I'm working on an experimental bass resonator. What do you think?

[Turn Em Loose]

That's cool! So you could amplify the sound coming from the resonator, correct?

I'd love to hear it with a fretted bass.

 

[Wasnex]

Yes indeed, there is a coil/magnet attached to the bass bars. (They should end up on the inside at some point, this is easier prototyping).

External VS Internal is likely to change the tone and response quite a bit AFAIK.

The image on the left is the same one I posted above except a black post has been added to represent an internal sound post. This setup should cause the front and back panel to move in the same direction like a dipole. This results in cancellation at low frequencies

The image on the right is with the transducer inside. With this setup the panels will move in opposite directions like a bipole. This results in summation at low frequencies.

 

[BigDrew]

Very cool...and great playing!

 

[Bass Jones]

I wonder if there is a way to measure the resonant frequency of an irregular box like this or the body of an upright bass, violin, etc. If you could then it seems you could tune the resonant frequency precisely by adjusting the size of the f holes sort of like tuning a ported speaker cab.

 

[LowG]

I love this idea and have imagined exactly the same concept. I'm so happy to see someone trying it out! I think this could be a great way for a bass guitarist to get an upright bass tone. I could definitely see studios having something like this.

 

[Kindness]

I love the creativity. This is wonderful.

 

[RicheyLather]

I'm still a tad lost. Can we see a clear picture of the instrument?

 

[markmeeus]

That's a new take on "how do I get my electric to sound like an upright?"
I also think that you might be able to get more speaker efficiency because you aren't necessarily tied to the shape and size of a Double bass.
What if you attached the resonator to something like a Cajon?

It's true, it could add it's vibrations to just about anything. Testing on a Cajon is not a bad idea at all, although I woud guess it will have a heavy-mid response, and may not have much acoustic resonance

 

[markmeeus]

I nominate you for the 2025 Talkbass Hero of Innovation medal.

reamp it! I want to hear it with vocals drums and synth.

It's concept is close in form to an old plate reverb. It could be easily used on an auxiliary out to send any or all elements of a mix to.

That's very true, I tried it with a guitar and I liked that too, but you can amplify anything. Or add effects, I added a bit reverb on the signal before amplifying it.

 

[markmeeus]

The best answer yet.

This is really cool concept.

It's definitely how it started, I used to be a double bass player, but I have developed back problems so I gave up on it. So I was indeed chasing an upright sound with a fretless. However at this point I think this could evolve in a very interesting acoustic sound on its own. It sounds totally different with a fretted bass with roundwound strings for instance

 

[markmeeus]

External VS Internal is likely to change the tone and response quite a bit AFAIK.

The image on the left is the same one I posted above except a black post has been added to represent an internal sound post. This setup should cause the front and back panel to move in the same direction like a dipole. This results in cancellation at low frequencies

The image on the right is with the transducer inside. With this setup the panels will move in opposite directions like a bipole. This results in summation at low frequencies.

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Those are interesting points you make. Now I have more to experiment with

 

[markmeeus]

I wonder if there is a way to measure the resonant frequency of an irregular box like this or the body of an upright bass, violin, etc. If you could then it seems you could tune the resonant frequency precisely by adjusting the size of the f holes sort of like tuning a ported speaker cab.

The cavity of the body in combination with the size of the soundholes create a so called Helmholtz resonance. It's a resonance made by the air in the body. It can be decreased by make the holes larger indeed. Most of the acoustic character comes from the vibrations in the plates which start to resonate in different directions and on different frequencies. This can be tuned by adding/removing mass and stiffness.

 

[6thplanet]

Definitely a neat idea!!

 

[DanAdams]

What is the transducer that you are using? what is it made for? full range?
I spent about twenty years installing home speakers for rich people. For a while there was a fad of transforming the actual drywall into a speaker and/or installing foam-panel-speakers designed to be mudded over/around for a seamless invisible wall transition. Precious millionaires loved the idea of not having any speaker visible, and also having an interesting and expensive talking point for their home tours.
In every situation that we used them, the results sounded as bad as you would expect, and interior designers would end up ruining the whole thing by hanging pictures or installing chair rails across the "speakers"

I imagine that a bass body would make a more musical diaphragm than 1/2" drywall.

 

[6thplanet]

If you haven't seen this, might have some good information.

 

[Tommy Sparks]

Cool stuff! Definitely keep at it.