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Proceedings of the Second Vienna Talk, Sept. 19
−
21, 2010, University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, Austria
GUITAR MAKING – THE ACOUSTICIAN’S TALE
Bernard Richardson
School of Physics and Astronomy
Cardiff University
5 The Parade, Cardiff CF24 3AA, UK
RichardsonBE@cardiff.ac.uk
ABSTRACT
A long-standing research programme at Cardiff University
has established the low- and mid-frequency mechanics and
acoustics of the classical guitar. Techniques such as
holographic interferometry and finite-element analysis have
yielded considerable information about the modal
characteristics of the instrument and their relationship with
the construction and materials of the instrument.
Considerable work has also been undertaken to determine
the sound-radiation fields associated with these modes,
establishing those modes which make the greatest
contribution to the radiated energy. Studies of string
dynamics (including the interaction with the player’s
fingertip) show how readily the strings’ energy is coupled to
the body and sound field. Our measurements and models
allow a relatively small number of measured parameters to
be used to predict the sounds radiated by a guitar; these
sounds can be used for psychoacoustical tests to gauge those
modifications to the guitar’s structure which are likely to
produce perceptible differences in sound quality.
analytical solutions which can be used in “thought
experiments”. This is the approach taken here.
The most simple approximation to the mode shown in Figure 1
is obtained by modelling the lower bout as a circular plate with
a diameter roughly the width of the guitar. Further
simplifications assume that the plate is made from an isotropic
material and that it is unstrutted and of uniform thickness.
These are not entirely unreasonable assumptions: the cross struts
(“harmonic bars”) and bridge of the guitar to some extent even
out the stiffness variations found “along” and “across” the grain
of a flat board of spruce tone-wood, and these simplifications
contrive to make the maths manageable. It turns out that the
boundary conditions are important. In this first model described
here it is assumed that the plate is clamped at the edges such
that its displacement and slope at the boundary are both zero
(this is actually a good approximation for many of the modes
observed in real guitars). Solutions for the mode shapes and
mode frequencies are given in many text books. The modes of
this circular, isotropic plate share many of the characteristics of
modes in guitars.
The aim of this paper is to present the key finding of this
work in a form accessible for the practical maker and to
present simple models which can be used by makers for
effective decision making during the construction of an
instrument.
1. INTRODUCTION
The most important modes of vibration of guitars are those
which induce large volume changes in the surrounding air –
the so-called “air-pumping modes”. The most prominent of
these is the fundamental mode of the soundboard (Figure 1),
which involves uni-phase motion of the lower bout.
Although in the completed guitar this mode is complicated
by its coupling to the air cavity and the back plate, there is
much to be gained from developing simple models of this
mode and investigating the factors which control its
resonance frequency and also the ease with which it is
excited and with which it radiates sound. The following
discussions use straightforward theory (standard equations)
to give a little insight into guitar design, some of which is
intuitively obvious, some of which is not.
Figure 1: The fundamental mode of a guitar soundboard (finite
element calculation).
The fundamental mode of a clamped circular plate is shown in
Figure 2. The frequency of the mode is given by Equation 1.
Tuning the Fundamental Mode
Calculating the modes of vibration of guitars is difficult
because wood is anisotropic (i.e. it has different material
properties “along” and “across” the grain), the shape of the
instrument is mathematically complex, and the struts, bars
and bridge are difficult to incorporate into a model. Whilst
techniques such as finite element analysis allow accurate
predictions to be made of mode shapes and frequencies, it is
sometimes better to work with more simple models with
f
=
0
×
467
Æ
h
Ö
( )
E
,
(1)
01
2
2
a
r −
1
n
where
h
is the thickness of the plate,
a
its radius and r its
volume density.
E
and n are the Young’s modulus and Poisson
ratio respectively (the latter is usually about 0·3 and can be
ignored in these discussions). The subscript (01) refers to the
mode designation: zero diametrical nodal lines and one
circumferential node (in this case at the edge only).
125
VITA-1
1.1
Ä
Ô
Proceedings of the Second Vienna Talk, Sept. 19
−
21, 2010, University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, Austria
Equation 1 immediately identifies the mechanisms by which a
guitar maker can control the frequency of the fundamental
mode. The initial choice of materials determines
E
and r,
whereas overall design (the outline shape of the guitar)
determines the radius
a
. Once these are fixed, it leaves
variations in the thickness
h
as the only control mechanism for
tuning the mode. (In reality, thickness and strutting would be
used in conjunction.)
Figure 2: Fundamental mode of a plate clamped at the edge.
The boundary conditions are that the displacement and slope
of the vibrations are zero at the edge.
Assuming that there is some specific mode tuning in mind, the
four variables (
E
, r,
a
and
h
) offer considerable flexibility in
design. For example, low-density wood or a smaller bodied
instrument could be made with a thinner soundboard – and it
begs the question as to whether there are “optimum” or
preferred values for these quantities. Before considering these
design variables, it is necessary to introduce two further
equations.
Acoustic Merit of Modes
The function of the modes of the body is to act as “mediators”
between the vibrating strings (which supply energy) and the
surrounding air (in which sound waves are set up and energy is
propagated to the listener). There are lots of subtleties in the
relationships between the strings and the body and body modes
and their radiation field which will not be dealt with here, but
important aspects of the function of the body can be explored by
examining the volume of air displaced by the body per string
cycle and also the ease with which the body can be driven by
the string. The latter is summarised by determining the
effective
mass
of the body at the driving point (assumed to be the centre
of the plate in this particular case). The effective mass is
somewhat unintuitive (it can vary very substantially from the
physical mass of the plate) but in physical terms it is the
equivalent mass which a simple mass-spring system would have
to have to exhibit the same vibrational properties as the
extended mode.
Figure 3: Fundamental mode of a plate hinged at its edge.
The boundary condition is that the displacement is zero at
the edge but a finite slope is allowed. (This is equivalent to
the vibrations of a membrane.)
The volume of air displaced by a mode vibrating transversely is
given by the following integral (Equation 2).
V
0
=
Ð
area
y
( )
x
,
y
d
A
,
(2)
Talk of “tuning” modes implies that there is some preferred
resonance frequency for this (and other) modes, and, indeed,
a good deal of the scientific literature implies that mode-
tuning can be used for quality control. However, it is clear
that mode-tuning in isolation is not sufficient to determine
the “quality” of an instrument, but it is worth noting that
conventional guitar-making practice places the fundamental
within a semitone or two of a “standard” position. (This is
not the place to digress on mode frequencies because this
discussion involves the uncoupled plate. When the plate
interacts with the body cavity, two modes result both of
which exhibit motion similar to Figure 1.) In the ensuing
discussions, it would be easy to argue that allowing the
fundamental frequency to fall could be advantageous, but
significant departure from the mean can give an
uncharacteristic guitar sound. There are also some
arguments for keeping this mode frequency relatively high.
A high fundamental ensures that the higher bending modes
of the plate are well spaced throughout the playing range of
the instrument and helps reduce the effects of over-coupling
of string modes. Recent work at Cardiff [1] has, however,
identified other parameters which we consider more
important than mode frequency (such as the effective masses
of modes as discussed later).
y is the transverse displacement of the plate at a
particular coordinate and the integral is performed over the
whole surface. (The zero subscript is there to indicate that the
integral gives the monopole contribution to the radiation only.)
V
is basically the volume under the wire-frame figures shown
in Figures 1, 2 and 3. The effective mass of the plate is also
given by an integral equation.
x
,
y
M
=
Ð
y
2
( )
x
,
y
r
h
d
A
.
(3)
area
Note that this time y appears as a
squared
value. This is
significant, as will become evident. For the case of the circular
isotropic plate clamped at its edges as shown in Figure 2
2
0
=
0
×
313
p
a
and
M
=
0 ×
184
p
a
2
r
h
.
V
0
is a useful measure of the effectiveness of
the mode to radiate energy from the string to its surroundings.
For these discussions the ratio
M
V
0
will be called the
“acoustic merit” of the mode – this is not a standard term, but it
is useful to give it a name. Note that in this case the acoustic
M
126
VITA-2
1.2
where
( )
V
The ratio of
Proceedings of the Second Vienna Talk, Sept. 19
−
21, 2010, University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, Austria
1 . The acoustic merit depends
quite sensitively on the
shape
of the mode (i.e.
( )
r
The acoustic merit involved the ratio between Equations 2 and
3, both of which involve the mode shape
( )
y
x
,
y
).
y
x
,
y
. Because
y is squared in one equation and not in the other, the
acoustic merit actually depends on
( )
( )
y
Returning to Equation 1, it is clear that it is advantageous to
choose values of
E
, r,
h
and
a
which
simultaneously
tune
the mode and maximise the value
y as well as r and
h
.
This is best illustrated by a specific example.
x
,
y
1
.
We now have
some definite objectives with which to work.
r
Figures 2 and 3 show the fundamental mode of an isotropic
plate under two boundary conditions: fixed (as defined
previously) and “hinged”. The latter has a zero displacement at
the boundary but is free to have a finite slope. This system is
equivalent to the fundamental mode of a circular membrane (a
drum skin).
Discussion
It is immediately obvious why “tone wood” is characterised
by a high ratio of
E
. Spruce and cedar naturally offer
some of the highest available values of this ratio. For a
given size of instrument and a preferred tuning of the
fundamental, a high value of
E
allows
h
to be made as
small as possible thereby increasing the acoustic merit.
Correct cutting of timber is essential for maintaining a
maximum value of
E
(the fibres must be parallel to the
surface of the board and the rings exactly at right angles),
but growth conditions affect both
E
and r. The equations
suggest that if there is a choice between material with a high
Young’s modulus and high density or a low Young’s
modulus and low density (
E
being constant), the latter
would be preferable as both
h
and r could be minimised
simultaneously. (This is assuming that a major criterion of
guitar construction is to make an instrument which is
responsive and an efficient radiator – in simple terms, and
without prejudice, a “loud” instrument.) In a real guitar, the
use of strutting allows the maker to maintain the stiffness in
the plate (equivalent to
E
) whilst keeping the mass of the
plate (effectively r) to a minimum, highlighting the
acoustical advantage of using a strutted plate.
Unfortunately, the relationships between plate thickness and
strutting height are not so easy to investigate.
0 × respectively. There is an
increased volume displacement over the fixed plate – that is
very evident from the figures – but the calculations show that
the effective mass has also increased. Because of the squared
term in the equation for
M
and the nature of changes in the
mode shape, the effective mass rises faster than the volume
displacement. For equivalent geometries, the acoustical merit of
the second configuration falls by about 6%. From a cursory
glance at the wire-frame pictures in Figures 2 and 3 it would be
very easy to make the mistake that the latter figure was the more
effective radiator.
×
432
p
and
269
p
a
r
h
2. A REAL CASE STUDY
Real instruments are inevitably more complex than implied in
these discussions. In particular, the vibrations induced directly
in the soundboard by the vibrating strings in turn couple energy
to the rest of the body, which also then vibrates and radiates; the
added complication is that radiation from the different parts of
the guitar are not always in phase, which has considerable effect
on the far-field pressure response. Coupling can be via pressure
changes within the cavity (the so-called plate-Helmholtz
coupling) or via structural power flow. Sound radiation is thus a
combination of pressure changes induced by motion of the
soundboard, the back plate and also volume flow through the
sound-hole. Whilst the soundboard is undoubtedly the most
important sound-radiating element, radiation from the back and
air cavity can be very substantial at times (at may even
dominate at some frequencies).
It is often suggested that large plates (large-bodied
instruments) produce louder instruments, but the analysis
here implies the contrary (though there must be some
practical limits to how “small” the plate might be made).
Note that the acoustic merit does not depend on the radius,
but if
a
is reduced,
h
must also be reduced to maintain the
same mode frequency. This is turn increases the acoustic
merit. So why not make smaller instrument? Well, many
makers do! However, note that in Equation 1
a
is squared.
Thus, a 10% reduction in
a
requires a 20% reduction in
h
–
and the soundboard could soon get uncomfortably thin and
mechanically unviable! This is particularly true of a strutted
plate. Also, if the maker departs a long way from
“conventional size”, for the same string length, the bridge
position would move to a less active part of the soundboard.
However, it is interesting to see a convincing argument
against increasing the size of the instrument.
At Cardiff, we have set up systems to measure various
“acoustical parameters”, some of which correspond to the
volume displacements and effective masses discussed earlier.
By way of an example, in Figure 4 we show some comparative
measurements of the equivalent mode in three guitars of quite
different construction. The mode shown is the most dominant
of all body modes – one often referred to as the “main body
resonance”. This title is somewhat of a misnomer because the
mode involves significant coupling of the air cavity of the body
and also involves anti-phase motion of the back plate. (We
define the phase of the motion of the soundboard and back plate
relative to the centre of the body. Hence “in-phase” motion
implies that the soundboard and back plate both expand
outwards from the cavity inducing strong volume change. “Out-
of-phase” motion implies that the two plates move in the same
linear direction; the net volume change is then less.)
Subtleties – Mode Shape
The geometry of the plate, its boundary conditions and its
elastic properties uniquely define the mode shapes. In a real
guitar soundboard there is considerable choice of shape and
strutting patterns and considerable variability in material
properties – hence there are variations in mode shapes from
one instrument to another. The positions of nodal lines
relative to the bridge have a major influence on the
acoustical function of the body, but even subtle changes in
shapes of modes which have antinodes near the bridge, such
as the fundamental, can have an impact on the workings of
the instrument.
The interferograms shown in Figure 4 show each instrument
driven at an arbitrary amplitude, but a measure of how easy each
mode is to drive (from the string) can be determined from the
effective mass measurements quoted below. By contrast, the
127
VITA-3
merit is proportional to
x
,
1.3
It is interesting to determine
V
and
M
for this second
configuration. For the “hinged plate” these turn out to be
2
0
2
1.4
Proceedings of the Second Vienna Talk, Sept. 19
−
21, 2010, University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, Austria
m
=
100
g
m
=
191
g
m
=
182
g
0
=
214
Hz
f
0
=
172
Hz
0
=
248
Hz
G
=
24
×
3
×
10
−
3
m
−
2
G
=
3
×
6
×
10
−
3
m
−
2
G
=
51
×
7
×
10
−
3
m
−
2
00
00
00
(a) Ambridge SA121
(b) Romanillos JLR677
(c) Fischer PF952
Figure 4: Comparative measurements of modes and radiation fields for three guitars of different construction (makers Simon
Ambridge, José Romanillos and Paul Fischer).
sound radiation plots use the same scaling. The latter show
an equal pressure surface in space. It’s clear in each case
that the sound radiation is largely monopole, though the
techniques used also extract the higher-order-pole radiation
which is responsible for the directivity, which is especially
observed at progressively higher frequencies.
of-phase radiation from the back tends to reduce the monopole
contribution. Further details of these instruments and the other
acoustical parameters are given by Richardson
et. al
[2].
3. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author is grateful for the loan of instruments from players
John Taylor and John Mills and from maker Simon Ambridge.
Some of the work described here is collaborative work with Dr
Toby Hill and Dr Stephen Richardson, both formerly of Cardiff
University. The work on acoustical parameter characterisation
was funded by a generous grant from the Leverhulme Trust.
G
) to the effective mass. An
interesting comparison can be made between the Ambridge
and Fischer instruments. The former is a “traditional”
Torres-style fan-braced instrument, whereas the latter
employs a “lattice bracing” system with some clear
unconventional design. The increased stiffness of the
soundboard towards the periphery of the edge of the plate in
this lattice-braced guitar shows the sort of “mode
confinement” evident in Figure 2 compared with Figure 3.
(The confinement is even more evident in higher-order
modes.) The acoustic merit of this instrument is a little
higher than the traditionally-braced instrument. The
Romanillos instrument shows a much lower value of
acoustic merit (for this mode), but this is because of over-
coupling between the soundboard and back plate. The out-
4. REFERENCES
[1]
Hill, T.J.W., Richardson, B.E. and Richardson, S.J,
“Acoustical parameters for the characterisation of the
classical guitar,” Acta Acustica united with Acustica 90(1),
pp. 335-348, 2004.
[2]
Richardson, B.E., Hill, T.J.W. and Richardson, S.J., “Input
admittance and sound field measurements of ten classical
guitars,” Proc. Inst. Acoust. 24(2), 2002.
128
VITA-4
f
f
The acoustic merit in this case is given by the ratio of the
monopole radiativity (
00
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