The pluck, slowed down C4
play a keyLooking along the string at the plucking point, slowed down: the jack rises, its plectrum (to scale, deflection true) catches the string (●, dashed: where it rests), bends, and the string slides out along it until it slips off the tip. Beside it: the plectrum’s force on the string and the string’s height there, as the jack rises.
The scale
brassironplucking pointsinharmonicity B
Every key’s 8′ and 4′ string to scale (log length), where each row of jacks plucks it, and how stiff it is (B, right axis). The plucked fraction of the string grows from 1/20 in the bass to 1/4 at the top.
The pluck’s comb and the spectrum
live output · stems: the model’s partialsStems: each partial’s force on the bridge when the string is let go from the shape the plectrum pulled it into, ∝ sin(nπβ)/n (β = plucking point / length), one colour per row plucking; dashed: the comb’s envelope, with its notches at multiples of f₁/β. Grey: the live output.
Spectrogram
live output · ticks: each row's comb notchesEvery pluck lights the whole stack at once, and the upper partials fade first. The dark gaps that stay put are the comb's notches (ticks, one colour per row): move a row's plucking point and they move with it.