<title>Axe work II: vibro-acoustical study of solid-body electric guitars</title>

Abstract

Electric guitars have received far less attention than acoustical/classical ones from research teams, mainly for the reason that they are essentially considered as mere electro-mechanical transducers and little attention has been paid to their vibrational behavior. However, every guitarist knows from his/her experience how important are typical vibrational parameters such as resonances, damping, construction materials but usually lack the technical knowledge to express it in scientific terms. Also lute-makers usually work only by experience and tacit knowledge and even big companies do not use scientific research to improve their instruments. Following a research line devoted to modem music instruments, in this article we will present some experimental results derived from a series of measurement sessions on two electric guitars, aimed at identifying typical resonance frequencies, modal shapes, and sound characteristics. Experimental set ups have been implemented trying to simulate as much as possible real life situations, in particular excitation has been obtained mainly by acoustical sources and a mechanical device resembling a plastic plectrum. Moreover, in order to better correlate vibrational results with musical properties of electric guitars and traditional making experience, examined guitars have been played in an anechoic chamber and acoustical signals acquired.