I am aware of many historic and on-going citations of this type. And you are right, it does add to the confusion. But times change and as we learn more about just how the soundboard works I believe it is important that out language keep pace with the concepts. The soundboard does not amplify anything. To again quote Fletcher & Rossing, "Acoustically, the soundboard is the main radiating member in the instrument, transforming some of the mechanical energy of the strings and bridges into acoustical energy." The soundboard system transforms energy one form of energy (the mechanical energy of the strings) into another (the acoustical energy in the surrounding air). That fulfills the definition of a transducer. ddf _____ From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Joe Wiencek Sent: May 17, 2009 7:06 PM To: caut at ptg.org Subject: [CAUT] Semantics The whole point of this was not to explain everything about soundboards or anything else, but to once again try to make the point that a soundboard isn't an amplifier. I hate to kick a dead horse, but I have found in past Journals, citations of some of the origins of confusion, i.e., in the August 1982 Journal, an article by Priscilla and Joel Rappaport, pp. 22-23, mentions, "The bridge, which is made of hardwood (maple or beech) transmits this energy to the soundboard. The soundboard, made of spruce and being under tension, is receptive to this energy, and services as an amplifier to the sound." -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/caut.php/attachments/20090518/41c2e5f1/attachment.htm>
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