Testing the Magic Booster blade: why every one is checked

Why every blade is tested

Wood is a living material. Two pieces cut from the same board do not have exactly the same density or the same grain, and those differences show in the way the blade enters into vibration.

What is listened for

The evenness of the response and the absence of parasitic resonance. A blade with a pronounced mode colours the sound over a narrow band, and that colouration is heard immediately on a voice.

The role of the grain

It orients the stiffness of the piece. A blade does not behave the same way depending on whether the grain runs along its length or across it, and the orientation is decided at cutting rather than at assembly.

The surface state

Sanding to grain three thousand and then sealing closes the wood. That step is not decorative: it stabilises the piece against moisture and fixes the surface state that goes with the vibration.

What a test does not replace

Listening in a real space. A blade validated in the workshop behaves as expected, and the final result also depends on the room, the placement and the level, which cannot be tested on a bench.

What that implies in manufacturing

Sorting. Not every piece is suitable, and setting aside those that do not respond correctly is part of the production cost of a product resting on a natural material.

The principle is developed on the Magic Speaker page, and ceiling sound on the dedicated page.