Sound posts

[Mr. Loar]

I was jamming with this dood that added a sound post to his Fender "A" style mandolin. The sound post was located on the bass side of the instrument. When I asked him why he didn't put on on the treble side he told me that it made it too loud. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif

[JGWoods]

That's odd- soundposts don't really work in mandolins. Different type of sound production between bowed and plucked instruments, plus a lot of other factors make soundposts a vital part of the fiddle and pretty much useless in a mandolin

[MikeEdgerton]

Here (http://www.mandolincafe.net/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=Search&CODE=02&SID=48035ef712c06d7f) are a few older threads on the subject.

[John L]

I know someone that added a soundpost to a Guild guitar bass. Didn't do anything for the sound acoustically, but seemed to make it less feedback prone according to him.

[mandroid]

A post about sound ...
Acoustic feedback, IE where the monitor rings the top with the sound of the speaker, would be reduced , it seems, by linking the 2 together ,
add the belly of the player damping the back, and by extension the top, leaves the strings and the pickup , for the sound production on the bass,
but given the heft of a solid body bass guitar... that's still going to be a bit better weight on the back and shoulders.

[Mr. Loar]

After further inquiry, he said the post material was an ink pen. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif He said that because of its hollow nature the sound passed through it more efficiently.

[sunburst]

...
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif

[man dough nollij]

After further inquiry, he said the post material was an ink pen. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif # He said that because of its hollow nature the sound passed through it more efficiently.
I've heard of that-- it's called a "Bic Virzi". Loar used a fountain pen.

[Ivan Kelsall]

LOL !!!! - If the guy had told this story to me,i'd have dissolved in laughter. I think John Hamlett got it right . Hollow to allow the sound to pass through more efficiently, Oh boy ! i LIKE IT, a great thread Leland. I'm NOT saying that what the guy told you wasn't true,but it sounds like a wind up:,it's sure started my day off with a smile,so thanks for that,
# # # # # # # # # # # # Saska

[Mr. Loar]

LOL !!!! - If the guy had told this story to me,i'd have dissolved in laughter. I think John Hamlett got it right . Hollow to allow the sound to pass through more efficiently, Oh boy ! i LIKE IT, a great thread Leland. I'm NOT saying that what the guy told you wasn't true,but it sounds like a wind up:,it's sure started my day off with a smile,so thanks for that,
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # #Saska
You're welcome. I treat everyone's ideas with respect because some really do have meaning and potential no matter how zany they sound.

[Bertram Henze]

There's lots of funny ideas around acoustics - some work, some don't. But I save my laughter until someone puts a soundpost in an open back banjo.

Bertram

[JGWoods]

There's lots of funny ideas around acoustics - some work, some don't. But I save my laughter until someone puts a soundpost in an open back banjo.

Bertram
Funny you should mention that- I just read, and commented on a thread in the well known banjo forum about using a cork between the head and the perchpole- that's a soundpost by any definition http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Bill Snyder]

I had to double check to make sure this thread was not started on 4/1. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[sunburst]

...a thread in the well known banjo forum about using a cork between the head and the perchpole- that's a soundpost by any definition http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
So that's what they mean when I'm playing the banjo and someone says "put a cork in it!".

[Bertram Henze]

I just read, and commented on a thread in the well known banjo forum about using a cork between the head and the perchpole- that's a soundpost by any definition http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
Well... cork is not such a good sound conductor. I suspect they do that to dampen the banjo head (they want to avoid harmonic sound, figure), much like drummers who put a blanket into their bass drum. If that is the reason, it's rather the opposite of a soundpost - sound lost...

I did not see that banjo forum, but they'd probably expel me for the idea of using a silicone breast implant instead of a cork.

Bertram

[Red Henry]

It's hard to make universal rules about soundposts. They do seem to work on some mandolins. I once added a soundpost to an A-50 of mine, and it improved the sound. (Better volume and tone.)

At the same time, a friend of mine put a post in a Martin archtop mandolin that was collapsing, and it not only held the top up but made the mandolin sound better.

(Alas, my friend sold that Martin, and when the new owner took it to a shop the repairman removed the soundpost without her asking. Next time she opened the case, that mandolin was in several pieces. There are several morals to this story.)


Red


.

[Mr. Loar]

To be clear....I was at the jamboree again yesterday. The dood with the ink pen sound post actually had a Johnson "A" style mandolin. It was the first time I got positive comments about "The Loar" being louder than his. Comparitively, it's probably not saying much but there was only one other mandolin picker there and she also had a Johnson. I think the soakage of sounds from the speaker is paying off finally.