Composite materials for musical instruments: The maturity
Charles Besnainou · The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America · 1998
Nowadays, musical instruments made of composite materials allow comparison with good instruments made by craftsmen. These instruments result from 20 years of accumulated experiments carried out in laboratories. The first substitute of wood was a composite of wood: plywood. Over 70 years with this new material, honorable results were obtained for an industrial line of products: piano, harp, guitar, double bass. However, composite materials made of fibers and resin are designed to imitate the structure of wood. So a specific knowledge is needed. The first attempts were on bows because it seemed easy; good results were obtained with fiberglass. The next step was to replace the neck of an electric guitar. However, it was a long time before acoustic elements such as a soundboard were designed. One needs first of all to develop a methodology to measure the mechanical parameters of wood: density, Young’s modulus, and damping; and to cross over the mechanical results with the subjective choices of expert craftsmen. Of course, assimilated composite techniques are required. And then to learn, as in traditional apprenticeship, how to feel the quality of an instrument. Paradoxically, in terms of sound qualities, new materials need the same knowhow used by traditional instrument makers. Maturity means that the updated composite techniques are now very simple to be assimilated by craftsmen and manufacturers too; the prices of instruments are sufficiently low and the sound qualities have reached a good level. Some instruments, namely, the violin, lute, and guitar are demonstrated.