Abstract
Traditional wood species used for violins and other instruments of this family are spruce resonance wood, also called Norway spruce, or spruce tonewood known under the scientific name of Picea abies that are used for the top, and curly maple (Acer pseudoplatanus) for the belly, ribs and neck. Macroscopically, resonance spruce for violins has a very regular structure without any defect (knots, resin pockets, stain). The width of the annual rings should have a low proportion of latewood. The raw wooden material for violins and other instruments, also called wedges should be naturally air dried for a long period of time (10 years). Resonance wood is very anisotropic. Other species, such as Sitka spruce, white spruce or red cedar are used for high quality instruments such as pianos, harps or guitars. Curly maple is characterised by flamed figures. Because of relative scarcity of these species there is a need to find replacement wood species with similar acoustical behaviour. Some Australian native species,such as King William pine and Huon pine were identified as substitutes for spruce. Blackwood, myrtle and sassafras as substitutes for curly maple. These new species should satisfy the acoustical requirements and aesthetical exigencies of luthiers and musicians. The tonal balance on violins made from Australian species is different from that obtained with European species because the high frequency damping is different. Building guitars with Australian species has been very successful and acoustical and aesthetical exigencies have been perfectly satisfied.
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Appendices
Appendices
17.1.1 Appendix 1: Spruce with Indented Rings
Classes of indentations for “hasel” spruce with indented rings (data from Bonamini 2002)
Classes | Intensity of indentation | Classes as defined by Fukazawa and Ohtani (1984) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Minimum | Geometric Average | Maximum | ||
0—No. indentation | Class A | |||
1 | 0.022098 | 0.03125 | 0.044194 | Class B |
2 | 0.044195 | 0.0625 | 0.08838 | Class B |
3 | 0.08839 | 0.125 | 0.17677 | Class B |
4 | 0.17678 | 0.25 | 0.35355 | Class B |
5 | 0.35356 | 0.5 | 0.70710 | Class C |
6 | 0.70711 | 1 | 1.41421 | Class C |
7 | 1.41422 | 2 | 2.82842 | Class C |
8 | 2.82843 | 4 | 5.65685 | Class C |
9 | 5.65686 | 8 | 5.65685 | Class C |
10 | 11.31371 | 16 | 11.31370 | Class C |
11 | 22.62742 | 32 | 22.62741 | Class C |
12 | 45.25484 | 64 | 90.50966 | Class C |
13 Maximum indentation | 90.50967 | 128 | 181.0193 | Class C |
17.1.2 Appendix 2: Some Acoustic Properties of Australian Species
Acoustic impedance and acoustic radiation of some Australian species (Bucur 1991 unpublished data)
Acoustic impedance 106 (v.ρ) | Acoustic radiation (v.ρ−1) | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Longitudinal [P] waves | ||||||||
V LL .ρ | V RR .ρ | V TT .ρ | Ratio V LL /V RR | VLLρ−1 | VRRρ−1 | VTTρ−1 | Ratio V LL /V RR | |
Cedar Melia azedarach | 2.17 | 0.58 | 0.27 | 3.74 | 10.30 | 2.52 | 3.09 | 3.33 |
Queensland maple Flindersia brayleyana | 2.43 | 0.88 | 0.78 | 2.76 | 9.72 | 3.52 | 3.16 | 2.76 |
Silky oak, brown Darlingia darlingiana | 2.79 | 1.20 | 0.78 | 2.33 | 8.72 | 3.76 | 2.45 | 2.31 |
Queensland walnut Endiandra palmerstonii | 2.90 | 1.17 | 1.02 | 2.48 | 7.43 | 2.99 | 2.62 | 2.48 |
Sassafras Doryphora sassafras | 3.46 | 1.18 | 0.97 | 2.93 | 8.04 | 2.73 | 2.27 | 2.94 |
Blackwood Acacia melanoxylon | 3.59 | 1.63 | 1.03 | 2.20 | 7.81 | 3.53 | 2.23 | 2.21 |
Silver ash Flindersia bourjotiana | 3.48 | 1.43 | 0.83 | 2.43 | 6.70 | 2.76 | 1.60 | 2.42 |
Myrtle beech Nothofagus cunninghamii | 3.41 | 1.62 | 1.46 | 2.10 | 5.47 | 2.59 | 2.35 | 2.11 |
Red gum (curly) Eucalyptus camaldulensis | 3.11 | 1.63 | 0.84 | 1.90 | 4.37 | 2.30 | 1.18 | 1.90 |
Mountain ash Eucalyptus oreades | 4.05 | 1.30 | 1.16 | 3.11 | 5.48 | 1.77 | 1.58 | 3.09 |
Jarrah Eucalyptus marginata | 3.71 | 1.54 | 1.12 | 2.40 | 4.96 | 2.06 | 1.50 | 2.40 |
Shear waves | ||||||||
V TR .ρ | V LT .ρ | V LR .ρ | Ratio V LR /V LT | V TR .ρ −1 | V LT .ρ −1 | V LR .ρ −1 | Ratio V LR /V LT | |
Cedar Melia azedarach | 0.27 | 0.53 | 0.64 | 1.20 | 1.31 | 2.52 | 3.04 | 1.21 |
Queensland maple Flindersia brayleyana | 0.35 | 0.67 | 0.68 | 1.02 | 1.41 | 2.67 | 2.72 | 1.02 |
Silky oak, brown Darlingia darlingiana | 0.37 | 0.59 | 0.69 | 1.15 | 1.15 | 1.81 | 2.16 | 1.19 |
Queensland walnut Endiandra palmerstonii | 0.45 | 0.74 | 0.79 | 1.06 | 1.15 | 1.92 | 2.01 | 1.02 |
Sassafras Doryphora sassafras | 0.52 | 0.84 | 0.83 | 0.98 | 1.22 | 1.96 | 1.92 | 0.97 |
Blackwood Acacia melanoxylon | 0.51 | 0.88 | 1.03 | 1.17 | 1.11 | 2.00 | 2.24 | 1.12 |
Silver ash Flindersia bourjotiana | 0.59 | 0.95 | 1.07 | 1.12 | 1.15 | 1.83 | 1.97 | 1.01 |
Myrtle beech Nothofagus cunninghamii | 0.69 | 1.03 | 1.10 | 1.06 | 1.11 | 1.65 | 1.76 | 1.07 |
Red gum (curly) Eucalyptus camaldulensis | 0.65 | 0.93 | 1.06 | 1.14 | 0.92 | 1.30 | 1.49 | 1.15 |
Mountain ash Eucalyptus oreades | 0.68 | 0.96 | 1.09 | 1.14 | 0.91 | 1.29 | 1.47 | 1.14 |
Jarrah Eucalyptus marginata | 0.64 | 1.00 | 0.99 | 0.99 | 0.85 | 1.34 | 1.33 | 0.99 |
17.1.3 Appendix 3: Moduli of Elasticity of Some Australian Species
Young’s modulus and shear modulus [108 N/m2] of some Australian species (unpublished data Bucur 1991)
Young’s moduli | Shear moduli | Anisotropy ratio | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
E L | E R | E T | G TR | G LT | G LR | E L /E R | E L /G TR | |
Cedar Melia azedarach | 102.77 | 18.95 | 7.42 | 1.66 | 6.12 | 8.95 | 5.4 | 66.3 |
Queensland maple Flindersia brayleyana | 118.24 | 15.52 | 13.86 | 2.50 | 8.73 | 9.25 | 7.6 | 47.3 |
Silky oak, brown Darlingia darlingiana | 138.12 | 25.67 | 10.87 | 2.43 | 6.16 | 8.49 | 4.8 | 56.8 |
Queensland walnut Endiandra palmerstonii | 134.79 | 21.92 | 16.77 | 3.27 | 8.78 | 9.94 | 6.1 | 41.2 |
Sassafras Doryphora sassafras | 182.53 | 21.16 | 14.54 | 4.19 | 10.79 | 10.43 | 8.7 | 43.6 |
Black wood Acacia melanoxylon | 190.73 | 38.44 | 15.66 | 3.84 | 11.58 | 15.73 | 4.9 | 38.9 |
Silver ash Flindersia bourjotiana | 167.65 | 28.51 | 9.57 | 4.96 | 12.65 | 14.49 | 5.9 | 33.8 |
Myrtle beech Nothofagus cunninghamii | 147.31 | 33.15 | 27.35 | 6.09 | 10.92 | 15.37 | 4.4 | 24.18 |
Red gum (curly) Eucalyptus camaldulensis | 114.78 | 31.72 | 8.43 | 5.13 | 10.20 | 13.34 | 3.6 | 22.4 |
Mountain ash Eucalyptus oreades | 190.96 | 19.82 | 15.84 | 5.32 | 10.64 | 123.80 | 9.6 | 35.8 |
Jarrah Eucalyptus marginata | 159.01 | 27.38 | 14.53 | 4.71 | 11.69 | 11.48 | 5.8 | 33.8 |
17.1.4 Appendix 4: Variability of Some Australian Species
Variability of some Australian species expressed by physical, acoustical and mechanical parameters (unpublished data Bucur 1991)
Parameter | Units | Minimum | Maximum | Differences % |
---|---|---|---|---|
Density | kg/m3 | 459 | 859 | 87 |
Velocity VLL | m/s | 3690 | 4940 | 33 |
Velocity VRT | m/s | 603 | 883 | 46 |
Acoustic impedance ratio with P waves | 106 kg m−2 s−1 | 1.90 | 3.11 | 63 |
Acoustic impedance ratio with S waves | – | 0.99 | 1.17 | 18 |
Young’s modulus EL | 108 N/m2 | 102.77 | 190.96 | 85 |
Young’s modulus ER | 108 N/m2 | 15.52 | 38.44 | 83 |
Young’s modulus ET | 108 N/m2 | 7.42 | 16.72 | 125 |
Shear modulus GTR | 108 N/m2 | 1.66 | 6.09 | 266 |
Shear modulus GLT | 108 N/m2 | 6.12 | 11.58 | 89 |
Shear modulus GLR | 108 N/m2 | 8.95 | 15.73 | 75 |
Ratio EL/GRT | – | 22.4 | 66.3 | 195 |
Ratio of Young’s moduli EL/ER | – | 3.6 | 9.6 | 165 |
Ratio of Young’s moduli EL/ET | – | 8.06 | 17.45 | 116 |
17.1.5 Appendix 5: Tasmanian Wood Species for Violins and Guitars
Acoustic impedance and acoustic radiation calculated from the values of velocities measured with P waves in three anisotropic directions of wood L, R and T (data from Perez-Pulido et al. 2010)
Species | Density (kg/m3) | Acoustic impedance (average values) expressed by the product velocity x density, in 3 principal directions of wood elastic symmetry, L, R, T [103 kg m−2 s−1] | Acoustic radiation (average values) expressed by the ratio velocity/density, in 3 principal directions of wood elastic symmetry, L, R, T [m4 kg−1 s−1] | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
In axis L | In axis R | In axis T | In axis L | In axis R | In axis T | ||
Softwoods | |||||||
King Billy Pine | 400 | 1536 | 803 | 584 | 9.60 | 5.02 | 3.65 |
Huon Pine | 550 | 2319 | 861 | 742 | 7.67 | 2.84 | 2.45 |
Celery-top Pine | 650 | 2798 | 1240 | 981 | 6.69 | 2.94 | 2.32 |
Spruce tonewood | 435 | 2737 | 926 | 588 | 14.46 | 4.89 | 3.11 |
Hardwoods | |||||||
Blackwood | 640 | 3056 | 1277 | 946 | 7.46 | 3.07 | 2.31 |
Myrtle | 700 | 3325 | 1144 | 1087 | 6.78 | 2.33 | 2.22 |
Sassafras | 473 | 2249 | 925 | 718 | 10.04 | 4.13 | 3.20 |
Curly maple | 650 | 2827 | 1683 | 1244 | 6.69 | 3.98 | 2.94 |
17.1.6 Appendix 6: Tonewood Species
Mechanical parameters of tonewoods species determined with ultrasonic techniques and 1 MHz wide band transducers, on cubic specimens (25 × 25 × 25 mm). Terms of stiffness matrix [108 N/m2] (Bucur 1987)
Species | Density (kg/m3) | Terms of stiffness matrix | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal terms | Off diagonal terms | |||||||||
C 11 | C 22 | C 33 | C 44 | C 55 | C 66 | C 12 | C 12 | C 12 | ||
Softwoods for the top of the violins Picea spp. | ||||||||||
Picea abies 7 years natural drying | 400 | 102.01 | 16.00 | 10.24 | 0.36 | 7.56 | 8.12 | 17.53 | 13.20 | 12.14 |
Pitcea Sitchensis 7 years natural drying | 430 | 130.07 | 22.75 | 9.77 | 0.53 | 9.42 | 9.68 | 25.66 | 19.34 | 10.81 |
Picea engelmannii Old ? years natural drying | 352 | 106.48 | 17.43 | 12.04 | 0.37 | 6.76 | 6.52 | 26.91 | 20.79 | 14.13 |
Hardwoods for the back and other elements of the violins Acer spp. | ||||||||||
Acer pseudoplatanus 1 years natural drying | 670 | 141.34 | 41.87 | 23.43 | 5.73 | 15.68 | 22.54 | 32.44 | 30.72 | 18.53 |
Acer platanoides 15 years natural drying | 740 | 180.59 | 45.91 | 27.90 | 7.20 | 13.68 | 21.34 | 54.17 | 43.70 | 16.26 |
Acer macrophyllus 7 years natural drying | 600 | 121.50 | 32.85 | 14.42 | 4.86 | 10.77 | 17.75 | 12.45 | 11.39 | 8.39 |
Acer saccharum 15 years natural drying | 700 | 160.27 | 39.52 | 22.33 | 2.82 | 12.79 | 21.09 | 43.47 | 32.19 | 20.18 |
17.1.7 Appendix 7: Anisotropy of Tonewood
Voigt and Reuss moduli averages and the compressive and shear anisotropy factors calculated from the data of Bucur (1987) for different tonewood species (Katz and Meunier 1990)
Species | Bulk moduli | Shear moduli | Anisotropy | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Voigt bulk modulus | Reuss bulk modulus | Voigt shear modulus | Reuss shear modulus | Compression | Shear | |
K v | K R | G v | G R | A compression | A shear | |
GPa | GPa | GPa | GPa | % | % | |
Picea abies | 2.38 | 0.839 | 0.890 | 0.0820 | 47.8 | 83.2 |
Picea sitchensis | 2.30 | 0.771 | 1.00 | 0.127 | 49.7 | 77.5 |
Picea Engelmannii | 2.88 | 0.827 | 0.764 | 0.054 | 55.3 | 86.7 |
Acer pseudoplatanus | 4.11 | 2.19 | 1.71 | 0.996 | 30.6 | 26.4 |
Acer platanoides | 5.15 | 2.15 | 1.85 | 1.17 | 41.1 | 22.6 |
Acer saccharum | 4.60 | 2.10 | 1.57 | 0.662 | 37.3 | 40.8 |
17.1.8 Appendix 8: Australian Species for Violin and Guitar
List of Australian wood species for violin and guitar parts (data from Morrow 2007)
Genus and species | Common name | Soundboard | Bridge and fret boards | Neck and hell |
---|---|---|---|---|
Acacia aneura | Mulga | – | Guitar, violin | – |
Acacia harpophylla | Brigalow | – | Guitar, violin | – |
Acacia cambagei | Gidgee | – | Guitar, violin | – |
Acacia melanoxylon | Blackwood | Guitar | – | Guitar |
Acacia papyrocarpa | Myall | – | Guitar, violin | – |
Acacia pendula | Boree | – | Guitar, violin | – |
Agathis robusta | Kauri pine | Guitar, violin, cello | – | – |
Agonis juniperina | Warren river cedar | – | – | Guitar |
Araucaria bidwillii | Bunya pine | Guitar | – | – |
Araucaria cunninghamii | Hoop pine | Guitar violin | – | – |
Atherosperma moschatum | Sassafras | Guitar | – | – |
Athrotaxis selaginoides | King William pine Or “King Billy” | Guitar | – | – |
Cardwellia sublimis | Northern silky oak | – | Guitar, violin | – |
Dysoxylum fraseranum | Rose mahogany | – | – | Guitar |
Erythrophleum chlorostachys | Cooktown ironwood | – | Guitar, violin | – |
Eucalyptus marginata | Jarrah | – | Guitar, violin | Guitar |
Eucalyptus regnans | Victorian ash | – | – | Guitar |
Eucalyptus wandoo | wandoo | – | Guitar, violin | – |
Flindersia brayleyana | Qld. maple | Guitar | – | Violin, guitar |
Flindersia australis | Crows ash | – | Guitar, violin | – |
Flindersia schottiana | Silver ash | – | – | Violin, guitar |
Grevillea striata | Beefwood | – | Guitar, violin | – |
Lagarostrobos franklinii | Huon pine | Guitar | – | – |
Phebalium squameum | Satinwood | Violin, guitar | – | – |
Phyllocladus aspleniifolius | Celery-top pine | Guitar | – | – |
Podocarpus aramus | Black pine | Violin | – | – |
Podocarpus neriifolius | Brown pine | Violin | – | – |
Toona australis | Australian red cedar | Guitar | – | – |
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Bucur, V. (2016). About Traditional and New Wood Species for String Instruments. In: Handbook of Materials for String Musical Instruments. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32080-9_17
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