myth-busting: Resonance is not synonymous with Vibration

[boggus]

Here's how Paul pronounces Hofner, at 0:05 or so

 

[-Asdfgh-]

The energy from the bass is not enough to vibrate the brick wall enough to be audible. Adding stiffness to the bass was a possibly desirable effect. The oak table was easily receptive to being vibrated. You know that were you playing with a full band on the other side of that wall while your neighbor was sleeping your neighbor might complain. That wall is passing that sound through by being vibrated.

A bass is unlikely to vibrate the wall enough to be audible. Enough energy to be heard through a wall is a lot more than a solid body instrument puts out.

 

[Deleted member 165050]

A bass is unlikely to vibrate the wall enough to be audible. Enough energy to be heard through a wall is a lot more than a solid body instrument puts out.

Unless it's BBC Radio 1, which can go through neutron stars and come out the other side.

 

[mongo2]

I tried on one that was at least plastered

Sounds safe enough. Mine were a brick interior by a fireplace and a basement wall.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

"When an oscillating force is applied at a resonant frequency of a dynamical system, the system will oscillate at a higher amplitude than when the same force is applied at other, non-resonant frequencies."

Resonating isn't always a good thing, it has caused huge bridges to collapse!
When the 'system' of an electric, solid-body stringed-instrument resonates it soaks up the vibration from the string & thus it is lower in output at the pickups.

 

[Deleted member 165050]

Resonating isn't always a good thing, it has caused huge bridges to collapse!
When the 'system' of an electric, solid-body stringed-instrument resonates it soaks up the vibration from the string & thus it is lower in output at the pickups.

That may well be true, but the effect is frequency-specific and therefore is what gives the instrument its tone or timbre. You know this is heading towards that ol' tonewood topic...

 

[rzero]

Resonating isn't always a good thing, it has caused huge bridges to collapse!
When the 'system' of an electric, solid-body stringed-instrument resonates it soaks up the vibration from the string & thus it is lower in output at the pickups.

Different, but related, this brings to mind the talk of the virtue of connecting the pickups to the body with a hard, inflexible connection. This usually involves removing the springs or foam underneath the pickups and replacing them with metal washers, so the pickups "resonate", to "get more wood". Guitarist G.E. Smith is a fan of this. One of his signature guitars has, and maybe all his guitars have the pickup screwed directly to the body wood.

When I first came upon this idea, I took one of my basses and replaced the pickup foam of both pickups with steel washers, just the right amount to maintain my desired pickup height. I didn't really notice much difference and kind of forgot about it. Months later I started noticing a subtle "chorusy" sound from this bass that I couldn't account for. I started thinking about my "upgrade" I had performed a few months earlier: If the pickups were now vibrating more with the more solid connection between pickup and body, could that now be creating a more "blurry image" of the string signal, and creating this chorus-like sound? If you want the pickups to magnetically capture as close to an abstract ideal of the vibration of the string as possible, wouldn't less mechanical vibration of the pickup be better, not more?

I removed the washers, but the foam back in, and the sound was gone.

 

[non]

Different, but related, this brings to mind the talk of the virtue of connecting the pickups to the body with a hard, inflexible connection. This usually involves removing the springs or foam underneath the pickups and replacing them with metal washers, so the pickups "resonate", to "get more wood". Guitarist G.E. Smith is a fan of this. One of his signature guitars has, and maybe all his guitars have the pickup screwed directly to the body wood.

When I first came upon this idea, I took one of my basses and replaced the pickup foam of both pickups with steel washers, just the right amount to maintain my desired pickup height. I didn't really notice much difference and kind of forgot about it. Months later I started noticing a subtle "chorusy" sound from this bass that I couldn't account for. I started thinking about my "upgrade" I had performed a few months earlier: If the pickups were now vibrating more with the more solid connection between pickup and body, could that now be creating a more "blurry image" of the string signal, and creating this chorus-like sound? If you want the pickups to magnetically capture as close to an abstract ideal of the vibration of the string as possible, wouldn't less mechanical vibration of the pickup be better, not more?

I removed the washers, but the foam back in, and the sound was gone.

this sound totally reasonable. like if a telescope was vibrating the image would be blurred.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

We're not commenting about drums, solid-body electric instruments is the subject.

 

[D.A.R.K.]

We're not commenting about drums, solid-body electric instruments is the subject.

The effect of waves canceling is called interference, not resonance. Have a chat with a physics major.
Resonance as a description of musical instrument quality is acceptable.

 

[Deleted member 165050]

The effect of waves canceling is called interference, not resonance. Have a chat with a physics major.
Resonance as a description of musical instrument quality is acceptable.

Destructive interference to be precise. Waves adding is of course constructive interference.

 

[D.A.R.K.]

Destructive interference to be precise. Waves adding is of course constructive interference.

Like most English, the term has at least duality. A very confusing language, but like most, always developing.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

The effect of waves canceling is called interference, not resonance. Have a chat with a physics major.

That's not even what's been presented here, folks have weighed in already that know what they're commenting about.

Resonance as a description of musical instrument quality is acceptable.

It's vibrating, when it's resonating there are dead-spots. This is a fact.

 

[Deleted member 165050]

That's not even what's been presented here, folks have weighed in already that know what they're commenting about.

It's vibrating, when it's resonating there are dead-spots. This is a fact.

Actually resonance can also mean live spots i.e. notes that stand out. See Constructive Interference.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

not in a solid-body electric instrument where Inductance is how the notes come out to the amp
Stick to the topic: solid-body electric instruments

 

[Deleted member 165050]

not in a solid-body electric instrument where Inductance is how the notes come out to the amp
Stick to the topic: solid-body electric instruments

Absolutely this occurs in a solid-body instrument. There are multiple academic studies confirming this. Resonance works both destructively and constructively.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

I'll believe that when I read it, but so far the 'evidence' has been really spotty & off-topic.

 

[Turnaround]

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

Which is a good thing up to a point. It is the very resonance of the instrument that gives character to the sound by modifying the string's vibration, removing some frequencies and letting others continue uninhibited.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

True, but people believe the MORE Resonant instrument is better, but it can become so Resonant that there are dead-spots.
Unfortunately the manufacturer's marketing uses the word Resonance incorrectly as well, it's worse than when they refer to coil-splitting as 'coil-tapping'.

 

[BBQisgood]

True, but people believe the MORE Resonant instrument is better, but it can become so Resonant that there are dead-spots.
Unfortunately the manufacturer's marketing uses the word Resonance incorrectly as well, it's worse than when they refer to coil-splitting as 'coil-tapping'.

Resonance in that context means a booming, full sound. You know that. It’s an acceptable use of the word.

The effect of waves canceling is called interference, not resonance. Have a chat with a physics major.
Resonance as a description of musical instrument quality is acceptable.

First sentence: Correct but not applicable.

Second sentence: Correct.


Moreover: This horse has been beaten. No more argument needs to be had over semantics.