ELECTRIC KOTO BY VIBRATING BODY
Naoya Takahashi, Mitsuharu Matsumoto, Shuji Hashimoto · University of Michigan Library Repository · 2007
In these years, a Japanese string instrument called KOTO and high-volume instruments such as the electric bass and drams are often played together. In that case, the volume of the KOTO sound must be increased to a satisfactory level for balancing. However, when amplifying the volume of the KOTO sound, there are some problems such as the feedback, the cross-talk with other back ground sounds and the degradation of sound quality. The pickup device attached on the specific musical instrument is often employed to obtain only the sound without other instrumental sounds. The obtained timbre is, however, different from the one we hear at the usual listening position. In this paper, we propose an electric KOTO with built-in speaker to make the body resonance. By employing the real KOTO body as a physical sound filter, it is possible to amplify the sound volume without changing the timbre. We achieved 10dB amplification of the sound pressure level without the feedback, the cross-talk of other sounds, and the degradation of the sound quality.