Sporky
Well-known member
Hi luthiers,
I admire this form of art that combines aesthetics and science. I have not had a chance to try my hand at crafting an instrument yet, as I live in a rented apartment where a workshop is impossible. Actually, that is one of the main reasons I'd ever live in a house somewhere away from the city, to have the freedom to experiment with woodworking.
Nevertheless I'm very interested in learning and I enjoy watching lutherie videos. But one thing I've had a hard time with is finding a thorough text on the acoustic physics of guitars and ukuleles. The title of this thread stems from the fact that the secondary sources I read always refer to volume 1 of the Big Red Book. I have not been able to find a copy of this and in fact it is not even in print. I've had a look at Left Brain Lutherie, but it also references the Big Red Book.
For example I've read about Helmholtz resonators but have not found discussions of the shape of the chamber itself, or shape of the soundhole, or multiple soundholes. I've seen tables of qualitative descriptions of tonewoods but not found frequency response figures. I'm unable to find in depth discussions of resonant frequencies of instruments. In fact I wonder how much theory manufacturers impart to their ukuleles? To avoid booming notes for example, like having resonance right on the low G in tenors which is quite unfortunate.
Anyway thank you in advance if you choose to share some of your wisdom with me
I admire this form of art that combines aesthetics and science. I have not had a chance to try my hand at crafting an instrument yet, as I live in a rented apartment where a workshop is impossible. Actually, that is one of the main reasons I'd ever live in a house somewhere away from the city, to have the freedom to experiment with woodworking.
Nevertheless I'm very interested in learning and I enjoy watching lutherie videos. But one thing I've had a hard time with is finding a thorough text on the acoustic physics of guitars and ukuleles. The title of this thread stems from the fact that the secondary sources I read always refer to volume 1 of the Big Red Book. I have not been able to find a copy of this and in fact it is not even in print. I've had a look at Left Brain Lutherie, but it also references the Big Red Book.
For example I've read about Helmholtz resonators but have not found discussions of the shape of the chamber itself, or shape of the soundhole, or multiple soundholes. I've seen tables of qualitative descriptions of tonewoods but not found frequency response figures. I'm unable to find in depth discussions of resonant frequencies of instruments. In fact I wonder how much theory manufacturers impart to their ukuleles? To avoid booming notes for example, like having resonance right on the low G in tenors which is quite unfortunate.
Anyway thank you in advance if you choose to share some of your wisdom with me
