Flanging is added to electric guitar and keyboard parts. Other magnetic tape artifacts include [wow](/source/Wow_(recording)), [flutter](/source/Flutter_(electronics_and_communication)), [saturation](/source/Saturation_(magnetic)), [hiss](/source/tape_hiss), [noise](/source/Signal-to-noise_ratio), and [print-through](/source/print-through). It is valid to consider the genuine surface noise such as pops and clicks that are audible when a vintage vinyl recording is played back or recorded onto another medium as sonic artifacts, although not all sonic artifacts must contain in their meaning or production a sense of "past", more so a sense of "by-product".{{clarify|date=December 2010}} Other vinyl record artifacts include [turntable rumble](/source/turntable_rumble), ticks, [crackle](/source/crackling_noise)s and [groove echo](/source/groove_echo)s. In the [Nyquist–Shannon sampling theorem](/source/Nyquist%E2%80%93Shannon_sampling_theorem), inadequate sampling bandwidth creates a sonic artifact known as an ''[alias](/source/aliasing)'', and the resulting distortion of the sound is termed ''aliasing''. Examples of aliasing can be heard in early music [samplers](/source/Sampler_(musical_instrument)) since they could record audio at bit rates and sampling frequencies below the Nyquist rate, considered desirable by some musicians.{{cite web | publisher=[VintageSynth.com](/source/VintageSynth.com) | year=2009 | title=E-mu SP-12 | url=http://www.vintagesynth.com/emu/sp12.php | accessdate=2009-12-21}} Aliasing is a major concern in the analog-to-digital conversion of video and audio signals. In the creation of [computer music](/source/computer_music) and [electronic music](/source/electronic_music) in the past decade, particularly in [glitch music](/source/glitch_(music)), software is used to create sonic artifacts of all stripes. They are also the primary focus of the practice of [circuit bending](/source/circuit_bending): making sounds from products that were unintended by the makers of the circuitry. ==See also== * [Data compression](/source/Data_compression) * [Digital artifact](/source/Digital_artifact) * [Dynamic range compression](/source/Dynamic_range_compression) * [Glitch (music)](/source/Glitch_(music)) * [Compression artifact](/source/Compression_artifact) * [Sampling (signal processing)](/source/Sampling_(signal_processing)) * [Signal (information theory)](/source/Signal_(information_theory)) * [Window function](/source/Window_function) * [Circuit bending](/source/Circuit_bending) * [Sound reproduction](/source/Sound_reproduction) * [Noise music](/source/Noise_music) * [Noise pumping](/source/Noise_pumping) * [Breathing (noise reduction)](/source/Breathing_(noise_reduction)) * [Codec listening test](/source/Codec_listening_test) ==References== {{reflist}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Sonic Artifact}} Category:Sound recording Category:Sound production Category:Signal processing Category:Audio effects Category:Musical techniques Category:Music production --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sonic artifact](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_artifact) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_artifact?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.