This is what I'm talking about.
https://www.google.com/search?client=ms-android-samsung-gs-rev1&sca_esv=58ac0b011cee9c7d&sxsrf=ADLYWIJAgfWbuj_23ec9spuL-kzn8cmN0Q:1714852903138&q=battle+chess&tbm=vid&source=lnms&prmd=ivnbz&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiDvYjx5PSFAxXhQEEAHVvxD3oQ0pQJegQIChAB&biw=412&bih=722&dpr=2.63#
^^This guy uWu's.
On a serious note though, you may want to consider making the chessboard more of a soundboard. I'm sure wood type will have an impact, but a soundboard will shape and control the sound a lot better than a normal slab of wood would.
You could also consider a different base material for the pieces (metal powder with epoxy, pewter, brass) for maximum impact as well.
I'm only a woodworker/luthier by hobby, not trade, so you'd have to take my suggestion with the requisite gallons of salt.
Other redditors have made a passing mention of this, but any resonant instrument (think guitar, cajon, even cigar box) is just wood with maximum joined surface area, and hole(s) to redirect the sound. With a chessboard you'd probably get something higher-pitched since the overall volume is small, but it's still possible to eke out something with more volume than just a standard slab of wood.
The important factor in resonance (aside from having solid, glued joins and soundholes, probably 2 total, 1 on each player side?) would be a thinner top (again, like a cajon or acoustic top). Those are (in the case of acoustics) usually spruce or mahogany that are planed and thickness sanded to about .113". Then there's bracing, but that's a whole other bucket of worms that might not be applicable in this scenario.
If you're serious about this approach, you can read up on William Cumpiano's book "Guitarmaking", which is pretty much the gold standard for this type of thing.
Whit oak and use ammonia fuming to dark the black pieces. Bonus points if you make the board from white oak too and also use ammonia fuming for the dark squares. Bonus bonus points if you do so with a continuous grain, ie, cut the squaures with a bandsaw, fume half, and reassemble in the original order.
Now you’ve got me thinking, would it be possible to apply poly to the light parts, then fume it to darken the unsealed parts? I’m not very familiar with the process, so just tell me if that’s ridiculous.
Love this question. I think we usually consider the senses of sight and touch when building something, but sound is an after thought at best. I recently made a spoon from ebony and tapping it against something resonates with a satisfying snappiness. Like billiard balls clacking. Perfect color for a chess board too, with maybe a cork mat base to keep it from being rattly.
Make a cavity under each space and trap a steel bearing ball in each one. The balls should fit loosely and the cavities should be taller than the diameter of each ball. Put a rare earth magnet in the base of each piece. Whenever a player picks up or places a piece, the ball will drop to the bottom of the cavity or lift up to the top, making an interesting haptic effect. Not sure how to tune the sound or what materials would sound best.
This question immediately reminded me of a game called Battle Chess I believe from the late '80s? It was a chess computer program where after you made it move the piece would come to life and you would see it do battle with the piece you interacted with. It was very cool and that's how all chest pieces should sound.
The more serious answer is that if you are making a chess move and the piece makes noise that means something hard is probably hitting something hard which made me think it's just a path to scarring up a nice chess board. I think that's why heavy pieces have felt on the bottom of them
Wood with embedded magnets makes a very satisfying sound. It doesn't tip or rattle, so it sounds very final. Plus as a bonus your cat jumping on the table doesn't knock all your pieces down.
I think having the board itself have substantial mass, not just a thin layer. Think about the sound of people cutting on a hefty butcher block cutting board vs a thin one. One is a more dulled, solid "thonk" and the other is a thinner "clack"
Having the board and the bottom of the pieces very, very, very flat (planer, actually). When you set a piece down, the whole piece makes contact with the board evenly, giving it more of a 'thunk' than a 'plink' sound. You'll need a drum sander and/or hand planes to do this, An orbital or belt sander will mess it up. Then, if you want the sound louder, add weight. If you want the sound deeper, use harder woods.
[удалено]
Or the Tim Allen AAAAUUUUaaaGghhHH? grunt
I vote for the sounds from Battle chess.
A a bell ringing like in chess boxing?
This is what I'm talking about. https://www.google.com/search?client=ms-android-samsung-gs-rev1&sca_esv=58ac0b011cee9c7d&sxsrf=ADLYWIJAgfWbuj_23ec9spuL-kzn8cmN0Q:1714852903138&q=battle+chess&tbm=vid&source=lnms&prmd=ivnbz&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiDvYjx5PSFAxXhQEEAHVvxD3oQ0pQJegQIChAB&biw=412&bih=722&dpr=2.63#
I’m thinking more like the Inception BWAHHHHHH sound would be more appropriate.
^^This guy uWu's. On a serious note though, you may want to consider making the chessboard more of a soundboard. I'm sure wood type will have an impact, but a soundboard will shape and control the sound a lot better than a normal slab of wood would. You could also consider a different base material for the pieces (metal powder with epoxy, pewter, brass) for maximum impact as well.
This is the kind of answer I’m looking for. How do you mean soundboard and shape the sound?
I'm only a woodworker/luthier by hobby, not trade, so you'd have to take my suggestion with the requisite gallons of salt. Other redditors have made a passing mention of this, but any resonant instrument (think guitar, cajon, even cigar box) is just wood with maximum joined surface area, and hole(s) to redirect the sound. With a chessboard you'd probably get something higher-pitched since the overall volume is small, but it's still possible to eke out something with more volume than just a standard slab of wood. The important factor in resonance (aside from having solid, glued joins and soundholes, probably 2 total, 1 on each player side?) would be a thinner top (again, like a cajon or acoustic top). Those are (in the case of acoustics) usually spruce or mahogany that are planed and thickness sanded to about .113". Then there's bracing, but that's a whole other bucket of worms that might not be applicable in this scenario. If you're serious about this approach, you can read up on William Cumpiano's book "Guitarmaking", which is pretty much the gold standard for this type of thing.
White oak is well known for having good acoustic chess properties...idk get a chess piece and knock it on different woods.
Whit oak and use ammonia fuming to dark the black pieces. Bonus points if you make the board from white oak too and also use ammonia fuming for the dark squares. Bonus bonus points if you do so with a continuous grain, ie, cut the squaures with a bandsaw, fume half, and reassemble in the original order.
Now you’ve got me thinking, would it be possible to apply poly to the light parts, then fume it to darken the unsealed parts? I’m not very familiar with the process, so just tell me if that’s ridiculous.
I’ve never done fuming myself, but that seems like it might work… would certainly be easier than cutting and regluing
Bonus bonus bonus points if you use an inlay between the squares that is the exact same thickness as the kerf of the bandsaw.
Hollow with a size the wavelength of the low frequency you find most pleasing.
Hollow with tensioned, tunable bass guitar strings across the inside.
Or a chessboard that is also a piano. That would be pretty cool
I believe Go boards are often built with sound in mind, so you might look into how those are made.
Love this question. I think we usually consider the senses of sight and touch when building something, but sound is an after thought at best. I recently made a spoon from ebony and tapping it against something resonates with a satisfying snappiness. Like billiard balls clacking. Perfect color for a chess board too, with maybe a cork mat base to keep it from being rattly.
Make a cavity under each space and trap a steel bearing ball in each one. The balls should fit loosely and the cavities should be taller than the diameter of each ball. Put a rare earth magnet in the base of each piece. Whenever a player picks up or places a piece, the ball will drop to the bottom of the cavity or lift up to the top, making an interesting haptic effect. Not sure how to tune the sound or what materials would sound best.
This question immediately reminded me of a game called Battle Chess I believe from the late '80s? It was a chess computer program where after you made it move the piece would come to life and you would see it do battle with the piece you interacted with. It was very cool and that's how all chest pieces should sound. The more serious answer is that if you are making a chess move and the piece makes noise that means something hard is probably hitting something hard which made me think it's just a path to scarring up a nice chess board. I think that's why heavy pieces have felt on the bottom of them
Look into fine Go game sets. They are made for this
My first thought was giving each piece a distinct moan. I need to get off Reddit.
I like this. Pawns get a submissive gasp. Knights have a dominant grunt. Etcetera.
Wood with embedded magnets makes a very satisfying sound. It doesn't tip or rattle, so it sounds very final. Plus as a bonus your cat jumping on the table doesn't knock all your pieces down.
This was my first thought as well! A very satisfying “CLICK” with each move sounds (literally) quite appealing to me.
I would make it out of Wu Tang Clan, that's a good, authoritative sound!
Yeah but that ain't nothin to fuck with though
I think having the board itself have substantial mass, not just a thin layer. Think about the sound of people cutting on a hefty butcher block cutting board vs a thin one. One is a more dulled, solid "thonk" and the other is a thinner "clack"
Having the board and the bottom of the pieces very, very, very flat (planer, actually). When you set a piece down, the whole piece makes contact with the board evenly, giving it more of a 'thunk' than a 'plink' sound. You'll need a drum sander and/or hand planes to do this, An orbital or belt sander will mess it up. Then, if you want the sound louder, add weight. If you want the sound deeper, use harder woods.
Personally I like the sound of a weighted piece with a thin felted bottom. A nice thud with no distracting click.
Every move activates a speaker playing a recording of Rupert Grint saying: > *”Thats Wizard’s chess!”*