myth-busting: Resonance is not synonymous with Vibration

[Killed_by_Death]

I read this a lot: "This (electric) instrument resonates well!"
If it does, it would be full of dead-spots!

Posting this in the basses sub-forum, because in Electronics, Resonance is where the peak output lies, & also is different with amps/cabinets.

Also not commenting about Acoustic instruments, where Resonance is probably good.

A lot of folks seem to think if they can feel a vibration that the instrument is resonating, but that's a false assumption.

 

[Watchootognbout]

 

[Dave Hill]

I can feel my bass vibrate more on certain notes. Is that resonance?

 

[bobyoung53]

I have read that dead spots are created by that certain note resonating more in the body. Take your favorite bass and if it has a dead spot play that note while holding the headstock against a wall, dead spot is gone.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

dead spots are created by that certain note resonating

Exactly what I'm driving at, folks think 'resonance' is a desirable quality, but not in this case.

I can feel my bass vibrate more on certain notes. Is that resonance?

If the wood is vibrating at its resonant frequency, the string vibration will be diminished:

Bass Bench: Searching for Resonance

 

[bobyoung53]

Exactly what I'm driving at, folks think 'resonance' is a desirable quality, but not in this case.




If the wood is vibrating at its resonant frequency, the transfer of string vibration to the pickups will be diminished:

Bass Bench: Searching for Resonance

Yup, that's why I posted it.

 

[RSBBass]

Exactly what I'm driving at, folks think 'resonance' is a desirable quality, but not in this case.




If the wood is vibrating at its resonant frequency, the transfer of string vibration to the pickups will be diminished:

Bass Bench: Searching for Resonance

It isn't the transfer of string vibration to the pickup that is diminished. It is the actual string vibration that is diminished. When the instrument has a resonance (the whole instrument, not just the body) some of the energy you put into the string goes into making the instrument vibrate, not just the string. So less string vibration. All basses have some resonance and they all take some energy from the strings. The problem is when it is when the resonance on a note or certain notes is noticeably stronger than on others

 

[eastcoasteddie]

 

[Killed_by_Death]

It is the actual string vibration that is diminished.

Exactly, the overall system resonance (string suspension framework) soaks up some energy from the string.

 

[James Collins]

Except the definition of to resonate is produce or be filled with a deep, full, reverberating sound.

I think this idea comes from acoustic instruments where the luthier would carve a violin top until it resonated at a particular frequency when tapped.

I'm also not sure why an instrument that resonates "well" would be full of dead spots. I would think an instrument that resonates poorly would be one with dead spots.

 

[bobyoung53]

It isn't the transfer of string vibration to the pickup that is diminished. It is the actual string vibration that is diminished.

I'm pretty sure that is what he meant

 

[bobyoung53]

I'm also not sure why an instrument that resonates "well" would be full of dead spots. I would think an instrument that resonates poorly would be one with dead spots.

Because the energy of the string gets transferred to the wood with resulting less string vibration at that particular resonant frequency.

 

[Killing Floor]

Yeah,

 

[Killed_by_Death]

I would think an instrument that resonates poorly would be one with dead spots.

That is exactly why I titled the thread Myth-Busting, because that's what almost everyone incorrectly assumes.

 

[James Collins]

Because the energy of the string gets transferred to the wood with resulting less string vibration at a resonant frequency.

You miss my point an instrument that "resonates well" doesn't need to mean what you are describing.

 

[James Collins]

I think the myth that needs busting here is that "resonates well" means that the body resonates at a frequency that causes volume loss in the signal at certain frequency. If your electric bass has a resonant frequency that interferes with sound production, it is resonating poorly, not well.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

The less the instrument resonates, the better for the sound coming out of the pickups. It's not a matter of resonating well or poorly.

 

[M.R. Ogle]

Balderdash!
Just slap some Geezers in it! Wood doesn't matter. It's all in the pickups, you know....


(Just kidding, lol!)

 

[Deleted member 165050]

Gosh, if only I'd read tb before studying Acoustics... my loss

 

[Iristone]

I think there are three ways your bass can affect string vibration: reflecting it back to the string, resonatin? (co-vibrating) a bit, or absorbing it and turning into heat. I can see the third one definitely causing dead spots. But the second mode IMO gives the bass its chatacter by sacrificing a little sustain and shaping the harmonic profile a bit.