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Subject: Re: [newmellotrongroup] Re: Off topic AND off-the wall

From: Tom Doncourt <tomdcour@amnh.org>
Date: 2013-01-31

Hi Sean, what I should say is that you want boards where ,when you look at the ends the rays run vertical, you would get this with rift sawn, to a lesser degree quartersawn, and even some boards of plainsawn. It is the type of grain you would find on soundboards in pianos , guitars etc because it resonates better. Marimba bars are mostly made with the end grain running vertically ,nice and straight all the way down the board. A plate made from wood like this would have a longer ring time than plywood,

On Jan 31, 2013, at 3:01 PM, Sean wrote:

 

I imagine you'd have to have an incredibly soundproof room to get away with the amplification levels needed.

I also imagine the resonant peaks of the wood would give a bizarrely colored reverb sound, and probably a pretty short reverb time overall.

Tom, why quarter sawn?

-Sean

--- In newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com, william Beith wrote:
>
> Thanks for the plate acknowledgment. One issue I did not address is the process
> of exciting the plate to create the reverb then the mechanism to pick up the
> reverberated sounds. Inducing vibration in metal, then picking up the results of
> that induction is reasonably easy. Trying the same thing with wood seems to be
> more of an acoustical mechanical process. Maybe excite the wood with a
> loudspeaker (or one of those wall mount hi-fi speaker - subwoofer units) then
> use a Barcus Berry pick up for the return signal.
>
> Bill
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Tom Doncourt
> To: "newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com"
> Sent: Wed, January 30, 2013 7:44:38 AM
> Subject: RE: [newmellotrongroup] Off topic AND off-the wall
>
>  
> Though it may seem ridiculous your idea makes some sense. I've gotten some
> sympathetic tone ringing out of large marimba notes that I've built. I tried
> miking them up and it added a warmth to the sound if not an actual
> reverberation. I wouldn't use a sheet of ply though- the way it is laminated
> prevents it from resonating. If you glued some 1/2 thick cedar lengths together
> on edge ( and better if they are quarter sawn), hung the "plate" from its nodal
> points and plcaed a speaker and a mike close by you might get an interesting
> tone, if not an actual reverb. I've seen Mr. Beith's lovely plate units-this is
> something of a wholly other order!
>
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com [newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com] on
> behalf of Sean [fourtytwominds@...]
> Sent: Tuesday, January 29, 2013 7:41 PM
> To: newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [newmellotrongroup] Off topic AND off-the wall
>
>
>  
> The strangest thoughts come on the shitter....
>
> We all love the plate reverb right?
>
> What if one was made with a gigantic sheet of wooden ply instead? Like the top
> of a violin? What on earth would that sound like as a reverb?
>
> Thought I'd share.
>
> -Sean
>