EUROPEAN MOUNTAIN ASH AS A POSSIBLE SUBSTITUTE FOR HONDURAN ROSEWOOD IN THE PRODUCTION OF XYLOPHONES

Abstract

The sound quality of a xylophone depends on the material it is made of. The xylophone produces sound through the vibration of the wooden bars. The bars are usually made of rosewood or padauk due to their properties, resonance, and durability. However, the Honduran rosewood is a protected wood species, so it is necessary to look for other suitable wood species. Based on the investigation of the physical and acoustical characteristics of the various wood species, it appears that the European mountain ash (also known as rowan) may be a suitable substitute for the Honduran rosewood. Unlike the Honduran rosewood, the European ash is not listed in the CITES appendices or on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The effect
of modification of the European mountain ash on the physical and acoustical characteristics (PACHs) and sound quality was investigated. The wood samples were modified in two ways: mechanical densification and a combination of mechanical densification and thermal modification. The PACHs (density of wood ρ w, modulus of elasticity along the wood grain EL
, acoustical constant A, loss coefficient η, specific modulus of elasticity E
sp, acoustic conversion efficiency ACE, speed of sound along the wood grain cL ) were measured before and after modification. These PACHs were compared with the characteristics of the Honduran rosewood. The sound
quality of the xylophone bars produced before and after modification was also determined. Following the experiment results it can be stated that the wood of the European mountain ash, after combination mechanical densification and thermal modification, can be used as an alternative to the Honduran rosewood for the xylophones of lower quality.