Double Bass Building Instruments from Styrofoam ?

[Huy Nguyen]

Wonder how long they season the styrofoam for. Must sit out in the back shed for a while.

 

[Bisounourse]

That picture shows the instrument with no top at all. Is there something in the text that specifies that the top is styrofoam? Pictures of the finished instrument clearly show some wood. The text seems to speak of strengthening with veneer, but I don't claim to be able to read Dutch.

The whole exercise was about the top being styrofoam; the research was done to search for an alternative 'tonewood'.
In the scription styrofoam is referred to as EPS (Expanded Poly Styrene).

Construction of the top is as following:
They used a piece of EPS with a density of 15kg/m³ with a thickness of 15 mm. Both sides have a strip of veneer in the middle on the whole length with a thickness of 1 mm and a width of 120 mm. On the position of the bridge and soundpost, an extra carbonfiber plate was used with the following dimensions: 1 mm x 120 mm x 90 mm.
The veneer and carbonfibre was necessary to withold the pressure coming from the (stringed) bridge (inward pressure) and the soundpost (upward pressure) making sure the top wouldn't collapse.

Rest of the construction is made out of wood; the shape is based on a shape done by R. Lanne, soundholes as made by F. Savart.

I hope this answers your question?

 

[drurb]

The whole exercise was about the top being styrofoam; the research was done to search for an alternative 'tonewood'.
In the scription styrofoam is referred to as EPS (Expanded Poly Styrene).

Construction of the top is as following:
They used a piece of EPS with a density of 15kg/m³ with a thickness of 15 mm. Both sides have a strip of veneer in the middle on the whole length with a thickness of 1 mm and a width of 120 mm. On the position of the bridge and soundpost, an extra carbonfiber plate was used with the following dimensions: 1 mm x 120 mm x 90 mm.
The veneer and carbonfibre was necessary to withold the pressure coming from the (stringed) bridge (inward pressure) and the soundpost (upward pressure) making sure the top wouldn't collapse.

Rest of the construction is made out of wood; the shape is based on a shape done by R. Lanne, soundholes as made by F. Savart.

I hope this answers your question?

Yes, thank you!

 

[Bisounourse]

@robobass; see two posts above your last one

 

[robobass]

@robobass; see two posts above your last one

Thanks, they for some reason hadn't loaded when I wrote.

 

[robobass]

So now that we've settled the question that the top is styrofoam with a bit of wood reinforcement, and the sides and back are wood, now it's time to look at how we can make a decent, cheap, starter bass without cutting down trees. There are acoustic guitars whose body/sides are molded plastic, and don't sound bad. combine the two ideas and you might come up with a beginner bass which could be produced in the west and kill the CCB/BSO industry. Just a thought. I simply like trees

 

[drurb]

So now that we've settled the question that the top is styrofoam with a bit of wood reinforcement, and the sides and back are wood, now it's time to look at how we can make a decent, cheap, starter bass without cutting down trees. There are acoustic guitars whose body/sides are molded plastic, and don't sound bad. combine the two ideas and you might come up with a beginner bass which could be produced in the west and kill the CCB/BSO industry. Just a thought. I simply like trees

We know the styrofoam instrument has substantial intensity but what about informed judgments regarding the quality of its sound?

 

[BobKay]

The whole exercise was about the top being styrofoam; the research was done to search for an alternative 'tonewood'.
In the description styrofoam is referred to as EPS (Expanded Poly Styrene).

I've followed this thread and resisted making one correction: Styrofoam is a trademark, owned by The Dow Chemical Company, for EXTRUDED, closed-cell polystyrene foam. The trademark is commonly misapplied to represent all "styrene foam" constructs, including the expanded polystyrene (EPS) referenced in the original post. Like fridge (Fridgidaire) or Kleenex (tissue). Not sure if actual Styrofoam would make a difference in this application, but in general it is a higher performance product.

 

[peterpalmieri]

Not to nit pick but I think fridge is short for refridgerator.

 

[drurb]

Not to nit pick but I think fridge is short for refridgerator.

Actually, it seems to be short for refrigerator, which has no "d".

 

[BobKay]

Not to nit pick but I think fridge is short for refridgerator.

In trademark annals it is short for the original GM mark. Also works as short for the generic refrigerator.

 

[drurb]

In trademark annals it is short for the original GM mark. Also works as short for the generic refrigerator.

I meant to include this link, which suggests that the word "fridge" is short for "refrigerator" with the acknowledgment that the term may have been influenced by the Frigidaire brand.

Take a look here from the Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins. No mention of the brand, but it claims that the term "fridge" appeared in the 1920s. Frigidaire became a brand in 1919 (see Link Removed). Hmmmm......

Having now spent time reading a bunch of accounts, it seems that "fridge" was short for "refrigerator," with the "d" added to disambiguate it from "frig." Consider that the "d" in "Frigidaire" doesn't even occur in the same position as it does in "fridge".

Sorry for the OT.

 

[Don Kasper]

I meant to include this link, which suggests that the word "fridge" is short for "refrigerator" with the acknowledgment that the term may have been influenced by the Frigidaire brand.

Take a look here from the Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins. No mention of the brand, but it claims that the term "fridge" appeared in the 1920s. Frigidaire became a brand in 1919 (see Link Removed). Hmmmm......

Having now spent time reading a bunch of accounts, it seems that "fridge" was short for "refrigerator," with the "d" added to disambiguate it from "frig." Consider that the "d" in "Frigidaire" doesn't even occur in the same position as it does in "fridge".

Sorry for the OT.

Cool.

 

[Tom Lane]

I meant to include this link, which suggests that the word "fridge" is short for "refrigerator" with the acknowledgment that the term may have been influenced by the Frigidaire brand.

Take a look here from the Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins. No mention of the brand, but it claims that the term "fridge" appeared in the 1920s. Frigidaire became a brand in 1919 (see Link Removed). Hmmmm......

Having now spent time reading a bunch of accounts, it seems that "fridge" was short for "refrigerator," with the "d" added to disambiguate it from "frig." Consider that the "d" in "Frigidaire" doesn't even occur in the same position as it does in "fridge".

Sorry for the OT.

Mirriam-Webster claims that the word "fridge" is derived from a shortened name of refrigerator (no "d") and the brand Frigidaire ("d" in the wrong place) may have contributed, Frigidaire being nearly synonymous with the refrigeration appliance in the 1920s, as Xerox is even today for photocopy. MW goes on to claim that the "d" was added to match the phonetic pronunciation. My friend who developed the IBM version of the photocopier was annoyed to fits by the word "Xerox" in reference to a photocopy. I think he felt gipped because the IBM version never took off despite having competitive abilities.

Yes, we're all nerds here.

 

[Bisounourse]

I've followed this thread and resisted making one correction: Styrofoam is a trademark, owned by The Dow Chemical Company, for EXTRUDED, closed-cell polystyrene foam. The trademark is commonly misapplied to represent all "styrene foam" constructs, including the expanded polystyrene (EPS) referenced in the original post. Like fridge (Fridgidaire) or Kleenex (tissue).

In linguistics, this is called antonomasia'(more specifically a Generic Trademark); when is a trademark or brandname has become the generic name for, or synonymous with, a general class of product or service. Other example: Hoover (British English for vacuum cleaner), Artline (if you're refering to a marker), or in French and Dutch: Bic for a ballpoint pen.
In this case everyone is right; in colloquial terms 'styrofoam' is used to refer as a type of material with certain characteristices, while specifically it would be used to refer to a very certain type of material with specific characteristics.

Not sure if actual Styrofoam would make a difference in this application, but in general it is a higher performance product.

I wouldn't know either, but through analysis a piece of EPS with a density of 15kg/m³ has the best tonal qualities; the 'speed of sound' through every piece of EPS which was tested was the same, but the 'sound radiation coëfficiant' (I'm quoting, and I would not know how to translate it in English, it is the ampliciation of the sound through EPS) was highest in such of piece of EPS.

We know the styrofoam instrument has substantial intensity but what about informed judgments regarding the quality of its sound?

The cello player (a professional) who tested it, says it plays very easy, easier than her 'wooden' cello and that is has a great sound. But since it is not in production, there are not a lot of other opinions and everybody knows that what plays good/excellent/fantastic for one player might not be as good for another one.

 

[robobass]

"Fridge"? My grandmother called it the "ice box" until the day she died

 

[Bisounourse]

No 'ice cupboard'? (Kühlschrank)

 

[BobKay]

In linguistics, this is called antonomasia'(more specifically a Generic Trademark); when is a trademark or brandname has become the generic name for, or synonymous with, a general class of product or service. Other example: Hoover (British English for vacuum cleaner), Artline (if you're refering to a marker), or in French and Dutch: Bic for a ballpoint pen.
In this case everyone is right; in colloquial terms 'styrofoam' is used to refer as a type of material with certain characteristices, while specifically it would be used to refer to a very certain type of material with specific characteristics.

In the US, in legal terms, it is called trademark infringement. But, that's not really the issue here. So I'll shut up.