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 The Steel Guitar Forum
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 resonance properties of materials
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William Peabody Member From: Seattle, WA, USA |
posted 26 May 2001 08:08 PM
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Not sure If this is the right place for this question, but here goes. I'm curious about the resonance properties of materials (different woods, bakelite, aluminum). Is there some objective way of measuring the "resonance profile" of a material. And if there is, is this information available somewhere? I'm so ignorant I'm probably not asking the question the right way. If you folks can shed any light on this, I'd appreciate it. |
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Jim Palenscar Member From: Oceanside, Calif, USA |
posted 26 May 2001 10:58 PM
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I, too, am curious about this subject. It would seem that there should be a ton known about it as it plays a large part in the production of tone (imho)- (yea I know, I know- it's in the hands)- at least the instrument and it's construction play an important role in the tone produced (political enough?). I am aware that maple is very commonly used in the production of pedal steel guitars, as well as die board. And the maple used is commonly hard rock, bird's eye, and/or quartersawn when available. Also the early Rick's made outta bakelite had incredible sustain and a very unique sound- partly due to their unique pickup design as well as the unique body construction. One would think that, with all the work put into the production of these instruments in the last 50 or more years that someone would have done some semi-scientific snooping about the contribution of the instrument and its component parts to the overall tone of the instrument. |
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Donny Hinson Member From: Balto., Md. U.S.A. |
posted 27 May 2001 09:10 AM
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Well, it can be done, but it requires sophisticated computer technology to establish a visual plot of vibrational resonances, and the resulting sound characteristics. In the old days, people would just tap the piece, and then their trained ear could judge by the characteristic "ring" of the sample. But that's a skill almost as hard to acquire as playing an instrument. Also, in addition to the actual material, the size and shape plays an important role too, as does the "working technique". Violin makers discovered long ago that "carved" wood sounds different than "formed" wood. Well, I really didn't answer your question completely. There are just so many factors involved that it would be hard to quantify them into a usable (small) reference. We can make general statements such as..."Aluminum "rings" more than wood, and wood "rings" more than bakelite. But even today, as in centuries past, most conclusions are based on "trial and error". The "ear" is what separates a luthier from a plain old carpenter. |
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Kevin Lamb Member From: San Bernardino, CA, USA |
posted 21 June 2001 02:26 AM
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I was speaking with Blackie Taylor at his music shop in Riverside, Ca today....he was explaining how Gene Fields of GFI has dug deeply into this issue and how it has factored into the components he uses in his steels....it was a bit over my head, but apparently Gene has spent a lot of years exploring this subject....I suppose if you could get Gene on the phone he might ge able to shed some light...... |
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Dave Boothroyd Member From: The Malvern Hills |
posted 21 June 2001 04:54 AM
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Working from acoustic first principles, the key thing must be the speed of sound in the material. This depends on its density and elasticity. With a metal or a simple polymer, like bakelite, this is all uniform,so a simple calculation will produce a good prediction of resonating frequencies, but with wood both the density and elasticity depends on the grain, so the speed of sound will be different according to whether vibrations travel along or across the grain. Accordingly the resonances are much more complex so the harmonic content is greater and the sound is richer. Violin makers had to learn this by ear, and you can see how the tension and compressions of a formed arch top would produce a different density profile than a carved one. The final factor is the fact that most of us use pickups, which are also mounted on a vibrating body, and the interaction between the body movement and the string will introduce more harmonics. Either these extra harmonics will make the steel sound better, if they "fit" or worse if they don't. You could spend ages collecting data and analysing it, or you could refuse to reinvent the wheel and go on the years of experience that instrument makers have in picking good tonewoods. The alternative is to use high tech modern materials in the attempt to produce a totally clean tone, then add the soul with electronics, or buy a synth! Cheers Dave |
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