UIUC Physics 406
Acoustical Physics of Music
Student Projects/Experimental Results
Fall Semester 2000:


1. Daryl Achilles measured string tensions for various kinds of electric guitar strings.


2. Example(s) of PC-Based On-Line Data Acquisition System for Measurement of Triode Tube Parameters
     - Using National Instrument's LabWindows/CVI C-Based Software and LabPC+ DAQ Card:


3. Morris Chukhman and Nick Sears investigated Chua's Circuit - to see if it had the potential for any interesting musical applications for electric guitar sound FX, or as a stand-alone musical instrument.


3. Matt Gilson carried out some experiments in psychoacoustics - human hearing. Students in the POM class "volunteered" in Matt's experiments.


4. Dustin Lindley also carried out measurements in sound localization - human hearing. Students in the POM class also "volunteered" in Dustin's experiments.


5. Amanda Leonard and Maricela Tellez used the Triopar DAQ program to carry out measurements of triode tube parameters for various types/brands of 12AX7/7025/ECC83 tubes.


6. Paras Naik studied various "classic" sound FX by manipulating WAV files on the computer - digital signal processing.


MP3/WAV files associated with Paras' Report:



7. Andy Robb designed & built his own guitar amp using a Fender blackface Bassman AA864 circuit as the starting point
     - It sounds really good, both at low levels and really cranked!


8. Tobias Schmitter developed software for audio-visual on-line demonstration of Fourier (i.e. Harmonic) Analysis of Waves on a Guitar String, using National Instruments' LabWindows/CVI Software.


9. Stephen Treharne investigated the sustain of an electric guitar, and measured the decay time constants associated with the fundamental and the 2nd harmonic for the open strings of an electric guitar.


Excel data files and plots for measurements associated with each string:


10. Tom Withee (in the UIUC Physics 303 Advanced/Modern Physics Lab) used Morris Chukhman's & Nick Sear's Chua Circuit to Study Chaos


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