Thanks, while I have to still read your whole post, I kind of figured this is what you meant. Guess after a while of hearing a particular word, it starts to lose some of its meaning... I will have to read your whole post now, as it looks on first glance to be worth reading MORE than once...
If it looks like this is "hard" stuff that's entirely my fault. On some level you already know all of this; knocking on a door with the palm of your hand will sound different from how it does when you knock it with your knuckles. It'll sound different in a few ways at the same time (spectral content, volume, decay time etc) after changing a single parameter. The ways in which is sounds different could also be accomplished in other ways, like for example knocking harder.
There's nothing new here, it's just like with so many other things one might want to put in code; you have to be concious of the phenomenon to type it up (or take it into account).
Just as a thank you, I also ordered a copy of Microsound, and hope to have it next week.
Not being Curtis Roads I'm not sure exactly *how* this thanks me but I appreciate the gesture :¬). I don't think you'll regret that buy, it's the kind of book that'll be with you for years as a reference and source of inspiration.
Happy synthesising,
Kas.