Re: Violin Plate tuning using Modes

We know that there are several good makers who analyse every step of their
work and every good (and probably outstandingly bad) violins that come
through their shops, but what we will never know is how good these people
would be if they skipped all the high tech aspects and just made fiddles.

We also don't know how much of the high tech approach is used by some very
good violin makers who don't write about their approach to doing the work.

In other words, there is no control by which we can say: This is the way to
go. It is just interesting. The most solid thing you can say is that Martin
Schleske made the claim that he can make acoustic copies, which is to say,
violins that _sound_ like the intended model.

This all stems from the work of Carleen Hutchins, and her article in The
Scientific American something like 35 years ago is what first got me
interested in playing and eventually making violins. It took a while to
realize that not everyone subscribes to that approach, and some of the
non-subscribers seem to be able to make very good violins.

The whole thing is as much art as science and it seems like the careful and
intellegent worker is the one who reaps the most rewards regardless of the
method.

A good look at the plate thicknesses of something like del Gesu's Cannone
might even convince someone that there are some mysteries too deep to
penetrate.

Pete

in article [EMAIL PROTECTED], Ken Moore at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote on 12/2/03 6:08 AM:

> In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, PeteSchug
> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes
>> You might want to read Al Carruth's articles on the subject in American
>> Lutherie 28, 29 and 30. They are available from GAL. (I think I have the
>> right issues listed)
>> 
>> The first is a theory article describing modes on flat plates, the second is
>> about violins mostly and some on other string instruments, the last is about
>> guitars.
>> 
>> Al uses a loudspeaker to drive the plates and cautions about using ear
>> protection while doing it. I live in an apartment and anything that needs
>> ear protection is out. I have a workshop in my apartment and I really don't
>> want to draw too much attention to myself.
>> 
>> I read the articles and I applied the knowledge to tap tones. If you know
>> where to hold the plate and where to tap it you can invoke at least three
>> different modes. That seems to have been good enough to make a very
>> satisfying instrument.
> 
> Am I right in thinking that a common problem with cheap violins is
> uneven resonance, or general lack of it, in the range from middle C to
> the G below?  If so, three modes suitably spread around the lowest air
> resonance would be a cure.
> 
>> Nobody really knows if any of this stuff actually works, but a lot of people
>> seem to think that the quality goes up even if some violins turn out good
>> and the occasional clunker still pops up here and there.
> 
> Its advantage over just prescribing thickness is that it takes into
> account variations in the density and stiffness of the wood.  We were
> hearing earlier from a maker who makes two part plates with careful
> attention to the orientation of the annual ring markings.  There was
> some indication that aesthetics were an influence, but structural
> properties would also be associated with different ring spacing.
> 
>> If you want to get techinical there seems to be no limit to how technical
>> you can get. Martin Schleske has written in The Strad that he can to
>> acoustic copies of violins. His approach is very detailed and technical,
>> involving more measurement than building from the looks of it.
> 
> What intrigues me is how you know what to do to move one resonant
> frequency without changing all the others in some undesirable fashion.
> I can well believe that that is highly technical.
> 
>> He is highly
>> regarded, unlike the guy who keeps discovering "the secret of Stradivari"
>> every couple of years.