CIPI researcher Hans-Peter Loock, from Queen's University, has teamed up with
PARTEQ Innovations, QPS Photronics and. Dagmar Guitars, to develop a ...
A photonic guitar for photonic sounds When recording the sound of musical instruments, musicians face a limited number of choices. For acoustic instruments, professional and serious amateur musicians prefer using a microphone over a pick-up. When ambient noise levels are high or acoustic feedback is a concern, they will frequently resort to piezoelectric pickups. These transducers capture mechanical vibrations and convert them to an electrical signal, which can be amplified and recorded. For “electrical” instruments (mostly electrical guitars) the motion of the strings is recorded using magnetic induction. Both technologies have their drawbacks such as distortion of sound, and sensitivity to interferences from electrical circuitry (the “60 Hz hum”). CIPI researcher Hans-Peter Loock, from Queen’s University, has teamed up with PARTEQ Innovations, QPS Photronics and Dagmar Guitars, to develop a compact photonic guitar pick-up that will rival existing piezoelectric pick-ups in quality of sound and robustness and will surpass them in terms of versatility of tone. They are working on two custom instruments for demonstration purposes that are equipped with their innovative photonic pick-up technology; one is an electric guitar (or bass guitar) and the other is an acoustic instrument, such as a violin or acoustic guitar. What photonic pick-ups can do Prof. Loock’s work has been published in Applied Optics
Their new technology developed using a CIPI TEN grant is based on fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs), i.e. very small and light fiber optic devices that are vibration sensitive and have been used for many years in structural health monitoring and as acoustic transducers. FBGs have the potential to displace piezoelectric pickups on musical instruments, for a number of reasons such as their weight and size (see box).
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They may be distributed over the entire body of the instrument for high control over the recorded sound; They are light and therefore do not alter the vibrations of the resonating body of the instrument; They are small and may be attached to (or embedded into) the body of many types of instruments from grand pianos to drum shells; Being all-optical devices, FBGs are not susceptible to electromagnetic interferences; Existing instruments are readily retro-fitted with photonic pick-ups, giving the musician the capability to enhance the sound of even vintage instruments; Preliminary recordings show that even the sound of purely “electric” instruments is enhanced by mixing the sound of a photonic pick-up into the recording. For electrical string instruments the choice of strings is no longer limited to ferroelectric materials.
By the end of the funding term, Prof. Loock and collaborators plan the establishment of a new startup company that will commercialize the technology. This new Canadian company will complete the design and development of specialized guitars utilizing this technology. As a
second option, they will explore licensing this innovative technology to existing musical instrument manufacturers. The photonic guitar pickups will represent a paradigm shift in instrument recording technology. For the first time, luthiers and discriminating musicians will be able to capture the true sound of their instrument originating from the different resonant regions of a guitar’s body, and reproduce the true sound of the wood. More info? Nathalie Kinnard Communications Coordinator
[email protected]
