[Bell Historians] Re: Kettering

[Michael Wilby]

> As to the tower acoustics, etc, surely when spending such large 
sums 
> and allowance will be made for getting this aspect right? Most of 
> the work in this respect can only be done after the bells have been 
> tried out and an assessment of the conditions has been 
undertaken. 

Sadly this is not always the case. There are plenty of jobs where it 
is clear that no one has given the internal acoustics consideration 
at an early (the planning) stage, and the ringers are left with a 
huge challenge to make them right - consider the Bull Ring as just 
one example - there are plenty more. 

With a clean sheet it is usually possible to create a set of 
conditions that will lend themselves to good internal acoustics. 
This doesn't just apply to frame layouts where bells have to go on 
top - it's floor positions, flooring materials, ringing room 
decorations. Taking this to an extreme there's the Swan Tower where 
the internal tower was designed with the final acoustics very much in 
mind.

It is no accident that the acoustics at Towcester are so good - the 
positioning of the new floors and the materials used were carefully 
considered. Subsequent adjustments to balance the ring were minor, 
though it still needed doing (particularly: quietening the back 5, 
and lifting sections of flooring beneath 1-4). These adjustments 
were made early on, and the process continued while the bells bedded 
in.

Richard is dead right that the character of the ring changes over 
time - the acoustics at Towcester still need the occasional 
adjustment even now.

Michael.