Long-waisted bells
Partial frequencies of 24 long-waisted bells, including 12 where the partials have been identified using nodal patterns. […]
Author: Bill Hibbert
Posts by Bill Hibbert
Manipulating bell sounds
This page explains the mathematical techniques I use to manipulate bell sounds for various purposes. Sound file examples demonstrate sharpening or flattening bells, adjusting individual partials, and the effect of thin and thick bells. […]
Simpson, Van Aerschodt, Lower Beeding and Kilburn
Canon Simpson in his first paper On Bell Tones discusses the bells at Lower Beeding. His conclusions about the way continental founders tuned their bells proves not to be correct […]
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A history of Gillett and Johnston in bell sounds
This article investigates the changes in design of Gillett and Johnston bells from the 1870s to the 1950s, by looking at tierce tuning. […]
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Cyril Johnston’s tuning forks
A detailed description of Cyril Johnston’s tuning forks, including investigation of errors in their frequencies. […]
Two van Aerschodt carillons
Details of two historic van Aerschodt carillons, one at Eaton Hall, Cheshire and the other at Holy Trinity, Philadelphia, USA […]
Ewald Riepe, Naylor-Vickers and Bochumer Verein
Research published in Germany in 1972, recently drawn to my attention by Heino Strobel, shows that the technology used by Naylor Vickers to cast steel bells was invented by Bochumer Verein in Germany and licensed from them, leading to an extensive collaboration between the two companies. […]
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Partial groups in the bell sound
This paper by André Lehr is one of the two key papers investigating the modes of vibration of bells. This 1986 paper gives the practical bellfounder’s view of modes of vibration, and includes analysis of a number of bells including some specially cast for the investigation. […]
Weights, sizes and frequencies
Finding ways to relate the weight, size (generally mouth diameter) and nominal frequency of bells is useful, because it allows values to be estimated what data is not available. Some work on this was done by André Lehr, as reported in his 1986 paper. Other models have been developed and refined since by bellfounders and […]
Anomalies in the tuning of Gillett & Johnston bells
Analysis of recordings of three Gillett & Johnson carillons from the 1920s and 1930s, and comparison against the original tuning book figures from the Gillett & Johnston archive, suggests that there is a surprising variation of up to a fifth of a semitone in the frequencies of the tuning forks used to measure and tune the partial frequencies. […]
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