13 Best Home Stereo System Components

Bestselling Home Stereo System Components in 2023

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

How Do Different Alloys and Materials Influence the Sound of My Musical Instrument?

One thing I am always asked, is "how does the material and instrument is made with effect the sound?" This is a brief summary of what you should consider with instrument components.

~ In a nut shell - the softer the materials the darker or warmer your sound will be.
~ The harder the materials you have - the brighter and more responsive your sound will be.
~ The thicker (heavier) the materials are - the more energy will be transferred; more presence.
~ The thinner (lighter) the materials - the more control a musician has over dynamics; very flexible

Before I get into the nuts and bolts of instruments, let me explain that brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. The higher copper content, the more gold or rosy the material will appear. To the point where an alloy can almost look full copper. Yellow Brass is by far the most common alloy. Also referred to as cartridge brass, yellow brass is typically 70% Copper and 30% Zinc. The next material you'll find on a fairly common basis is what some factories call 'Rose Brass' or 'Gold Brass'. Some even call it 'Bronze', although the actual alloy Bronze has a third material, and so Bronze is less common. Gold or Rose Brass is generally in the area of 85% Copper and 15% Zinc. Now you get into a higher content sometimes referred to as Red Brass. Red brass is typically 90% copper and 10% zinc, although there are 95% / 5% out there too. It's not entirely uncommon for factories to sometimes use 100% pure copper on some components. You will also find nickel silver, and sterling silver.

On any brass instrument, one of the most important components that are generally offered in different alloys is the bell. (Or funnel shaped object that the sound comes out of.) Most bells are produced out of a standard yellow brass. The bell is the biggest way to alter your sound. This is what you want to think about when considering different materials with the bell. The bell acts as the 'projection' device on the instrument. By altering the density of the material, you will effect how efficient the projection is. You can alter the efficiency by softening the material. Adding a higher copper content will do both. You're getting a more dense material, and a softer material. Consider this " The density of Copper is 8.92 g/cm3, while the density of Zinc is 7.1 g/cm3. Thus copper is more dense." AND " Pure copper has a Mohs Hardness of 3. Brass however is 3.5 on the Mohs Scale of Hardness."

Now days, most manufactures have a limited offering of bell materials. (especially when looking at vintage instruments) However you can certainly find choices with large manufactures. For example, when looking at trombones a standard Conn 88H Trombone (symphonic tenor trombone) will generally have what I would consider a 'Red Brass' (high copper content bell) A Standard Bach 42BO trombone (comparable quality symphonic tenor trombone) will generally be offered in Yellow Brass. That being said, Conn will offer Yellow Brass, Sterling Silver, and they even used to offer Nickel Silver. Bach will offer Gold Brass as a common request, and Sterling Silver. The trombones I make are offered in many options including full blown copper.

So what does making the material softer or more dense actually do? Well, the softer materials like rose or red brass will generally provide a more covered sound, and will not project the sound as brilliantly as yellow brass. This is generally described as being a 'dark' or 'warm' sound. This feature is desired by many musicians now days. Commercial and Jazz musicians used to gravitate toward a brighter more resonant sound. Now days, many jazz musicians prefer a dark sound. A warmer sound is often preferred by soloists and small combo work. If you are sitting in a big band section however, especially playing lead, you may really want to cut through. So pop and section musicians generally like a brighter more brilliant sound. Again, there are many philosophies on how a musician should sound. For example some orchestral trumpet players may encourage their students to achieve a very brilliant and clear sound. While others might suggest on the contrary to strive for a more subtle rich sound that will blend with a section. You may find that the specific part you are playing may dictate that recommendation. When talking to professional musicians, I'll often encounter a situation where a musician who naturally possesses a very dark sound will want a horn that can allow them to more easily achieve a bright sound. (and visa versa) While, so musicians prefer to really highlight their natural features and push it to the extreme with their equipment.

I don't want to confuse you, but the tapers used in the construction of a brass instrument can also dictate how the horn will sound. (Bright or dark) So in some situations it's hard to compare horns (apples to apples) unless the horns really are similar in design. For example there is a lot of debate with french horn players as to what the more preferred sound might be. (And this does change based on what region of the country you live, and even who your teacher is) Certainly one of the most common and popular United States symphonic instruments of all time is the Conn 8D double horn. These horns are most commonly constructed of nickel silver. Because the tapers of that horn are so large, the horn naturally possesses a very rich dark sound. Because of this, the Nickel Silver construction (a much harder alloy then standard brass) was chosen by craftsmen to enhance how responsive and articulate the instruments is. The hardness of the nickel silver really provides superb projection. So while big and responsive has been a norm for many years, there certainly are musicians out there who prefer the sweet rich tones of a horn with smaller, more efficient tapers, and a more mellow sweet tone of a brass instruments.

There are many other components that can manipulate the sound a horn produces. Second to the bell in my opinion is going to be the leadpipe of any instrument. Past the actual mouthpiece (which is an entire topic on it's own) the leadpipe will dictate how sound will begin to transfer through the instrument. So changing the alloy hear can certainly make a significant difference to the color the horn produces.

Some companies will in fact offer other ways of manipulating the sound your instrument will produce. For example, if you were to provide a heat treatment called 'annealing', you will actually soften the brass. Done in particular areas, this can certainly have a significant effect on the sound. So, taking a bright playing brass bell, and treating it slightly in some areas can give you qualities of both a bright sound, but with some subtle warm qualities. This enters another concept to consider with all of this: Gauge

Gauge or thickness of materials used is something craftsmen certainly invest time in. Beyond the alloys used, thickness can be altered to enhance certain qualities a horn possesses. The thicker the material, the more resonant the instrument typically will be. A thicker bell for example will transfer a lot more energy through the instrument, and will generally provide the musician superb feedback, and more presence in their sound. A thinner material can be very nimble and allow a musician to experience more control over dynamics. Thinner or lighter weight instruments are typically very flexible.

Don't be confused so much by the 'finish' of a horn. While there can be subtle differences in the way a horn plays with finish, that will generally have much less of a difference as what the materials will lend. In general however it is known that the finish (i.e. Silver Plate - Gold Plate - Lacquer etc..) will have more of an effect when dealing with smaller instruments like a trumpet, or with instruments where very thin materials have been used for construction. Larger instruments like large bore trombones, bass trombones, and tubas, typically have less of an effect from the finish. Much research has been done over the years, and it's generally a consensus that because silver plated is so thin, instruments that are silver plated will react almost identically to horns that are completely raw brass. By adding the comparably much thicker coat of lacquer, it can cut down on the resonance on an incredibly fine scale, and may result in a slightly more diffuse or darker sound. Many parents assume a professional trumpet needs to be 'silver plate'. That's really hog wash. A high quality instrument is going to run a lot deeper then how it looks. As mentioned above.

I hope this all makes sense! Feel free to shoot me any questions or suggestions on things I can better clarify this article. This is my first, and I'm much more in touch with the content versus articulating it clearly in my writing! There is so much to discuss with instrument design, and it's hard to narrow down a few thoughts because so many ideas are so intertwined, however I hope this helps!