Posted on April 21, 2023March 5, 2024 by Dale Phillips Battery-Powered Instrument Amplifiers Battery-Powered Instrument Amplifiers by Joseph Ennis Originally published in American Lutherie #69, 2002 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Six, 2013 After reading Francis Kosheleff’s description of building speaker enclosures which resemble instrument bodies, I thought I would offer my experience of what has worked for me. I have added battery-powered amplifiers and speakers inside instrument bodies to either augment the sound of a weak instrument like a harp or mandolin, or just to act as stage monitors. The thing left unspoken in Mr. Kosheleff’s article is that not just any speaker will work well. The speaker should be chosen to match the instrument body resonance. The first air resonance of a hollow body instrument is essentially the same as the Helmholtz resonance of a tuned speaker cabinet. The same math applies. The formula is given below. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on August 1, 2022February 29, 2024 by Dale Phillips Transducers Transducers by Reagan Cole Originally published as Guild of American Luthiers Data Sheet #54, 1977 The purpose of this particular article is to project one man’s opinion about the theoretical whys and wherefores of the transducer for acoustic instruments. This is not a consumer’s report analysis of commercially available products. Anyone interested in this information may consult the series which is currently running in Mugwumps Instrument Herald. A full market report and commentary has been promised. I have never had the money to run out and A-B all the stuff that crops up in the pages of Guitar Player; anyway, I have never used any of the commercial units since I build my own systems. There seems to be several major camps regarding the amplification of acoustic instruments. These I would categorise as follows: (1) Only microphones should be used. These devices are, after all, an electrical analogue to the human ear, so if the mike is good all will be well. Absolutely nothing should be attached to an existing acoustic instrument. (2) Transducers are a necessary evil. They do allow musicians playing acoustic instruments to compete in an electric or an electronic ensemble. At any rate, if they are used they should be easily removable, leaving no trace. (3) The acoustic-electric is yet another evolutionary phase. The performance of the instrument transducer system is of paramount importance; It may be necessary to modify the instrument or even to design a new type for acoustic-electric use. I don’t believe that there are grounds for a serious feud lurking in any of these arguments; all are correct from their own frames of reference. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on August 1, 2022March 5, 2024 by Dale Phillips Lutherie Binge? Lutherie Binge? by Dake Traphagen Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Quarterly, 5, #4, 1977 Well somehow I’ve survived my first but not last, European experience, which Tim Olsen dubbed a “Lutherie Binge” in Vol. 5, No. 2. From my perspective, I think the phraseology could be better put as a Life Experience Binge. After all, let’s not limit ourselves to being only luthiers; or at least if we want to view ourselves as being luthiers, let’s expand the term to encompass all other experiences which connect ourselves to our Luthiership. So what about my European Experience? Ten hour jet flight, what a slow method of transportation; Galliards of royalty traversing the English countryside. While resting in the dark forest; was that a Hobbit or maybe an elf? The Mediterranean’s salty, yet beautiful swimming; but where were the troubadour guitarists of Spain: only me expectations? A lot of flamboyant people and machine guns however... Majestic, cultured, the arts of Arts of western conception, if only one wouldn’t be so coined American; such is the way Paris... Oh yes! The ferry’s cooling rushing air and rolling boat with rain, sun, spray, and lovely people enjoying; except for a few green faces, but who knows, maybe they enjoyed being green. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
