Reducing Build Variation In Arched Plates

by Mark French and Eddie Efendy

Originally published in American Lutherie #101, 2010



It is generally assumed in manufacturing operations that build variation and build quality are inversely related. This can be problematic in instrument manufacture because of the natural variation in wood properties.

The point of series production is to make identical products that match a blueprint or some other geometric description. For a group of instruments to be identical, they must not only have identical geometry, but should also sound the same. This is a very difficult task and there is probably not a single objective metric that describes tonal quality. However, one necessary condition is that the resonant frequencies of the instruments should be the same.