An extended version of the SMPTE color bars, SMPTE RP 219:2002 [15] was introduced to test HDTV signals (see subsection). [16] If your frame is too short and the longer resonators scrape or rest on the ground, that will compromise the instrument’s sound, and its portability will vanish. Resonator Tubes

Voicing is a sensitive hand-shaving process to perfectly tune the braces to the soundboard. The process involves listening to the sound of the wood on tapping and then gently shaving the brace with a sharp chisel to improve its tuning. This is done to maximize the responsiveness of the top while maintaining its structural integrity. Other Bracing Patterns Structural integrity is imperative in every aspect of guitar making, and that includes the structural pieces themselves! Quartersawn bracing refers to the use of wood pieces for bracing that have been cut with their grain perpendicular, or nearly perpendicular, to their faces. This type of cut is the strongest and ensures maximum reliability and time-tested durability of your guitar’s bracing. Riftsawn and flatsawn pieces of that size are just asking to splinter and damage with consistent play and temperature change. If you’re torn between an instrument that mentions quartersawn bracing and one that doesn’t, it’s always better to be structurally safe than sorry! How’s It Sinking In? Depending on the age and quality of the marimba in question, the frame can consist of wood or metal. When you put bar pressure against the strings to sustain notes, you usually do so with an equal force on all the strings being sounded. Two X shapes are placed in an overlapping arrangement to form a diamond surrounding the bridge plate. This bracing pattern provides additional strength like in twelve-string guitars but restricts vibration of the top. A Bracing

MUSSER Marimba

A friend of ours at the "Grand Old Opry" started using one of our bars on his pedal steel. All the other steel players were trying to figure out what it was that he had changed in his steel to so improve the sound...and Lowering the pitch of a tone bar involves carving material out of the center of the bar (on the bottom side).

They don’t disclose many details on this tuning method, but the result is a vibraphone with crystal clear projection. This entails keeping equilibrium and balance in mind; in other words, it is usually a good idea not to push too hard on the nose of the bar, or too hard on the heel of the bar (certain styles of playing or music may benefit from adjustments to this though!). The goal is to understand intuitively how to manipulate the bar while reacting to the music. Know how and why you are using your vibrato at any certain point, but try to abandon thought for feel. As we get further into the fine-tuning stages of bracing design, it’s important to know the role that main brace placement has on any given guitar’s sound. These two varied placement types, forward-shifted and rear-shifted, are fairly straightforward but offer very unique sonic enhancements — both are commonly found in Martin guitars. Forward-shifting takes the placement of an intersecting main brace, like an X-brace, and moves it closer to the soundhole, resulting in a larger open area at the rear of the top that heightens the guitar’s bass tone. In the case of rear-shifting, the rear area of the top is reduced, creating more focus and better projection — a small change that can make a world of difference for gigging musicians! QuartersawnTry experimenting with both types of vibrato to develop your technique. Most pedal steel players use round nose bars for playing, however there are many kinds of music that benefit from cutaway bars. Rail. Since some marimbas have a range of five octaves, they can be quite long, meaning the frame needs additional support to hold the tone bars. The rails are wooden crossbars and are not— repeat not— designed to function as any kind of handle when moving the marimba. Although color bars were originally designed to calibrate analog NTSC equipment, they remain widely used in transmission and within modern digital television facilities. In the current context color bars are used to maintain accurate chroma and luminance levels in CRT, LCD, LED, plasma, and other video displays, as well as duplication, satellite, fiber-optic and microwave transmission, and television and webcast equipment. It may help to think of bar control, and the movement between positions, as a very athletic activity. You can view moving between these positions, or frets, as physical lengths or distances — try to learn what moving the bar three frets entails physically, or any fret length/amount (seven frets for example). This will be recommended by me to my steeling friends. I will for sure take a small video to put up on FB for all steelers to see and hear later!

As you move from the lower pitches (the longer bars on the left side of the marimba) to the higher ones, the keys get shorter. Eventually, you probably won’t need to think about your vibrato types/technique while you play, you’ll play what feels right at that time, as an extension of your steel voice. While aesthetics may not be a top priority for beginners, for professional acts, it’s almost as important as the sound… a b c "Tektronix TSG95 Pathfinder PAL-NTSC Signal Generator" (PDF). p.39 . Retrieved 28 February 2022. Howard Lukk. "Countdown to History – 100 Years of SMPTE Standards Development". Us9.campaign-archive.com.Goldberg, A. A. (June 30, 1977). "A Monitor Alignment Color Bar Test Signal" (PDF). Proceedings, 31st Annual Broadcast Engineering Conference, National Association of Broadcasters. 31: 84–85.