Sample & Hold turns a continuous signal into stepped fixed values, the basis of digital audio

A Sample & Hold module periodically samples an incoming signal and holds each captured value until the next clock pulse, converting a continuously varying voltage into a stepped series of fixed values. Reid frames this as the conceptual basis of digital audio: an analogue-to-digital converter does the same thing at audio rate, capturing the instantaneous amplitude at each sample and holding it. In modular use, S&H clocked over a noise source yields random stepped pitch sequences; over a smooth control voltage it quantizes motion into steps.

Examples

S&H over noise, clocked slowly, gives a random stepped melody; the same stepping at 44.1 kHz over an audio signal is A/D conversion.

Assessment

Explain how S&H behaviour parallels analogue-to-digital conversion, and what S&H produces from a noise source versus a smooth LFO.