(updated: 8/2017)
Page VRT_4
How to use 'Rub Tone' concept in wood selection:
...I believe there is an ideal Rub Tone (# 22) that delivers the best sound which should be the standard in determining the 'rub tone' for ALL the pieces of the instrument. The goal here should be an exact match and if that is not possible then a very close match as second best (# 21 - # 23 range). Reject all pieces that do not meet this standard. In addition reject all pieces that are not on the Wood Tone scale (see other information on Wood Tone. Usually 198 HZ for spruce and 242 HZ for maple and ebony parts (with some exceptions).
...Choose a low 'rub tone' wood piece (wand) to lightly drag or rub along the surface of the wood being tested, in the direction of the grain if possible. Remember that the tone produced will be the result of both pieces of wood, so by having the 'wand' of a lower 'rub tone' range it might make determining the 'rub tone' of the piece under investigation easier. A quiet room and a fixed scale reference (see article on this subject) is the best way to do this. The 'rub tone' (and Wood Tone) do not change with reshaping the wood or gluing it into a structure with other wood pieces, they are permanent features of each piece of the completed instrument, and will continue to interact with the rest of the instrument for its life without change.
...The RIBS may be sawn from the waste wood of the back plate pieces (at least ensuring a perfect 'Wood and Rub tone' match to the back plate) but if possible, use ribs with the same 'rub and wood tone' as the back plate but from different sources (remembering always that they must look good with the back wood. I believe the best sound will come from two piece back wood that came from two different trees as with the top plate. However, because there is such a premium on appearance for the back plate, you will only be able to do this is you find very similar grain characteristics. Then by swapping the sides you will have excellent back plate wood for two violins allowing the maximum tone color.
Remember, we only want wood parts of # 22 Rub Tone and 242 HZ Wood Tone for back plate and possibly either 213 HZ or 242 HZ, Wood Tone for ribs. This selection of your wood will largely determine the ultimate success of the completed instrument.
...If you are on a serious budget but can get to a violin parts source ( a business, or violin trade show for instance) where there are numerous vendors or a good selection of wood parts to choose from you should be able to pick out excellent violin wood parts with ideal (or close to) Wood and Tap Tone characteristics, by using these techniques, to ensure a possibly excellent future violin!
...As you experiement with this concept, please keep me informed with your results....
Note: The first violin is made using the matched rub tone concept (Opus # 24) was completed and played wonderfully. (May 2010). It had matching Rub Tone parts (100%) of # 17 rub tone and much of the wood was also on the 'Wood Tone' scale (before I knew what that was!)
...To hear two live recordings of this Opus # 24 violin being played by Ian Derickson, paste this internet address in your browser:
http://www.violinresearch.com/track01.wav {and also ...../track02.wav}
This is a large wave sound recording (professional level), so please allow time for it to load... This was recorded in a large college auditorium in one take. Violinist is a piano major student who also played in the back of the violin section. The recording microphone was center front of stage and high above the performer. Zoom recorder in school sound booth.
Written by David Langsather (c) 2017
