Old-style trebles (was Nominal or Hum)

[Bill Hibbert]

Me:
> ... [in] small old-style bells ... the various pitches compete and 
sound discordant

DJB:
> Is the problem exacerbated by the thickness of the bell?

In another part of my PhD thesis, I look at the partial frequencies 
and weights of about 2,000 bells: 15 countries, 100+ founders, 7+ 
centuries, 19kg to 65 tonnes, i.e. a reasonable sample. I found no 
significant correlation between hum tuning and weight, so that in 
general old-style bells are not proportionally lighter or heavier 
than true-harmonic bells. I didn't look specifically at thickness as 
the data is not (easily) available.

However, picking up on the inference behind your comment; the 
deficient sound of old-style trebles is caused mostly by sharp hums 
and also by flat primes. These things matter much more in small 
bells than big ones for the reasons hinted at in my previous post.

Cheers,

Bill H