User talk:Marcus de Mowbray

I have not posted on Wiki before and apologise if this is in the wrong place as I cannot figure out any aspect of how to contribute, it really is a complex site!

This is an interesting article on timpani giving a good account of their history, design and use. I wonder if it would be possible or desirable to add an section about "open shell" timpani such as Adolphe Sax's "Timbales Chromatiques" and my development of these to create "Tour Timps", which have steel shells of similar proportion, but also incorporate pedal tuning and tuning gauges.

Sadly my Tour Timps are currently out of production as the company who spun the shells managed to break our expensive production die, but up till then we did sell about 1,000 worldwide.

Aldophe Sax considered that the open cylindrical shell design produces a richer tone, and research with my Tour Timps shows greater sustain and a fundamental tone one octave below the principal tone, which is normally absent on conventional "enclosed" timpani. 19th Century experiments with "suspended bowls" were an attempt to produce a fuller sound, but in fact the missing fundamental cannot be strongly created in an enclosed kettle even if there is a hole in the bottom. An open shell seems to achieve what these experiments were aimed at.

Of course, is is up to the individual as to which they prefer, however the fundamental tone can easily be eliminated from open cylindrical shell timpani by pressing a finger or felt pad on the centre of the head.

My Tour Timps were specifically designed to be a portable and lower cost alternative to conventional timpani, perhaps comparable to an upright piano compared to a concert grand piano.