Violin Resonances Studied by Electrical Simulation
M. V. Mathews · The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America · 1971
A study of the resonances of a violin was made by attaching an electric pickup to the strings of a normal violin and passing the signal so obtained through a set of electrical resonances. Frequencies, bandwidths, and amplitudes of the resonances could easily be adjusted and resulting sound evaluated aurally. About 20 resonances were used. The frequencies were set equal to the peaks of a published response curve of a Stradivarius. Amplitudes could be adjusted so the tone matched a range of instruments from an orchestral violin to a hillbilly fiddle. Bandwidths from 7 to 100 Hz were tried, about 50 Hz being best. Components of the sound due to individual resonances were heard separately. Low-frequency resonances gave a rich but muffled tone, midfrequency resonances a thin sound, and the high-frequency resonances a harsh penetrating sound.