• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

myth-busting: Resonance is not synonymous with Vibration

#183
coyote1 said:
That is true, but it’s not about belief. The best available explanation is the best available explanation.
Belief is investment. I’m not invested in

update: I took off the strings and re-situated the bridge. Now, only middle C has the issue. C3 and C5 are much better. I also tapped the guitar body when the strings were off, and it clearly emits a C note.
Click to expand...

One option is to fret a note an octave below. The resonant frequency is the only time that the vibrations of the bass will be in phase and vibrate a string in a significant way.
 
#185
-Asdfgh- said:
Macca said the decision for getting the Hofner was that it was relatively cheap and also light to play on multiple-set gigs. He swapped to other basses when The Beatles weren't touring and he had lots of money, and the resurgence in his use of the Hofner probably has a lot to do with nostalgia (his and fans) and marketing rather than utility.
Click to expand...
Yep. Initially he saw one in shop in Hamburg and it either was a left-handed model or he ordered one specifically, the reasons were: mostly that he could not afford Fender at that time, he didn't have a bass of his own, and his (non-bass) guitar was completely busted.

Funny thing is that despite having lots of money it doesn't look like he was actively looking for different bass or sound in those days. The reason he switched to Rickenbacker was mainly him receiving it for free - "they gave it to me", but he did state that the sound was different and I guess 'better', especially in the upper regions of the neck. He also used Fender Jazz for a bit on White Album also not because he specifically wanted some different bass guitar, but it was also a freebie from Fender - part of the 'gift package' they got which also bass had some amps, electric guitars, and Fender Bass VI as well.

Iristone said:
I'm fairly sure he moved away from his Höfner because it wasn't intonating, not because he didn't like its tone. He went back to Höfner after he got its intonation fixed. The Ric bridge was, at that time, much better.
Click to expand...
Sure that floating bridge is annoying to intonate but his Rick intonation or set up in general wasn't that much better! In several isolated Rick bass tracks it's quite amazing how "bad" it was - open string sounds ok but then fretted note on that string is a bit sharper, or the other way around - note sounds ok but open string is flat...

Killed_by_Death said:
The thing I read, that Sir Paul stated, was that the Hofner is symmetrical, so it was easy to make it work for a lefty.
Click to expand...
One can "flip" that bass but the switches would be sort of in the way of playing (not that it stopped him from doing that with some instruments like Fender Jazz during Band on the Run sessions and several electric guitars) but his Hofners were specifically left handed models. Though he did say that symmetrical shape "looked less daft" on stage, whatever that means.

He shelved Hofner after Beatles disbanded because he partially wanted to disassociate his solo output and especially Wings away from all that, including looks and image. His Hofner was also apparently pretty beat up, but so was his Rick at the end of '70s as well - he took those to the techs/luthiers for numerous repairs, not only the intonation fix. He was eventually convinced by Elvis Costello to bring out his Hofner out in end-80s or so around time of Flowers in the Dirt sessions. And so he did. Since 90s-2000s to this day I think he uses Hofner mainly because it's so light and has the super iconic look of course.

-Asdfgh- said:
I'll respond to this by saying - wouldn't it take significant surgery on the bridge or saddles to fix it?
Click to expand...
Yeah I wonder why Paul says his Hofner was intonating badly. I have a cheap asian copy and it intonates really well after a good set up and fiddling around with that floating bridge position and saddles. There must have been something wrong with his whole Hofner setup and condition in general, since as I mentioned, the luthiers performed much more repairs than intonation fix on his Hofner and pickup fix on his Rick. Also, it's not like Paul had luxury of cent-precise digital tuners in those days.

Sorry for such long off-topic :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Killed_by_Death
#186
Killed_by_Death said:
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.
Click to expand...

I am totally agree with you. To me, it is easier inspect on the Low B,E and A string , especially play via sitting and bass body close to my stomach.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Killed_by_Death
#189
I feel like Charlie Sheen, minus the Malibu home:

tenor.gif


A lot more people get it than the ones who wanted to argue or feign that they didn't get it.
 
#193
How can resonance collapse bridges? – How It Works

Resonance and vibration are not synonymous but they are closely related. You need vibration to induce resonance. However, the vibration has to be at the material or structure’s specific resonance frequency And just about everything has it’s own resonate frequency.

An extreme example of this are cases of bridges oscillating and in some cases to the point of collapse. Engineers typically solve these problems by adding something to the bridge that either absorbs the vibration or changes the bridge’s resonant frequency (or both). This is basically what happens when you add a weight to the headstock in order to get rid of or change the location of a dead note.

Ideally, you want the instrument’s resonant frequency to be outside the frequency range of the instrument. When a luthier can accomplish this then there should be no dead or live notes on the neck (at least in theory).
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: DrMole
#198
It’s peculiar to have ten pages on resonance, which doesn’t happen to our basses in an alternate universe, then have posters deny that the physical attributes of the bass don’t contribute to its reproduction of sound. :)

(So that I’m not misunderstood. I don’t think that electric pickups pickup the sound of the body of the instrument.) :)
 
Last edited:

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back