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Thread: Harmonic Testing Of Guitars
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15th April 2011, 09:56 PM #1Member
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Harmonic Testing Of Guitars
Gday Guys,
I promised before to explain how to set things up cheaply to test guitars for their harmonic content.
Ok first of all their are many guitars made now days that do not fit the bill as far as harmonics go. I have stated before that the use of old growth timber is the way to go & I shall continue with that as we proceed into this.
I would like to share with you a very simple test of a new Acoustic guitar manufacturer not named.
I went & purchased this guitar at a music shop for this test & as usual it sounded bloody terrible, I set a few things up & had a look at the harmonic spectrum, well what their was of a harmonic spectrum.
How people can sell this crap with their name on it is beyond me.
Anyway after looking at the complete lack of harmonics it occured to me the whole spectrum was suffering.
I spent a day fixing the problems or where I thought the problems were & it has improved the spectrum & the guitar very nicely although it is still not to my complete liking but that is due to the timber used for this particular guitar.
I have attached two pictures of the spectrum analysis, before & after fixing it.
You will note in the before picture of the analysis that the low frequencies--the bass are very poor & that the entire spectrum is patchy not to mention the higher frequencies--overtones that are lacking.
In the After picture of the analysis you will see that the entire spectrum is now full & complete all be it like mentioned still not anywhere near correct but still far better than before.
How does it sound?
I recorded the before & after fixing the guitar sound by just playing a single chord, I will attach the sound clip.
The first chord you will hear is the before & as sold sound & the second chord you will hear is after me fixing it to a point.
You be the judge.
Now don't get me wrong here, this guitar is still far from right & used as a test dummy only to show certain aspects of what we need to achieve to put our name on things.
Their are many existing problems with this guitar & the spectrum tells it all.
This is one of the most important aspects of guitar building & without it you don't know where you are.
If their is some interest I will take the time to explain proceedures & methods for making & testing some nice guitars to be proud of.
Also I can share some really nice harmonic spectrums to work for--truly great sounding instruments.
I'm a put your money where your mouth is type & I'm prepared to do that, it's important to me that people work towards building nice instruments before the trade is gone completely.
Todays trade seems to be about the dollar & not sound quality, this is a mistake as people will pay for quality.
Some of the instruments today are a far cry from what they should be.
It would be a shame if people think this is how guitars should sound.
WayneW
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15th April 2011 09:56 PM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
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16th April 2011, 11:15 AM #2
Good one Wayne!
I am certainly interested in your methods. I assume you are getting the soundboard moving by trimming braces etc.
Sebastiaan"We must never become callous. When we experience the conflicts ever more deeply we are living in truth. The quiet conscience is an invention of the devil." - Albert Schweizer
My blog. http://theupanddownblog.blogspot.com
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16th April 2011, 11:31 AM #3
Certain does sound better, what did you do to it?
Cliff.
If you find a post of mine that is missing a pic that you'd like to see, let me know & I'll see if I can find a copy.
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16th April 2011, 03:25 PM #4
Interesting stuff and thanks for posting Wayne. I do have lots of questions though:
Was the first spectrum recorded before or after optimising setup of the guitar? If not then it would be hard to ascertain if the improvement in sound quality was the result of setup optimisation or structural changes to the instrument.
Some information on the type of acoustic and materials would also be of use.
Cheers MartinWhatever note you blow youre never more than a semitone away from the correct one....(Miles Davis)
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17th April 2011, 06:15 PM #5Senior Member
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Sounds like you are playing an Am chord on strings 1-4 the first time then adding on the fifth string the second time?
Why the frequency analysis down to 3HZ (and the huge peak there) when the lowest E string has its fundamental at 82 HZ
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21st April 2011, 12:11 PM #6
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21st April 2011, 09:57 PM #7Retired
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Harmonic Testing of Guitars
G'Day Wayne,
Very interesting post and as every one would know my thoughts, in this forum, old growth timber is the way to go, but on your tests make sure that you reply to all questions asked or any questions asked in future, I look forward to seeing what you come up with.
But lets not forget custom build guitars are a different ball game.
Cheers, Bob
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