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From science to art
In collaboration with an acoustic engineering company, Soft dB inc. , I have developed a unique acoustic measurement technique that allows me to adjust the soundboard and the back of my instruments during their manufacture. In addition to maximizing the acoustic performance of each instrument, this approach ensures a certain consistency in the acoustic signature.
Thus, when the soundboard of an instrument is well advanced, it is subjected to a repetitive impulse excitation produced by a vibratory actuator emitting white noise. A microphone placed in front of the component under test records the noise emitted by it and sends a signal to an FFT analyzer (developed by the company Soft dB inc). This analyzer then presents a spectrum of the soundboard's acoustic response.
As a luthier, I can then use this information to rework the instrument's top to adjust the sound it will produce.
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Example of the acoustic spectrum emitted by a soundboard during manufacture.
At the same time, I make sure to fully understand the radiance of the sound produced by each instrument, especially when I design new models. By using another measuring device developed by the company Soft dB, the I-Track , I obtain images of the acoustic field radiated by the instrument being manufactured; I can therefore see where the sound propagates according to the frequency.
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Example of acoustic images made on two tables of modern archtop guitars.
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