Posted by Rick Denney on August 29, 2001 at 12:37:39:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Yes, they do have an effect... posted by Chuck(G) on August 29, 2001 at 12:15:06:
I don't know for sure. I think the effects have less to do with the color of the sound and more to do with the loudness for a given input. Thinking about this effect has led me to the notion that they work by nailing down the valve body to some extent, so that vibrations in the horn's tubing are reflected back into the horn more efficiently rather than being converted to heat (as with a plastic material) or eaten up by vibrating brass.
I don't think that minimizing higher harmonics is likely to produce a sound with more core. A pure fundamental has almost no core to the sound and very little power, even when loud. Those higher harmonics are what give the sound core, not the other way around. Again, though, I don't think it's a tone color issue.
An effect reported by more sensitive players than me is that the horn seems to slot more easily. My intuition tells me that a horn with less general vibration in the brass will slot more easily, because the player only has to changed the frequency of the air vibration, which is light and easy to change. He doesn't have to also damp and then initiate a new vibration at a different frequency in the heavy brass.
If that intuition is correct, then Monsterweights work by reducing vibration and efficiently reflecting it back into the airstream rather than eating it up in the brass. For that effect, I'd prefer to keep the materials elastic, but reduce the vibration through added mass rather than through plastic absorption. But that conclusion is based more on a feeling than only any measurements, even qualitative.
And I want to emphasize that I am not claiming that the resulting sound is either better or more beautiful. I have too little experience with them to make that conclusion. It is, however, more powerful, and the different is unsubtle enough for my wife to notice it without being prompted or told beforehand which was which. She was down in the basement working on a project of hers, and made comment unbidden.
Rick "still thinking about it" Denney