The Mellotron Group

Thinking about this at greater length, the wood plate would act more like a 
filter than a reverberation device.

I try to get the plate (metal) to deliver as flat a response as possible with 
maximum decay. The 3X7 foot plate gives a solid 3.5 seconds of decay, more if 
you compress the output. And low frequency rumble becomes a problem in the 
larger ones. A plate sitting on a concrete floor picks up the vibration of 
nearby foot steps. Maybe I can make a long one as a seismic monitor!


 Bill

 



________________________________
From: Jack Younger <e4103s@yahoo.com>
To: "newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com" <newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thu, January 31, 2013 6:23:22 AM
Subject: Re: [newmellotrongroup] Off topic AND off-the wall

  
Since most pickup systems are magnetic, a wood plate would probably be more 
effort than it's worth....

That's not to say you can't use the resonant qualities of wood in the 
process. The strings are the integral part of the equation. Wood works on an 
instrument because the strings resonate the surface.  We've used our piano for 
reverb effects on a few occasions. The idea of a dedicated "string reverb" has 
been on my mind for quite some time.....tried it with a few old beater acoustic 
guitars, but with very little return.  

But something's currently in the works....details when something actually 
functions.  Ha!




________________________________
From: william Beith <wbeith@sbcglobal.net>
To: newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com 
Sent: Wednesday, January 30, 2013 10:22 AM
Subject: Re: [newmellotrongroup] Off topic AND off-the wall


  
Thanks for the plate acknowledgment. One issue I did not address is the process 
of exciting the plate to create the reverb then the mechanism to pick up the 
reverberated sounds. Inducing vibration in metal, then picking up the results of 
that induction is reasonably easy. Trying the same thing with wood seems to be 
more of an acoustical mechanical process. Maybe excite the wood with a 
loudspeaker (or one of those wall mount hi-fi speaker - subwoofer units) then 
use a Barcus Berry pick up for the return signal.

Bill




________________________________
From: Tom Doncourt <tomdcour@amnh.org>
To: "newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com" <newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wed, January 30, 2013 7:44:38 AM
Subject: RE: [newmellotrongroup] Off topic AND off-the wall

  
Though it may seem ridiculous your idea makes some sense. I've gotten some 
sympathetic tone ringing out of large marimba notes that I've built. I tried 
miking them up and it added a warmth to the sound if not an actual 
reverberation. I wouldn't use a sheet of ply though- the way it is laminated 
prevents it from resonating. If you glued some 1/2 thick cedar lengths together 
on edge ( and better if they are quarter sawn), hung the "plate" from its nodal 
points and plcaed a speaker and a mike close by you might get an interesting 
tone, if not an actual reverb. I've seen Mr. Beith's lovely plate units-this is 
something of a wholly other order!


________________________________

From: newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com [newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com] on 
behalf of Sean [fourtytwominds@yahoo.com]
Sent: Tuesday, January 29, 2013 7:41 PM
To: newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [newmellotrongroup] Off topic AND off-the wall


  
The strangest thoughts come on the shitter....

We all love the plate reverb right?

What if one was made with a gigantic sheet of wooden ply instead? Like the top 
of a violin? What on earth would that sound like as a reverb?

Thought I'd share.

-Sean