Tonal Control & Character The tonal balance of an instrument (in a given price range) is usually the primary attraction for a musician. There are other, mostly subliminal likes and dislikes that play a factor, such as color and size, but tone is the main purchasing factor actively involved. “Tone” is the result of the combining of a fundamental frequency with many overtones. Each overtone having a different strength, with the relative strength of the fundamental to the overtones, and the strengths of each overtone relative to every other overtone determining the tonal balance of that instrument. Some instruments have a pleasing tone, while others have a more harsh and/or uneven sound. Country of origin also plays a factor in an instrument’s sonic “flavor”. One country may routinely produce dark sounding instruments, while another may produce instruments with prominent midrange characteristics. An instrument’s tonal flavor can be characterized by where the emphasis is, and/or by where there is a lack of emphasis. For example, British basses often have a softness in the upper harmonics, which result in a darker tonal color. Other basses such as the American Prescott are noted for a similar lack of higher frequency energy. These basses are also usually known for their wonderfully rich and fully developed bass tones. In this case, the tonal energy of the lower string fundamentals is emphasized creating a bass “focal point” in the instrument’s tonality. In the same way, French bass tonality is often characterized by a midrange focal point. Some Italian basses have a tonal character with not just one, but two focal points. There is a focus at or near the fundamental of a note and a second focus around a point in the upper harmonics of the tone. This creates a wonderfully rich and complex tonal character—a tonal character with “character.” Many musicians are content with the sound of their instruments, and many are not. Traditional methods of tonal modification include adjusting the sound post and the use of different strings. These and other methods such as replacing parts or refinishing the instrument have varying degrees of inherent finality in the process, and have a limited tonal pallet to boot. Strings are easy to change if you have the time, and a sound post is easy to adjust if you have the knack. Most other modifications have much higher degrees of finality associated with them, and require expert craftsman who, as luck would have it, usually live in another city. If you like the result of the tonal modification, life is good. If you don’t like the change, you may be stuck with it permanently. The Harmonic SoundBoard brings extensive control of an instrument’s tonality to the musician, and the changes are easily reversible. It can be used to emphasize any area of an instrument’s tone, including the creation or enhancement of single or dual focal points. In this way, for instance, a British bass can be made to sound like an Italian bass. This is a case of adding what is not normally there tonally, to create a different tonality for that instrument. This would also be the case when modifying the sound of an inexpensive instrument, imparting an evenness of tone that was formerly lacking. In the case of a good sounding instrument, building on the strengths of that instrument, instead of creating a whole new personality, is an easy task for the Harmonic SoundBoard. (It will usually also be sonically preferable.) The Harmonic SoundBoard can also play a dual role by creating a new tonal aspect while at the same time enhancing an established strength. For instance, it can add a sense of fullness to the lowest octave of a solo bass while preserving and even enhancing the projection and emphasis of the higher overtones. The size of focal points and even the spacing of dual focal points are also areas where the Harmonic SoundBoard brings tonal control to the musician. The process of tonal modification (tone balancing) with the Harmonic SoundBoard is one of guided trial-and-error between the inventor (Mike VansEvers) or one of his representatives, and the musician. The musician and instrument are set up with the HSB in place, and adjustments to the resonators are made after multiple short listening-trials. As the various resonators are tightened or loosened, the likes and dislikes of the musician become known and a preferred tonal direction becomes apparent. Initial tonal improvements are often made within the first hour. Thereafter, additional resonator adjustments are made to explore this tonal preference in different directions in order to understand the possible tonal boundaries. These additional adjustments may include the re-adjustment of the resonators already on the HSB, resonator substitutions, or as usual, a combination of the two. When faced with the broad spectrum of tonal colors available, many musicians have a difficult time deciding which tonality they prefer. In addition, it is usual for a musician to at first state that they would like the tonality to go in a particular direction. It is also common for the musician to find that this initial direction wasn’t really the one that ultimately gave them the most pleasure. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect to spend several multi-hour sessions with the inventor in order to find one (and usually more) special tonal enhancement setting(s).

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