“Is this the dumbest acoustic guitar experiment ever?”: Two guitar builders fashion an acoustic entirely of concrete – but the results are surprising
Mankind has invented wheel, the light bulb, the aeroplane – but all of those inventions might have been eclipsed by this, a concrete guitar.
In an effort to generate heavier riffs than the world has ever seen, guitar builder Jukka Sollasvaara has produced an acoustic guitar made of crushed stone and concrete, and unsurprisingly, it weighs 62.8lbs (nearly 30kg).
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A step-by-step YouTube video chronicles the creation of the concrete marvel, from the formation of the concrete cast, right down to explaining the nuts and bolts of the tuners. While the idea was initially a joke, the results are quite impressive. “This build was just for fun,” he explains in the description of his YouTube video. “At least, me and my friend [GST Woods] found it funny!”
Concrete is the primary material throughout the guitar, with some crushed stones thrown in for some textural variety. Terrazzo, a yellow crushed stone, is mixed into the concrete body, while ebony crushed stone was mixed into the concrete fretboard.
To aid structural integrity, a rebar skeletal frame was placed inside of the concrete cast. The duo also used a perspex frame throughout the curing process, as well as temporarily using polystyrene as a placeholder to fill in the soundhole.
Once the behemoth had set, you can sense how hilarious the process truly is. Upon measuring the initial the neck, it was 3.5 inches thick – a revelation that had the guitar makers laughing hysterically. This issue was soon resolved with a circular saw and some sanding. The end result is a more respectable thickness of 1.57 inches.
A finger-sized hole was also drilled into the bottom of the guitar’s body to wire in a piezo pickup.
The tuners are also made from nuts and bolts, meaning a wrench is needed at all times to tune up. “Once you get the hang of it, is actually pretty easy,” Sollasvaara admits in the video. “And they keep the tune amazingly well! This tuning method exceeded all of my expectations.”
Credit: Jukka Sollasvaara
The guitar also employs a few more conventional materials, such as an oak bridge and frets. And the finished product looks pretty classy; the headstock even bares a Gibson-like open book notch design, while the crushed stone and epoxy rosette is a nice touch.
Credit: Jukka Sollasvaara
Most impressively, it sounds decent; the final minutes showcase the guitar in action. The demo serves up some delightful tones, from a soft acoustic sound and even a promising performance with distortion.
“In order to grow to a great guitar builder I need to experience things even if they seem quite self evident (concrete is not the best material for acoustic guitar),” Sollasvaara reflects in the video description.
“I have actually learned something from every build,” he continues. “I think we did pretty good job solving the problems that 100% concrete body, neck & fretboard construction might cause!”
You can check out Sollasvaara’s other creations on his YouTube channel.
Credit: Jukka Sollasvaara
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
