The relevant papers cover more than 200 pages - too much for a single issue. Therefore we present History and Plate Tuning in the current issue, and Air & Wood Modes in the May 2001 issue. Implicit in this retrospective is a tribute to the seminal role performed by Carleen M. Hutchins, who encouraged, through her writing and teaching, so many of us to delve deeper into the intricacies of tone. It still is a work in progress, however, and accordingly these compilations are not offered as the last word on their respective subjects, but as the starting point for further research. Moreover, a more comprehensive review must cover the many relevant papers published elsewhere, by Carleen Hutchins herself (see bibliography in this issue) and by others. But that is a separate project...
Notwithstanding this lookback on past achievements and insights, the Catgut Acoustical Society remains firmly cornmitted to fostering new research and publishing new findings. Its roster of Associate Editors and Contributing Editors is living proof of that commitment. Other than the two May issues mentioned above we will continue to publish new findings that have been peer-reviewed and that further our collective insight into the acoustics of stringed instruments.
Our special thanks are due to Paul Ostergaard and Jay VandeKopple for the many hours of scanning the old documents so as to make them digitally reproducible.
Regretfully Uwe Hansen has resigned as Editor; a new search is underway.
As always, we look forward to your comments and suggestions.
J. Maurits Hudig
4 - A History of Violin Research by Carleen M. Hutchins
This "reprint" incorporates three separate articles by C.M. Hutchins in CAS Newsletters 12, 33, and 37.
11 - Musical Overtones and the Origins of Vibration Theory by Sigalia Dostrovsky (as published in CAS Newsletter #26, Nov. 1976)
13 - How Come "SUS"? by Carleen M. Hutchins (as published in CAS Newsletter #27, May 1977)
14 - Aims of the Catgut Acoustical Society by Carleen M. Hutchins (as published in CAS Newsletter #3, May 1965)
16 - Focus on Stringed Instrument Research and Development by Warren Creel, Patsy Rogers, Carleen M. Hutchins (as published in CAS Newsletter #14, Nov. 1970)
Based on the thoughts of many Society members, especially the Projects Committee (Warren Creel, Patsy Rogers, Carleen Hutchins)
19 - The Future of Violin Research by Carleen M. Hutchins (as published in CAS Journal Vol. 2, No. 1, May 1992)
31 - On Improving Violins by Lily M. Wang and Courney B. Burroughs
This article gives an account of an experimental study of violas, etc., which included the making of several interesting new ones. Out of this work came (1) a new method of securing strong low tones from small violas, and (2) the discovery that a louder and better tone can be obtained by thinning the edge of the top down to the thickness used by the Cremona makers. Several tests encourage the belief that thin edges are an important factor in the production of good tone.
35 - Fundamental Bending Vibrations in Violin Making by Carleen M. Hutchins (as published in CAS Newsletter #25, May 1976)
38 - Acoustics for the Violin Maker by Carleen M. Hutchins (as published in CAS Newsletter #28, Nov. 1977)
43 - Clarification of "Free Plate Tap Tones" by Hologram Interferometry by C.M. Hutchins, K.A. Stetson, and P.A. Taylor (as published in CAS Newsletter #16, Nov. 1971)
50 - A Note on Plate Theory and the Eigenmodes of Free Violin Plates by Carleen M. Hutchins (as published in CAS Newsletter #36, Nov. 1981)
52 - Plate Tuning for the Violin Maker by Carleen M. Hutchins (as publshed in CAS Newsletter #39, May 1983)
61 - Problems of Moisture Changes when Tuning Violin Plates by Carleen M. Hutchins (as publshed in CAS Newsletter #37, May 1982)
63 - The Effect of Variations in Relative Humidity on the Frequency of Response in Free Violin Plates by Rex Thompson (as published in CAS Newsletter #32, Nov. 1979)
65 - Tuning the Bass Bar in a Violin Plate I by George Bissinger and Carleen M. Hutchins (as published in CAS Newsletter #26, Nov. 1976)
69 - Tuning the Bass Bar in a Violin Plate II by George Bissinger and Carleen M. Hutchins (as published in CAS Newsletter #30, Nov. 1978)
74 - "Q" Measurements of Mode #2 and Mode #5 in a Number of Violin and Viola Tope and Back Plates by George Bissinger and Carleen M. Hutchins (as published in CAS Newsletter #35, May 1981)
Q measurements on 16 violin and 19 viola top and back plates in various stages of the tuning process (chiseled-out to final graduation) show for spruce top plates that Q of Mode #5 is greater than Q of Mode #5 (unless bassbar is trimmed too far) while the converse is true for maple back plates over 85% of the time. The predominant cross grain flexure of Mode #2 for spruce tops leads to parameterization of Q2 in terms of Q| (as determined from strip samples of wood). Mode #5, parameterized in terms of Q|| and Q|, also appears to be successfully treated in this way.
77 - Another Piece of the Free Plate Tap Tone Puzzle by Carleen M. Hutchins (as published in CAS Newsletter #28, Nov. 1977)
80 - Stradivarius Plate Tests by Carleen M. Hutchins (as published in CAS Newsletter #37, May 1982)
81 - Some Notes on Free Plate Tuning Frequencies for Violins, Violas and Cellos by Carleen M. Hutchins (as published in CAS Journal #47, May 1987)
84 - Retuning the Plates of a Cello by A. Thomas King (as published in CAS Journal #44, Nov. 1985)
85 - A Note for the Violin Maker in Free Plate Mode Tuning and Plate Stiffness by Carleen M. Hutchins (as published in CAS Journal Vol. 1, No. 3, May 1989)
86 - A Rationale for Bi-Tri Octave Plate Tuning by Carleen M. Hutchins (as published in CAS Journal Vol. 1, No. 8, Nov. 1991)
90 - Eigenmodes of Vibration in the Working Process of a Violin by Martin Schleske (as published in CAS Journal Vol. 3, No. 1, May 1996)
There seems to be no correlation between the tuning of the free plate eigenfrequencies and the frequency response curve of the violin. Although free plate modal frequencies change, the assembled modal frequencies remain essentially constant.
96 - Plate Margins: The Next Frontier by William Atwood (as published in CAS Journal Vol. 3, No. 2, Nov. 1996)
100 - Bibliography of Carleen M. Hutchins Books and Papers