@AceArsenault @RussSharek
I wonder if you could explain what they were missing in the 1930s and why they didn’t do more of this back then?

Because I’m not an engineer and very much don’t understand the difference between early synthesizers like the #theremin and the ondes Martenot and this (I just know the names)

It is amazing and magical and I wish understood more

@AccordionBruce @RussSharek

Hey Bruce. : ]
The Theremin, The Ondes Martenot and this "Neon String Machine" all work differently.

There is many different ways to generate audio in the analog domain.

Nothing was really missing in the 1930s other then the cultural attitude to electronic music. The electronic fundamentals where all there.

The technology was solid, but the mindset hadn't caught up yet. Its something you read a lot about with the history of early electronic instruments.

@AceArsenault @RussSharek
I write about accordions, and pretty much know how they work. But when physicists write about how exactly reeds produce sounds I realize my knowledge is actually pretty limited

I file those papers away in case someone asks me for a citation 🤓 🪗

So impressed with your work

@AccordionBruce @RussSharek

Thanks. I rebuilt a reed organ a few years back. I was impressed with all the engineering that goes into a free reed! : ]

How they get different tones out of them with different offsets, etc. I'm still a big fan of Brass reeds. From what I found they have a nice mellow attack/starting vibration.

@AceArsenault @RussSharek
We had an epic discussion of the history of early free reeds with @Silpayamanant on Twitter back in October https://twitter.com/AccordionBruce/status/1584266269901324288?s=20&t=k_okFZqKnO7sxgHwXffpMg

Should find a way to collect that material elsewhere

Lots of interesting sources on early development in Europe and Russia based (probably) on Asian designs in the late 1700s – early 1800s

Not enough gathered in English though 🤨

I really want to know more:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Further_research_is_needed

@AccordionBruce @RussSharek @Silpayamanant

Cool. We can get that dialog going over here on mastodon as well. : ]

I remember reading that Free Reeds came over from Asian instruments like the Sheng.

I have a small collection of old brass reeds. I'm planning on building something with them.

Like a reed organ. Where the free reed is at the bottom of a long pipe tuned to the fundamental pitch. : ]

@AceArsenault @RussSharek @Silpayamanant
My vague understanding is a core redesign in the “western“ #FreeReed is so they don’t need that tuning pipe

Somebody, possibly the we know their name, came up with that idea in the late 1700s

But it’s a technique exploited in things like the Claviola https://youtu.be/g2DxPLV7YIQ

@AccordionBruce @RussSharek @Silpayamanant

That Claviola sounds really good!

I like how the tuned pipe re-enforces the fundamental pitch.

My idea was to build something like that.

But instead of a single reed for pipe flu, Put a few reeds and tune them to harmonics.

So a single large C pipe 8foot long with reeds for:
C2 65hz (fundimental), C3 130hz (second harmonic), G3 196hz (third harmonic)

Do that for all 12 tones, and come up with a neat bass drone instrument. : ]