'Rock Guitar': optimising concrete properties for the manufacture of a concrete guitar

There is potential for cement-based materials to be used in making high-value customised musical instruments. This paper considers the properties (modulus, density, strength, and damping ratio) that a cement-based material requires to replicate traditional materials currently used in instrument production. Results are presented which demonstrate sound interaction with cementitious materials. A selection of mixes incorporating PVA, Lytag lightweight aggregate and normal sand mix with PVA were produced and tested with an impact hammer using the roving hammer technique and modal analysis in order to obtain the natural frequencies and damping ratio of the specimens. Lytag based mortars with PVA was determined as the optimum mix from the tests which was subsequently used to cast a workable full-size solid-bodied electric guitar, due to its lower elastic modulus and lower density compared to the normal compared mix, and its damping ratio in the region of wood (pine).