When trying to perform a modal analysis on a standard violin bridge, which weighs between 1 and 3 grams, the weight of the sensors placed on the bridge will often impact the results of the experiment. To overcome this, Joseph Curtin has asked me to create a violin bridge that is roughly 5 times bigger than the standard one. Because the larger bridge is made form the very same material as a normal bridge, it should resonate in more or less the same way. The larger bridge size also means that the weight of the sensors will be a much smaller percentage of the entire system. This should dramatically reduce the sensor’s impact on the results.

The modal analysis will be performed later this week at the Violin Society of America’s Violin Acoustics Workshop at Oberlin College. On Friday at the conference, I will also be giving a talk about electric violin history and design. If everything goes well, we will be demoing our electric violin and 3D speaker on Friday as well. I’ll be sure post more as soon as there is more to post.

This is the latest, but soon to be outdated, version of the Digital Violin. This prototype moved me from the completely experimental design phase into the functional design phase. This weekend I will be working on the design for the next version, which I will fabricate in the coming weeks.

This week I will be putting together the first functional prototype of our electric violin. Here is a preview:

Update {03/03/10}: Just finished the design the alpha version of our group’s 3D speaker array. Going to build it tomorrow morning.

Update 2 {03/04/10}: The cabinet is built. Speakers have yet to be installed.

Update 3 {03/05/10}: The drivers are installed and it is soldering time! After that, this beast is going to be rigged up with a custom amp designed by John Bell, then tested at the University of Michigan’s anechoic chamber. Only then will we know if this design was reasonably successful at reproducing the directional tone color of an acoustic violin.