Logarithm - I don't even.

[Ragamuffin]

So I was learning about my fancy new free spectrum analyzer that everyone should have and can be downloaded for free here:
http://www.voxengo.com/product/span/

And I noticed something weird. The vertical lines are all spaced out weird. I've just never questioned it before.

Look at A. What's with that god damn huge gap?

I quickly realized why. The lines are marking even frequencies. 200hz, 300hz, etc.

At B

I started to wonder about the way they're spaced out, though. How at the low end, 20hz is represented in one inch, and at the high end, 10,000hz are represented in one inch.

I know that it's done this way because linear displays are awkward as fuck, and it's difficult to tell the different major zones from each other.

My question, then, is who invented this Logarithmic view? Is this abstract, or mathematical?
More importantly, do different spectrum analyzers have different logarithmic views?

Thanks for your time, mixing geniuses and math wizards.

[MetalRenard]

I'm taking a wild yet educated guess.
Take a note - it has a frequency in hz. Double that frequency and you get the octave above.

My guess is that this kind of view takes into account the fact that the higher you go the more spaced out the notes are and so you need to change a wider spectrum of frequencies to get the same effect. I don't know what its name is but that, I believe, is why it's done - to make things easier/more logical for mixing.

[Buoy]

Your perceive pitch in a logarithmic fashion. So a logarithmic scale is the only way that makes sense. Often the vertical axis is logarithmic too, since you also perceive amplitude logarithmically.

[Ragamuffin]

At 2/14/13 05:47 AM, MetalRenard wrote: My guess is that this kind of view takes into account the fact that the higher you go the more spaced out the notes are and so you need to change a wider spectrum of frequencies to get the same effect. I don't know what its name is but that, I believe, is why it's done - to make things easier/more logical for mixing.

Oh. Wait. Hold everything.
I see it now.
The distance from 10 hz to 100 hz to 1000 hz to 10,000 hz is the same.
Mystery solved.

Thanks.

[Lachi]

i learnt this in school years ago i still remember it lol, it's just the scale in a log form.

[SourJovis]

At 2/14/13 06:18 AM, ATTW7-Envy wrote: The distance from 10 hz to 100 hz to 1000 hz to 10,000 hz is the same.

Technically it isn't. Only to the human ear, and how we consequently devide our notes. And that's even a simplification of what's really going on.

[Ragamuffin]

At 2/14/13 11:46 AM, SourJovis wrote: Technically it isn't. Only to the human ear, and how we consequently devide our notes. And that's even a simplification of what's really going on.

I mean visually, on the display.

[SourJovis]

At 2/14/13 11:52 AM, ATTW7-Envy wrote: I mean visually, on the display.

Then yes. It's a 10log, so the steps between 10 to 100 to 1000 etc are 1.