[dataweaver]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Problem with that is nasty numbers. On a +10=x10 scale, there are several values that are very close to integer multipliers -- using two significant figures, the values are 1, 1.3, 1.6, 2.0, 2.5, 3.2, 4.0, 5.0, 6.3, 7.9, which gives you x2, x4, and x5 as integer. By comparison, on the +12=x10 scale, the values are 1, 1.2, 1.5, 1.8, 2.2, 2.6, 3.2, 3.8, 4.6, 5.6, 6.8, 8.3, none of which are particularly nice numbers.

That's less of a concern than you might think, since we're actually more interested in ranges of values than exact values. You're not looking at, say, the number 1.21 as you're looking at the range (1.10, 1.33].

And when you're working in an environment where squares and cubes are likely to come up frequently, the fact that squaring a twelve-step pattern gives you a six-step pattern, and coming it gives you a four-step pattern, is much nicer than how the decibel scale behaves in similar conditions.