Questions tagged [construction]
This tag should be used for questions about creating or modifying instruments and equipment, whether from the perspective of the craftsman or the layman.
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Can a 12-inch depth floor tom be retrofitted as a snare drum?
I recently acquired a new drum kit that includes two floor toms, one of which has a 14" diameter and 12" depth. I would like to modify 14 x 12 drum to make it a hybrid floor tom/deep snare, ...
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What is the shape, mechanism, and range of this Leiden-made 16h century bronze trumpet?
One kind of items found recently in a sunken 16th century ship in Croatia are rare 400-year-old bronze trumpets of which a fragment has the inscription "LVGDVNY BATAVORVM", the Latin name ...
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What is the air path in a rackett?
There's plenty of videos and online descriptions of these, but: where does the air come out?
As an example,
shows racketts with the reed in the centre of the top, but ...
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Most violins have the same shape, mandolins have many different shapes, why is that?
There are mandolins with f-shaped holes, oval holes, round holes; bowlback mandolins and flatback mandolins; archtop mandolins and flattop mandolins; mandolins with a pear-shaped body (A-style) or ...
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Guitar build — Will the wrong neck work?
I am building a Les Paul style guitar from parts I bought online.
Unfortunately, I noticed that I've got the wrong neck, the body is cut for a set-in neck with a tab at the end of the heel which goes ...
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3
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Purpose of window in kick drum [duplicate]
I was at a jazz concert tonight and the kick drum was facing the audience. It had a circular "window" on the lower right (from the audience's point of view), with a microphone in front of it....
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Homemade Serpent project
One of the classes I'm in this semester is all about physics in the arts. One of our final projects is to make an instrument and, as a euphonium player, I decided to make a serpent. I've made the body ...
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12 string guitar stringing
Most commonly, 12 string guitars have their bottom four pairs arranged so that when strumming down, the octave strings sound before the original E A D and G. Is there any particular reason for this? ...
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Do pianos have a generally recognized "bass register"?
Playing the piano, I've noticed the notes under a certain note seem to be voiced more for heavy chords instead of melodies/countermelodies. If you try to play complicated lines under that note, They ...
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What's the highest note on a piano that uses 1 string?
What's the highest note on a piano that uses one string? (The note where the scale design crosses over from using 1 to 2 strings.)
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What's the distance between black and white piano key balance rail pins?
Piano keyframe consists of these parts:
The balance rail is marked (6) in the image, but there are two balance rail pin rows - in the picture only the pin row for white keys is marked(7).
You can ...
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Why doesn't a piano have dampers in the upper register? [duplicate]
An acoustic piano has dampers that mute the strings when a pressed key is released. Pressing (and holding) the sustain pedal lifts the dampers, allowing the strings to continue ringing after keys are ...
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Why do many acoustic pianos have a wooden block to the left of the keys?
I have no idea what it's called but I'm curious why most pianos have a flat section to the left of the keys, and what it's called.
It almost looks perfect for resting a cup of tea on which sounds like ...
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Why are end-blown flutes shorter than their ideal length?
A flute is an open cylinder air column instrument. This means that an idealised flute, the fundamental pitch of the flute should have a wavelength of twice the length of the flute.
This isn't exactly ...
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Could one make a piano with all notes placed on narrow white keys?
This piano would include every note normally on a piano, just without any visual distinction between the accidentals and naturals. The keys would be narrower than normal white keys, but, I think, not ...
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What happens when the wall thickness of a bamboo flute changes? Advice for a bamboo flute building
I’m building a Japanese bamboo flute, Noh-Kan, used for the Noh theater in a self-learning way.
I’d like to ask some advice about the wall thickness and the hardness of the material.
In Japan, among ...
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Why do violin bridges support the lower strings at a greater height from the fingerboard?
It appears that violin bridges are typically designed asymmetrically to support the lower strings at a greater height from the fingerboard, as shown in this photo:
At the end of the fingerboard the G ...
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6 finger Flute hole placement formula
I like to experiment on plastic flutes.
Is there a mathematical formula for placing holes in a flute?
Is it same for all kinds of flutes for example western flute,6 hole flute or 8 hole flute?
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Creating a xylophone out of copper pipes
I have been trying to create a xylophone out of copper pipes for a school project and have been running into a few problems with calculating the length of each bar. I have been using this paper as ...
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Is there a way to know what is the tension range a specific classical guitar is designed for?
I have two old classical guitars with no way of knowing who made them, or finding a specification sheet, or something similar. I normally play with high or ultra high tension strings, but I don't know ...
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Spruce vs cedar as the material of the soundboard (top, tonewoods) of the classical guitar; how do they affect the tone and sound?
Seems that two of the most common materials for the soundboard of a classical guitar (also called tonewoods) are cedar and spruce. Regarding tone, is there a significant difference between the sound a ...
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What is the most common highest key with a damper?
On my old Steinway, the lowest key that doesn’t have a damper is the second-highest E. On a Bösendorfer I got to play recently, I noticed that the highest key without one was (I believe) the second-...
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How can I design a string instrument and for it to be louder?
I'm trying to make, as a hobby, a few instruments, and watching videos on string instruments, specially compact ones, I noticed that outside of the sounds being pleasant or not, the volume was ...
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How much does an embouchure's shape affects the ability to produce a note on a flute?
I've already asked a bunch of (more theoretical) questions about the subject, but I'm trying to build a flute — a chromatic flute to be more precise. I don't play the flute or any other woodwind ...
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What are the mechanics behind flute keys used to play chromatic notes?
I recently listened to recordings of the bansuri, a bamboo flute used in Indian (Hindu) music, and I thought about trying to make one myself from scratch. A tutorial I found on wikiHow makes the ...
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How do I know where to place holes on an instrument?
I've been trying to build a double reeded instrument out of plastic straws. I've run into a problem though, when I place fingering holes, the instrument doesn't seem to follow the $$f=/frac{nv}{4L}$$ ...
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Is there some means of expanding the range of a capped reed instrument?
Given the pitch limits of capped reed instruments, I wondered whether some means of expanding the range of such existed. Perhaps with some sort of embouchure mimicking device surrounding the reed, but ...
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Does an acoustic guitar pickup still benefit from overtones provided by wood types?
When I was buying an acoustic guitar, I was told there were different types of wood and construction principles that gave guitars different flavors. You choose this wood for a softer and rounder tone, ...
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Why do old wood recorders sound and play better?
I inherited a German-made soprano recorder that my mom bought in 1970. She played it weekly in a senior citizen "fun band". I pick it up occasionally and play it for a few minutes.
I have ...
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Why do the top ends of piano keys extend beyond the rest of the keys?
The upper part of the white key of the piano is extruded (I don't know if anyone will get my point so I'll put a picture here)? Is it just for ornamental use or does it actually have a practical ...
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Trombone (or any other brass instrument really) construction material
I'm not really sure where to post this question:
As a trombone player, I've never understood why aluminum is never used in brass instrument manufacturing. It's seldom mentioned on the internet either. ...
user41033
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What is the length of piano keys, in inches
I am working on a project for which I need the dimensions of piano keys. The width is addressed in
Is there a standard width for piano keys?,
but what about the length?
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optimal resonance for instrument body
building a Mbira, which is like a Kalimba with 3-4 chromatic octaves with bigger tines. I'm getting away from wood because of expense. 3D printing is cheaper, gives more control, and saves time. The ...
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Does the webbing seen in some trumpets change the sound?
Back in high school I played the trumpet for 6 months, and then clarinet for the next 4.5 years (high school is odd in Quebec, and it's not important to the question anyway), and I was a science ...
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Where to install a bridge in an electric guitar? (assuming the scale length keeps the same)
I am planning in building an electric guitar, and I personally believe it would be more comfortable to have a bridge a little bit more to the back of the body, near from where it hangs (which is ...
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Why is it so uncommon to see electric basses with flat fretboards?
I am interested in this as I build my first bass and it took me the whole summer, so any ways to make the handbuilding process simpler, faster and still reliable. Classical guitars have flat ...
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Electric Guitar Jack: How To Get A Nice Fit
I've noticed on several guitars I play, that I will get a satisfying -click- when I plug the jack into the guitar. But on one guitar I own, there is no haptic sensation. You can feel that it barely ...
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Why do pianos have piano hinges?
The long continuous hinge on the lid of a piano is so characteristic that it's even named a "piano hinge" after this use. But why do pianos have such hinges, when a set of separate hinges, such as you'...
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Why is the back of a double bass's body cut in the middle?
Ι have noticed that the back of the double bass's body is cut and glued in the middle:
I first noticed this on some cheap double basses and I thought that it just wasn't good work, but then I saw a ...
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Why do wooden woodwinds sound better than plastic?
With clarinet, recorders, and I presume oboe's also - it's common for beginner instruments to be made out of plastic/hard rubber, and more high quality instruments to be made from wood. This seems to ...
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Are there any good online resources on how to build drums?
I'm really keen to have a go at crafting my own drum. Not a djembe or ethnic instrument but standard hooped kit drum. I particularly like the idea of something along the lines of Outlaw Drums and ...
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How to connect a line signal to a guitar amp?
My Laney Lv300 Tube Fusion Combo amp, doesn't have a Line-In, as such. It merely has one "Input" on the front, for the guitar and a pair of FX sockets, as an FX Loop (FX Send and FX Return). It also ...
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How does bracing work?
I have seen many types of bracing for guitar, for example:
How do they work? What do the lines mean? Will they affect the tone?
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Tutorials or advice on layering synths
so I have been into some music production for a few weeks, and I feel like I am improving gradually. The problem I am having currently is layering synths.
If I listen to a track, I can sort of make ...
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Woods to use for woodwinds
What kinds of wood would work well for making woodwind instruments? I know that pearwood, boxwood, ebony, and maple are all standards, but of those only maple is readily available to me (and even then ...
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Methods of creating woodwind instruments without a lathe
I've been getting into making woodwind instruments recently, and one of the biggest issues for me at the moment is my lack of a lathe. I've instead been chiseling out two halves of the bore and gluing ...
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Epiphone LP Special II neck joint corrections and electronics
I just started this summer project with my Epiphone Les Paul Special II, making some kind of overhaul by changing the nut, the bridge, and the electronics.
I took my guitar completely apart and now I ...
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Why does a piano have only one or two strings per note in the bass register, but three for other registers?
Does it have something to do with keeping it in tune, since the smaller strings might be more prone to be stretched? (And therefore they spread out the impact to more than one string).
Or maybe just ...
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Why do trumpet valves shift the pitch down and not up?
I understand how trumpets work - valves open to force the air through crooks, which lengthens the pathway the air must travel, thus decreasing the resonant frequency.
The question is, why are ...
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How does the piano middle pedal work? Is there a standard symbol for it?
What are the mechanics behind the middle piano pedal? I have been using the middle pedal for a variety of music, it is wonderful, but I can't figure out how it works (I mean the mechanical process). ...
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