Guitar wood

That's quite a look they got going with the Simpson mic! The proof would be of course the sound. Funny there's no sound files... but who knows.
 
dintymoore said:
That's quite a look they got going with the Simpson mic! The proof would be of course the sound. Funny there's no sound files... but who knows.
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Kind of a long story, but Simpson claims that all drivers are so inferior (except for his custom-made not available to the public system) that the only valid comparison is to a live ensemble, and if you travel to his studio in Poland he will set up a demo with an orchestra.

Keep in mind these cost like $17K each. No one knows if he's ever sold any.
 
Also, I am shamelessly incorporating "instrument-grade ebony" into my latest microphone, but only because wood is easier for me to fabricate than plastic. It's just a boundary surface, works the same with pretty much any reflective material. It's purdy though.
 
mshilarious said:
Also, I am shamelessly incorporating "instrument-grade ebony" into my latest microphone, but only because wood is easier for me to fabricate than plastic. It's just a boundary surface, works the same with pretty much any reflective material. It's purdy though.
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Please don't waste decent tonewood on your nonsense.:D
 
I think you guys are missing the point a bit...this sounds like a lowest cost experiment and my advice reflected the OPs options at the HD...there are hundreds of ways to go if shopping around for tonewoods and traditional materials, which he wasnt interesting in doing...

as for pine, the pine available at HD as posted in the original question is not particularly suitable for the project other than how i suggested...

Im sorry muttley are YOU a luthier?? Thousands of posts dont equate to good advice...ambiguous, argumentative, or no...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resonance
 
in a little row said:
Im sorry muttley are YOU a luthier?? Thousands of posts dont equate to good advice...ambiguous, argumentative, or no...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resonance
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Yes I am, with 30 years experience. I'm also this boards Musical acoustics rottweiler so tread carefully.;)

I think you guys are missing the point a bit...this sounds like a lowest cost experiment and my advice reflected the OPs options at the HD...there are hundreds of ways to go if shopping around for tonewoods and traditional materials, which he wasnt interesting in doing...
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No we are not missing the point. There is no point spending hours on a project to find that it doesn't work or is likely to fail. The OP was asking for advice and that is what he is getting it is up to him to select from it what he considers to be qualified.

as for pine, the pine available at HD as posted in the original question is not particularly suitable for the project other than how i suggested...
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As you have no doubt noted I mentioned the properties the OP needs to look for when he selects pine or spruce for any project such as this. I'll name them again. Dry and quarter sawn. Preferably free from knots and shakes.

Now to deal with your points specifically.

lack of resonance and durability.
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As you are now aware from reading the link you posted, resonance in isolation is meaningless. As a lecturer in musical acoustics I am always pointing this out to students. It is also mistaken for a property of timber or other materials that lends itself to musical superiority . This not the case, many timbers that are excellent tonewwods have widely different properties and that includes a value for resonance.

The reason resonance is not a particular good indicator in isolation is that it refers to just one frequency of an object and the ability it has to amplify vibrations at that frequency. In essence the fundamental frequency. The material in question may vibrate poorly or not at all at other frequencies.

I asked what you understood resonance because I suspected you were using the term incorrectly. I suggest you familiarise yourself with what it does mean.

As to durability. Pine and spruce have excellent durability thats one of the reasons it is used extensively in the construction industry and also the aircraft industry. Other than that I largely agree with the advice you have posted. I just corrected the bit that was nonsense, it's the way I do things round here, you'll get used to it.;)

I hope you now no longer find my answer ambiguous.

Have a good Christmas
 
haha...you know im sorry i spouted off a bit...and too quickly...

in regard to resonance...i more properly meant to highlight the poor qualities of pine in sound production of musical relevance when compared to tone woods...durability, in regard to inconsistency of the pine likely to be found at said HD

In so much as the project would be a waste of time, I think the exercise and education from it would be the goal in this situation, not the worthiness of the resulting instrument...at least that was my inference from the OP...

Im not interesting in a pissing match, Ive got a healthy bit of experience here, and recognize this is a DISCUSSION board. I was extremely pissy about another 'rottweiler' on this board consistently dismissing anyone's opinion or advice on this board who has a low post count, regardless of experience or time of membership. I think your multiple posts of 'this is wrong' without much support were timed poorly, and my irritation spilled a bit, sorry.
 
HD only sells two kinds of pine (three of you count treated wood): dimensional lumber for construction, which is great for construction (assuming you get a batch that isn't too warped--HD gets very green lumber, and Harry Homeowner types pick through it, which causes it to become unstacked, and it quickly warps, and diligent HD employees keep restacking the warped crap on top every time the cut open a new bundle) but less so for instrument making, and knotty pine boards intended for cheap shelving. They also sell poplar (S4S, 3/4" depth only), which I use for shelving but it's too soft IMHE for instrument building as it dents easily with a fingernail. I am using it for my windchests but that is rather less critical. I suppose its softness can be overcome with thick layers of tough finish . . . they also carry red oak boards (S4S, 3/4" depth only), that's about it. Oh, some stores carry redwood planks, dunno about that stuff. There is no maple, no cherry, no walnut etc. You have to go to a real wood shop for that.

Oh, and speaker cabinets are usually designed NOT to resonate, but that's another post . . . HD does carry MDF!
 
Newbie-Doo said:
He is right. Why not buy a kit?
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that would kind of defeat the whole purpose of making a violin. I'm far more concerned with learning by doing than ending up with the best possible violin. I can spend $100 and get a better one off ebay than I can make, so really, it's more for the learning experience.

I really just wanted to make sure that a pine headstock isn't going to snap off and land in my eye while I'm playing.
 
bozmillar said:
that would kind of defeat the whole purpose of making a violin. I'm far more concerned with learning by doing than ending up with the best possible violin. I can spend $100 and get a better one off ebay than I can make, so really, it's more for the learning experience.

I really just wanted to make sure that a pine headstock isn't going to snap off and land in my eye while I'm playing.
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That makes sense.

Maybe it would be better the splurge and get some hardwood for the neck. You don't want to get it made then the whole thing bows as soon as you string it. You wouldn't need much, it's too bad you can't scavenge some from an old bed or something. One idea is to check the thrift stores to see if there's some $10 chair that would give you the wood. Sometimes you'll see really old wood at places like that.
You could use guitar tuners and put them on the bridge end so the neck would be lighter.
 
dintymoore said:
You could use guitar tuners and put them on the bridge end so the neck would be lighter.
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hmm that's not a bad idea. I am a little worried about the thing coming out too heavy. My original plan was to have guitar tuners and just run the string through the body (no tailpiece, no fine tuners). If I move the tuners to the bridge end, it might be a little trickier, but more comfortable to play.
 
bozmillar said:
hmm that's not a bad idea. I am a little worried about the thing coming out too heavy. My original plan was to have guitar tuners and just run the string through the body (no tailpiece, no fine tuners). If I move the tuners to the bridge end, it might be a little trickier, but more comfortable to play.
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Tailpiece fine tuners are no good for what you want. They are fine tuners as the name implies..

Your best bet if you don't want to use friction pegs is to use a set of Uke tuners.
 
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