Structural and acoustic properties of African padouk (Pterocarpus soyauxii) wood for xylophones

Straže, Aleš (author), Mitkovski, Bogdan (author), Tippner, Jan (author), Čufar, Katarina (author), Gorišek, Željko (author)

The possibility of supplementing the subjective traditional assessment of wood quality for percussion instruments with reliable acoustic measurements was studied. Sawn boards of African padouk (Pterocarpus soyauxii Taub.) were selected in a timber yard and classified into five grades by using the dynamic combined specific modulus of elasticity. Then they were sawn into raw xylophone bars, which were afterwards traditionally graded by listening to the sound damping at flexural bending excitation and additionally by acoustic measurements. A high quality grade matching of xylophone bars and sawn boards was confirmed. Highly graded material was mostly quarter sawn with straight or moderately interlocked grain. The sound quality of raw xylophone bars was not influenced by the wood density. It negatively correlated with sound damping (tan %) and positively with the specific modulus of elasticity and with absolute and relative acoustic conversion efficiency. The audial grading of xylophone bars could be improved or substituted by relative acoustic conversion efficiency.

• Language: English
• Keywords: les, akustičnost lesa, akustične lastnosti lesa
• Work type: Not categorized
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: BF - Biotechnical Faculty
• Year: 2015
• Number of pages: Str. 235-243
• Numbering: Vol. 73, No. 2
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-83664
• UDC: 630*8
• ISSN on article: 0018-3768
• DOI: 10.1007/s00107-015-0878-0
• COBISS.SI-ID: 2347913
• Publication date in RUL: 17.08.2016

STRAŽE, Aleš, MITKOVSKI, Bogdan, TIPPNER, Jan, ČUFAR, Katarina and GORIŠEK, Željko, 2015, Structural and acoustic properties of African padouk (Pterocarpus soyauxii) wood for xylophones. European journal of wood and wood products [online]. 2015. Vol. 73, no. 2, p. 235–243. [Accessed 17 May 2025]. DOI 10.1007/s00107-015-0878-0. Retrieved from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00107-015-0878-0

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: European journal of wood and wood products
• Publisher: Springer-Verlag
• ISSN: 0018-3768
• COBISS.SI-ID: 6138375

Secondary language

• Language: English
• Keywords: wood, wooden percussion instruments, acoustic properties, wood structure