Peter Baxandall

Peter J. Baxandall (1921, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey – 1995, Malvern, Worcestershire) was an English electrical engineer and audio enthusiast, best, popularly, known for his communicated clear thought and very sound engineering approach to the design of audio recording and reproduction equipment. Many of his designs were published and were available to contemporaries who could appreciate them. He is probably best known for what is now called the Baxandall tone control circuit, first published in a paper in Wireless World.

Biography

Baxandall attended King's College School in London, then got his BSc in electrical engineering at Cardiff Technical College (1942). He was a radio instructor for the Fleet Air Arm for two years, and then worked for the Telecommunications Research Establishment (at the Circuit Research Division headed by Frederic Calland Williams), later renamed and merged to form the Royal Signals and Radar Establishment, until his retirement in 1971. After retiring he worked as a consultant on various audio projects including loudspeakers, tape duplication, and microphone calibration. During this time he continued to publish, including a "seminal chapter" on electrostatic loudspeakers. The Audio Engineering Society made him a Fellow in 1980, and in 1993 awarded him with a Silver Medal for his contributions to the field.[1]

Baxandall circuit

Baxandall's bass and treble circuit, when made public in Wireless World (1952), "swept all others before it".[2] An early version of the design had already won him an award in 1950 (a $25 watch) at the British Sound Recording Association, a predecessor of the Audio Engineering Society. The design is now employed in millions of hi-fi systems (Baxandall received no royalties for his work).[1]

It exists in two versions—Baxandall's original had two capacitors, but the more popular, simplified version only has one.[2] It finds an application in hi-fi audio equipment and in amplifiers and effects for musical instruments.[3][4]

References

  1. 1 2 Fincham, Laurie (1996). "In Memoriam: Peter Baxandall" (PDF). Journal of the Audio Engineering Society. Audio Engineering Society. 44 (9): 796.
  2. 1 2 Self, Douglas (2010). Small Signal Audio Design. Focal. pp. 259–68. ISBN 9780240521770. Retrieved 28 May 2012.
  3. ↑ J., Denton Dailey,; Dailey, Denton J. (2011). Electronics for Guitarists. Springer. pp. 47–49. ISBN 9781441995353. Retrieved 28 May 2012.
  4. ↑ Thompson, Art (December 2011). "Ampeg GVT5-110, GVT15H, and GVT52-112". Guitar Player. pp. 96–102.

External links


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