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Topic: Changer Finger Material |
Dave Seddon
From:
Leicester, England.
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Posted 28 Mar 2003 10:43 am |
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| Is there any reason why the changer fingers should be aluminium and not chrome plated brass or mild steel. I know some steels use stainless steel, so why not other materials after all they are all harder than ali, therefore would last a lot longer. Of course it will give a different tone as does stainless, is that a bad thing? The tone bar is chrome plated steel, so why not the changer fingers. |
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Jim Smith
From:
Midlothian, TX, USA
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Posted 28 Mar 2003 10:56 am
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Dekley used chrome plated steel changer fingers. Some people like the sound and some don't. I've been playing mine for over 20 years and have never received a complaint on my tone. 
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Jim Smith jimsmith94@attbi.com
-=Dekley D-12 10&12=-
-=Fessenden D-12 9&9=-
-=Emmons D-12 push pull 9&4 (soon to be 9&9)=-
Stereo Steel rig w/Boss GX-700
IVL SteelRider w/JV-880
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C Dixon
From:
Duluth, GA USA
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Posted 28 Mar 2003 2:15 pm
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The late Ron Lashley told me that he tried various materials when he finally settled on the particular type of aluminum he used. He said tests made with pro players in Nashville felt the aluminum had the best sound.
Later Don Christensen of Sierra told me that you could throw a bar of steel on a concrete floor; then throw a bar of aluminum and the aluminum had more ring to it.
carl |
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chas smith R.I.P.
From:
Encino, CA, USA
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Posted 28 Mar 2003 4:38 pm
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I have guitars with aluminum, steel and brass fingers (I used to have a guitar with pot metal fingers), I have non-pedal guitars with silicon bronze, brass, stainless steel, steel and titanium bridges and nuts. I think the best sounding metal is titanium, unfortunately it's the most unfriendly to work with. I think metals that have silicon in the alloy sound better than metals without, silicon bronze SiB, and 6061 T-6 aluminum. All of the 6000 series aluminum has Si in it and it is also the least expensive. I'm not a big fan of stainless steel, at least the inexpensive alloys, 303 and 304, in instruments. Others like inconel 625 are very interesting and pricey.
| Quote: |
| why not other materials after all they are all harder than ali |
While I think hardness plays an important role as does the modulus of elasticity, the fingers on a Professional are cast aluminum, which is not even remotely hard and those things sound pretty good to me. So there are a lot of other factors involved beyond having tool steel fingers. An important consideration in building affordable instruments on a production line is the expense and ease of use of the materials involved. Aluminum is easy to work with and relatively inexpensive.[This message was edited by chas smith on 28 March 2003 at 04:42 PM.] |
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Dave Seddon
From:
Leicester, England.
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Posted 28 Mar 2003 11:55 pm
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| Two more questions, what effect will it have if I get the ali fingers chrome plated, and why are bells made of brass and not ali? |
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chas smith R.I.P.
From:
Encino, CA, USA
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Posted 29 Mar 2003 11:23 am
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Partly because, and I'm guessing, brass, an alloy of copper and zinc and bronze, an alloy copper and tin were the first metal alloys, back in the bronze age. (In Africa, iron was used for bells). Aluminum, while being one of the most plentiful elements on earth is very difficult to process and you don't see a lot of aluminum things until the early-mid 20th century.
Off the top of my head, I think that most bells, cymbals, tams and gongs are bronze alloys. Many years ago, evidently, when the Chinese were blending the metals and elements that would go into the alloy for their gongs, they would throw in a man to give it a "soul", or at least a little carbon. |
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