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Wednesday, January first, 2020

🦋 Thinking about the viola d'ottone

The instrument will consist of a round metal dome (either steel or more likely, brass) as a soundboard, a neck and dowel cut from one piece of wood (most likely, cherry)*, steel strings, and a maple bridge, most likely one made for a treble viola da gamba. The significance of the dome shape is, that the bridge can sit on or close to the center of the soundboard, for maximum resonance, without the edges of the pan interfering with the bow stroke.

The scale length will be about 20". Four strings, with tuning of a tenor violin -- G2, D3, A3, E4. I will use strings from a fractional cello for the lower 3 and a full-size cello E string for the top string. (E string for fractional cello doesn't seem to be manufactured anywhere, and the luthier I contacted to ask about it recommended using the full-size string.)

I have a steel wok. I believe the metal is too thick for it to resonate well. I also think it would be possible but quite difficult to grind the metal at the center of the disk thinner using an angle grinder. No guarantee this would increase the resonance but my hunch is it would. I have also ordered a brass wok, which has not arrived yet; I'm thinking it will be the thing to use -- accordingly I'm referring to the instrument as a "brass viol". The arch shape of the brass pan seems like it will be better for sound and for attaching a lining. If there is any question of grinding the pan's thickness down brass must be a lot easier to grind away than steel. Also brass wins for the pretty factor.

I'm planning to build the rest of the instrument besides the back and rough-string it to see what it sounds like prior to carving the back.

Slowly assembling the materials I'll need for this.

• soundboard: brass pan
• ✓ wood for neck
• fingerboard, nut
• ✓ wood for brace
• tailpiece
• pegs
• ✓ bridge
• strings
• ✓ wood for back
• ✓ purfling for back
• soundpost

* Also I think I will need a brace at the bottom of the pan, which I'll make from basswood or willow.

↻...done

posted afternoon of January first, 2020: 2 responses
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Thursday, December 19th, 2019

🦋 Viola da wok

Yesterday I ordered a wok. I'm starting my next metal soundboard instrument, a da gamba tenor violin with carbon steel soundboard¹. A rough sketch of the design:



parts:

• wok (14" diameter)
• neck + dowel (I'm thinking I will use cherry)
• dowel stop (a small piece of wood that will ride on the bottom of the dowel, as a spacer for the tailpiece)
• back -- arched maple. Thinking I will use some very pretty wormy maple that I've had in my shop for years and years. It is flatsawn but I think it would resonate. Back will be attached with a kerfed lining which I'll need to make. Soundholes will be on the sides of the back.
• tailpiece -- likely will use a 1/4 size cello tailpiece. May need a cork spacer to raise the angle of the tailpiece.
• bridge -- maybe a viola da gamba bridge? or a fractional cello bridge? or a viola bridge?
• strings (steel) -- the tones I am thinking of are G2, D3, A3, E4 (and possibly B4). Maybe use 1/4 cello strings? The scale length will be something like 20". Or another possibility, tune in fourths E2, A2, D3, G3, B3.
• fingerboard
• pegs

posted morning of December 19th, 2019: 1 response
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Tuesday, November 26th, 2019

🦋 Gluing up

For a while I have had in mind making a viola da gamba type of instrument with a steel wok as its soundboard and an arched maple back. An interesting question is how do you attach the wood to the metal -- I have had in mind screwing it together. Just now I had the thought that a thin wooden lining could be glued to the metal (I guess with Gorilla Glue?) and then attach the back with hide glue.

This way I can make the back much thinner, like a violin back, and not need thickness to screw into. No need to drill holes in the metal -- much better.

posted evening of November 26th, 2019: 1 response
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Tuesday, November 27th, 2018

🦋 The Metal Soundboard: a proposal for a series of luthery projects

Over the course of building the tin-can cello, I've searched around a few times for precursors [1, 2]. I've been a bit surprised at how few examples of an instrument with a metal soundboard I've been able to find! Here are some projects I've had in mind recently:

1. The tin-can cello. This is the project most of my blogging has been about recently, a cello with a washtub body, with the base of the tub as soundboard.
2. A 4-stringed viola da gamba sort of instrument with a wok (bronze) as its soundboard and an arched maple back, and steel strings. I'm not really sure yet of what the scale length will be or what gauge of strings I'll be using. I'm thinking the strings will be tuned to E, A, D, G but I don't know in what octave.
3. A banjo-style instrument with a cymbal as its soundboard.
4. A violin made from pounded-out sheet metal (with a wooden neck/scroll/fingerboard). If bronze can be found in sheet form and is strong enough, I'd like to use it. Otherwise steel. [Looks like sheet bronze, brass, and steel can be had from onlinemetals.com]
5. A (high-tin) bronze urn or vase or bowl (singing bowl?) or bucket, fitted with a wooden neck and bridge, and strings.
6. An erhu with a coffee can resonator.
7. A violin (or soprano violin?) with a cookie tin resonator.
8. A contrabass with a bell as its resonating chamber.

posted evening of November 27th, 2018: 2 responses
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