cryogenics

Pollard Trumpets is the site for the Cryogenic freezing of musical instruments
Here you'll find the latest information on Cryogenic Resonance Restoration TM of musical instruments.

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Musicians have always desired an instrument that has a good pitch centre and even timbre throughout its range. An instrument with efficient response at pianissimo levels while playing loud dynamics without breaking up. An instrument where intonation problems are easily corrected and plays with a resonant and centred tone.

Before Cryogenic Resonance Restoration TM
The reason many instruments do not offer these characteristics is in part due to the stress created in the instrument during the manufacturing process. Many individual parts are forced into their final shape. Instrument tubing and tone holes are drawn to size and bells are spun, while slide crooks, braces, and keys on wood wind instruments are hydraulically formed: these parts are finally brazed and soldered together to form an instrument. As the molten braze and solder cools it draws the parts together even tighter no matter how carefully they are fitted.

Knowledge of this process makes it easy to understand why there is tension actually built into every instrument. This tension called residual stress impedes the resonance, which in turn alters the development of tone, response, and even pitch centre.

Until now only older instruments (usually over thirty - five years old) have demonstrated that age itself can relieve this stress. Examples are fine old Mt.Vernon and New York Bach trumpets as well as Kruspe and Geyer horns of the past. Even the popular Selmer MVI series saxophones are another example of an instrument entering this cycle.

A Revolutionary Solution

Today we can use a process called Cryogenic Resonance Restoration TM that not only duplicates the ageing process but also in many ways has improved it. CRR TM is a dry process where instruments are placed in a specially designed and insulated chamber that is computer controlled to hold temperatures below - 325 F. The process itself is very gentle, with changes in temperatures occurring at approximately 1 degree per minute: it will not effect lacquer or plated finishes. By cryogenically processing instruments, residual and compressive stresses from the dislocation of the metal's structure is reduced. The metal itself becomes a better resonator by making its grain spacing smaller. This allows resonance to travel more freely through the metal.

Figure one: metal lattice - atoms of alloy metals such as brass line up imperfect rows stacked densely on top of each other. When the instrument is hammered & bent into shape, the atoms can get pushed apart (stressed) or whole planes can get knocked out of alignment (dislocation), as shown left. Freezing the instrument reduces the residual stress in the metallic lattice. The metals used in musical instruments are improved by the cryogenic process through improving the homogeneity of the crystal structure, reducing gaps, and dislocations caused by this forming process.

Sound quality improves because the resonance character is not lost by dampening stress. The harmonic structure present before the process is enhanced and musicians often find a better core to their sound with a more even timbre throughout; dynamics and pitch centre, as well as the efficiency, can also be improved. What Cryogenic Resonance Restoration TM will not do is transform a poorly made or designed instrument into a good instrument, but it can make a good instrument even better.

After a repair or overhaul, many musicians notice that their instrument does not "play" quite the same. A good repair technician can cosmetically restore a damaged instrument back to its original condition but, until now, it has been impossible to restore its resonance characteristics. As long as the instrument is not severely damaged, CRR TM can help replace resonance characteristics lost by the repair process.

The Science of Cryogenic Tempering

Many years in the repair and technical side of music have allowed us to see numerous wild ideas that claim to improve instruments. We realise that initially an ad for Cryogenic Resonance Restoration TM might seem like voodoo magic but in reality cryogenic tempering is a true science used to treat and condition metals and even some modern plastics to last longer, wear better, and reduce corrosion.

All information is protected from being reproduced or copied in its entirety as provided by the Internet Copyright Act and common copyright law.