10 papers · 1 filter
Arithmetic of Spring Forces on the Banjo Bridge
David Politzer
Spring-like forces on the bridge are key to a banjo's characteristic voice. These are due to the tension in strings and head. Conceptually distinct from the forces of waves in the…
Pickers' Guide to Acoustics of the Banjo, parts I and II
David Politzer, Jim Woodhouse, Hossein Mansour
The results of an investigation of fundamental banjo acoustics and physics are now readily available. The papers describe measurements and calculations which demonstrate the extent…
Banjo Break Angle Tension Modulation as Parametric Oscillation
David Politzer
The motion of the floating bridge of the banjo, in conjunction with the break angle of the strings over that bridge, produces string tension modulation that is first order in the a…
Banjo Ring from Stretching String: A Zero Break Angle Demo
David Politzer
A novel bridge and tailpiece design allows direct comparison of the sound of zero break angle with same banjo (and all its parts) configured to have an angle of 13 degrees. This le…
Banjo Drum Physics -- sound experiments and simple acoustics demos
David Politzer
11" D mylar heads over a normal range of tensions (DrumDial 85 to 91) and "open-back" backed pots of depths 2", 2 3/4", and 5 5/8" are studied over the range 100 to 2000 Hz. Normal…
Whither Tone Ring Ring?
David Politzer
An extremely simple model captures the essence of the interaction of a banjo tone ring with the wood rim. The large scale, low frequency resonances of the assembled system are rela…