Location:
Location: Oregon
Country: United States
Country: United States
My Latest Followers:
Stats
youtube videos: 18
images: 51
audio tracks: 3
Hi again,Nate.It's the change in brightness that made me think of a wah wah...the pedal when you rocked it either diminished or accentuated the brightness and you could do it rhytmically.
if someone were really dedicated, maybe they could make an apparatus that lowers and raises a board off the bottom using a pedal, similarly to how drummers change the distance between hi hats while striking the top cymbal for various tones.
Hi again,Nate.It's the change in brightness that made me think of a wah wah...the pedal when you rocked it either diminished or accentuated the brightness and you could do it rhytmically.
As to perceptions of dulcimer sounds, I'm more concerned with what listeners in front or around me hear, rather than what I hear.
That's a really good point. I think in general the concept of a possum board is all about redirecting sound that normally would go unheard. On one hand, more sound is more sound. On the other hand, the extra sound doesn't necessarily have the same tonal characteristics, and it seems to travel disproportionately toward the audience, since the gap between the board and the dulcimer is directing the sound from the instrument horizontally in all directions.
Great video, and great discussion!
Jamie, are you referring to the tone of me lifting it up and setting it down, or just the contrast of possum board vs none?
When i think of the Wah wah effect i think of a wavering between a lot of nodes and a lot of anti nodes. Nodes remind me of the bright sound of the possum board, whereas antinodes remind me of the warm sound of no possum board. I think if you were to waver between the two, it would sound VERY similar to a wah eah pedal.
Hi Nate.I enjoyed your post.At the end when you experimented with the dulcimer on and off the possum board,the difference in sound made me think of the wah wah effect so popular in the 60's,70's.Probably not feasible while playng the dulcimer.I've sometimes gotten a similar effect by waving the dulcimer in the air after the final strum.It's making me think of Jimi Hendrix waving his guitar in front of an amp to get feedback.The dulcimer would sound interesting with a wah wah pedal..of course you'd need pickups and an amp...hmm...
Ken, thanks for posting the link to the Interesting Dulcimer Experiment book. I've only read the introductions so far. The bridge between instrumental and human voice scientific studies appeals to me, and I will read further.
As to perceptions of dulcimer sounds, I'm more concerned with what listeners in front or around me hear, rather than what I hear.
Listening to a dulcimer with and without a possum board isn't a scientific test. What YOU hear when playing is also affected by changes in stroke angle, distance, etc. as well as expectations.
Has anyone done tests using a sound level meter at least 6 feet away, or recordings played back to listeners who are not told about the differences?
I'm not opposed to possum boards and have made a fitted one for one of my instruments. I agree with the popular IMPRESSION, but ....
It seems to me that the difference is so blatant, it doesn't warrant any kind of empirical proof. I could strum at any angle, any depth, and any speed, and none of those factors cause as much change in tone as is immediately noticeable when adding a possum board. I don't think a blindfolded listener could possibly confuse the two.
If the effect were more subtle I'd try to observe it more objectively, but I take it as a given that the difference that I can hear is actually made by the possum board, and am focused on the topic of "how" rather than "if."
Perhaps some of you would be interested in reading this book: Interesting Dulcimer Experiment
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song." with or without a possum boardt
Frankly the pseudo scientific dulcimer tests I've seen have produced some colored graphs but didn't make too much sense to me. I'll trust my own ears as should anyone. Set it on the table! : )
Listening to a dulcimer with and without a possum board isn't a scientific test. What YOU hear when playing is also affected by changes in stroke angle, distance, etc. as well as expectations.
Has anyone done tests using a sound level meter at least 6 feet away, or recordings played back to listeners who are not told about the differences?
I'm not opposed to possum boards and have made a fitted one for one of my instruments. I agree with the popular IMPRESSION, but ....
So I put together this possum dulcimer Nate. : )
I thought I needed a little more volume found one outa commission and strapped it to the Pritchard rep.
https://youtu.be/zYaafxh-M20?si=ozDKEQLzRkjIInNc
@Randy-Adams Hahaha! Right after I typed that out, I opened youtube and it recommended me your newest video
I can definitely understand that Randy. I like making my dulcimers really loud with a lot of projection, so even though I do prefer the tone of a dulcimer without a double back, I sacrifice a little bit of the tone for some extra volume. So calling it an improvement to the sound was a poor choice of words the more I think about it. Everything has its drawbacks lol.
This is exactly how I hear how the false back/possum board Nate. Louder, brighter, jangles the high notes. I played one that I made for my main squeeze for a few years but began to notice it wasn't fitting in with the direction I was going and retired it. It was fun while it lasted.
[/quote]
Specifically to your question about sound quality, I notice a big difference in dulcimer tone when using a possum board. I wouldn't call it an improvement, but to me a dulcimer sitting on a possum board has a much louder high end and all the tones sound a lot 'brighter.' To me, this gives it a more powerful tone that feels bigger, but it's also a little less pretty. I think that's because a possum board is really good at reflecting the super high end overtones that we wouldn't normally hear as many of when playing without one.
[/quote]
When you guys talk about "improving sound quality" do you mean improving the volume? Do you hear an improvement, or perhaps a detriment, in perceived sound quality?
I'm not good at verbal descriptions of sound but I built a couple with false backs and noticed increased sustain along with volume.
I certainly enjoyed that setup for a few years.
That's a really good point Randy. I definitely do notice an increase in volume from possum boards and false bottoms, and I've noticed a small increase in sustain specifically with false bottoms but haven't noticed it with possum boards.
It's hard to really have a direct comparison between a false bottom and none, but I have noticed that if you put a dulcimer with a false bottom on a possum board, it doesn't sound any different. So, to me that shows that whatever a possum board does, a false back can do instead.
Specifically to your question about sound quality, I notice a big difference in dulcimer tone when using a possum board. I wouldn't call it an improvement, but to me a dulcimer sitting on a possum board has a much louder high end and all the tones sound a lot 'brighter.' To me, this gives it a more powerful tone that feels bigger, but it's also a little less pretty. I think that's because a possum board is really good at reflecting the super high end overtones that we wouldn't normally hear as many of when playing without one.
When you guys talk about "improving sound quality" do you mean improving the volume? Do you hear an improvement, or perhaps a detriment, in perceived sound quality?
I'm not good at verbal descriptions of sound but I built a couple with false backs and noticed increased sustain along with volume.
I certainly enjoyed that setup for a few years.
Thanks for confirming, that is what I thought John.
Galax is pronounced "GAY-lax" by everyone I've heard say it.
When I think about it, it's something how an instrument that on the surface seems so simple, but the more I hear from yourself and others, I find myself amazed by how complex dulcimers really are. I appreciate reading your observations.
I couldn't agree with you more Bob. When I started building experimental dulcimers, I was relying on tried and true concepts that have been proven over hundreds of years of development, so it was easy for me to assume that all kinds of things are as simple as they appear. Even now, years later I'm often realizing that things I take for granted about the dulcimer are actually much more clever than they would seem at a glance.