Soundboard stiffness vs. string coupling

Richard Brekne Richard.Brekne@grieg.uib.no
Tue, 25 Jan 2005 11:39:20 +0100


Terry, and others who have commented.

I THINK... and Vladan can correct me if I am wrong.. that the concept of 
<<coupling>> he is refering to is somewhat more along the lines of 
impedance matching then simple secure contact to the bridge.

Cheers
RicB

Terry wrote:

>I think having the strings snake through the offset bridge pins provides
>much more positive attachment to the bridge than downbearing. In other
>words, downbearing is a minor factor in attaching, or coupling, an
>individual string to the bridge. That's what I think. No scientific research
>on this topic on my part. But I'll betcha a donut I'm right!
>
>Terry Farrell
>
>
>  
>
>>Hello List,
>>
>>I have been reading the discussion about soundboard
>>crown with great interest and feel compelled to add a
>>possibly relevant observation.
>>
>>I am starting with the assumption that one intended
>>benefit of the downbearing force is the increase in
>>board stiffness.  It's pretty obvious that the
>>downbearing of a single string isn't significant to
>>accomplish much change in stiffness.  The increase in
>>stiffness is the result of the composite force exerted
>>by all the strings (however that force is
>>distributed).
>>
>>There is however another design parameter that
>>matters;  that is the amount of downward pressure from
>>a single string.  This factor is important, because it
>>determines the coupling of the individual resonator
>>(string) to the bridge/board.  This coupling parameter
>>is a separate issue from board stiffness.
>>
>>So, we have the following problem:  we have to adjust
>>two parameters (board stiffness and string coupling),
>>but we do it by adjusting one variable - downbearing
>>force.  What if the downbearing required to get the
>>right board stiffness isn't the same downbearing that
>>results in the best coupling from an individual string
>>to the board?
>>
>>That, I believe, is a significant problem in the art
>>of the soundboard design.  One way to separate the two
>>design parameters is to build a soundboard that either
>>doesn't need downbearing in order to achieve the right
>>stiffness, or perhaps a board that has an alternate
>>means of adjusting the stiffness.  Then, it would be
>>possible to adjust the downbearing of each string just
>>for the purpose of tweaking the coupling of the string
>>to the board.
>>
>>Optimizing two parameters with one adjustment can be
>>tough.
>>
>>What do you all think?
>>
>>Vladan
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>>
>
>
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