concrete mandolin

[journeybear]

From the photos, it looks like you used fiberglass mesh or some other sort of mesh as reinforcement, yes? I was hoping to see a wire mesh, possibly even some teeny-tiny post-tension cables hanging out!

I was hoping for some rebar! Though I expect it's light enough to not need it.

Be careful not to drop it. Concrete is much less elastic than wood and that fine-looking instrument will just shatter. Of course, you know that ...

[Ron McMillan]

I too think this is very cool. I'm glad there are people out there who make the effort to create instruments from materials that conventional wisdoms says are unsuited to the job. If it wasn't for that kind of pioneering spirit, Peter Mix would not have made my lovely carbon fiber A4.

[Steve VandeWater]

I have seen posts about the carbon fiber ones and heard some sound clips. They are incredible! Out of curiosity, how are they priced? I would love to have one

[Mandolincelli]

I once attempted to make a soundless practice mandolin by filling in an old tater bug with packing popcorn and duct taping the sound hole. I was going to run earplugs from the bridge, i.e. a stethoscope. Failure: it still made a lot of sound. My brother-in-law (engineer) suggested that I make a concrete or granite mandolin if I wanted to completely remove sound because those materials would not vibrate. You have proven otherwise. I'm still looking for a completely silent practice mandolin that you could plug your earbuds into and play on an airplane, bus, work cubicle, the DMV, or where ever.

[Jim Adwell]

Be careful not to drop it. Concrete is much less elastic than wood and that fine-looking instrument will just shatter. Of course, you know that ...

It's possible to make concrete that has high tensile and bending strength and high fracture resistance. Even springs have been made from concrete. I bet that concrete mandolin would survive a drop to the floor pretty well.

I am very interested in knowing the details about the concrete the OP used.

[journeybear]

It's not concrete, but alabaster, which is stone, so maybe it's relevant here ...



This is in a museum in Volterra, Italy. I don't think it's playable - it has a pretty short neck and the intonation doesn't look right. More likely a sculpture than an instrument.

So you know, there is a precedent for concrete mandolins. I don't think this one is playable, though ...

[Jim Adwell]

I once attempted to make a soundless practice mandolin by filling in an old tater bug with packing popcorn and duct taping the sound hole. I was going to run earplugs from the bridge, i.e. a stethoscope. Failure: it still made a lot of sound. My brother-in-law (engineer) suggested that I make a concrete or granite mandolin if I wanted to completely remove sound because those materials would not vibrate. You have proven otherwise. I'm still looking for a completely silent practice mandolin that you could plug your earbuds into and play on an airplane, bus, work cubicle, the DMV, or where ever.

Plug your headphones into one of these and you're almost there; just need someone to make a mandolin sized version of it.

[Jim Garber]

Pleasing sound but not a lot of sustain, but what can you expect. BTW nice playing on Take 5. I actually like the tone on the youtube video better than the other recording.

Here's the soundcloud clip embedded for convenience.

[Steve VandeWater]

Here is a much better (sound quality) video of Josh Woods of Indianapolis playing Salt Creek on the concrete mandolin. I wish I could play like this!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-bBKZ_rTp4

[Petrus]

Wow, this thread is giving me all sorts of inspiration.

Anyone familiar with the Gittler guitar? It looks like this. I asked them if they're planning on doing a mandolin version. No dice, yet.



A more advanced idea would be a holographically projected mandolin. The projector could just be something the size of an iPhone that you set on a desk and activate, and would project the shape a a given mandolin (or other instrument) into the air several feet above it, and would respond to your interaction with it. It could be silent (headphones only) or connected to an amp output. Alternately, a Google Glass app could do the same thing, though only the wearer would be able to see the instrument, which would look as if it was projected into the space in front of him. Motions of arms and fingers would be detected and turned into appropriate musical sounds.

[Steve VandeWater]

That holographic gizmo sounds pretty cool. Are you technologically gifted enough to begin developing it or just a dreamer?
As to the Gittler guitar, is it the same thing as a Chapman Stick? I saw a guy named Bob Culbertson playing one at an arts fair last year and was really blown away. I bought one of his Celtic music CD's. He has several videos on YouTube. I cannot believe you can get all that sound by simply touching the strings (no strumming).
EDIT: I looked at a video of the Gittler and it is cool although not the same thing as a Chapman Stick. It would make a neat mando!

[eastmountain]

Very imaginative. My dad had a 44 foot long ferro-cement sailboat once. It's amazing what you can do with that stuff.

[Petrus]

That holographic gizmo sounds pretty cool. Are you technologically gifted enough to begin developing it or just a dreamer?

Not even close. But I would think it would be doable. I don't think it would be as much fun as actually holding a physical instrument, though, so I'd have mixed feelings about it. I imagine one day everything will be like the holodeck on Star Trek, where you just say "computer, give me a 1915 Gibson A1" and you'd be holding it in your hands and it would play just like the real thing. But that would take a lot of the fun out of things.

EDIT: I looked at a video of the Gittler and it is cool although not the same thing as a Chapman Stick. It would make a neat mando!

Yeah, I like the looks of the thing, but I suspect it might be difficult to play. It wouldn't be that hard to make a quasi-mando version; you'd just need eight instead of six strings (in four courses); the LSR tuning machines at the tail end would work the same; just make the overall length shorter.

I think ultimately every instrument is just a variation on the diddley bow: string nailed to a stick.

[Steve VandeWater]

Concrete Mandolin: Take II
Some of you may remember this odd project from a couple of years ago. At the time, I knew next to nothing about mandolins or how they were built, etc. Building the concrete mandolin shaped object was just something that occupied my time for awhile during a long, snowy winter. Because this thing was concrete, it was very quiet and did not resonate that well nor have much sustain.
After the neck torked and the concrete had developed a few cracks, I decided to try to make it better. I made a new top for it, this time with the “hump” in the correct place for the bridge. I also made it thinner and braced the inside with wooden bracing like in a “real” mandolin. I made a bone nut and replaced the concrete bridge with a wooden one. The action was a lot lower now and it didn’t hurt my fingers to play it. The mando sounded a LOT better but still a bit thin and tinny, so I carved a Virzi, installed it, and attached a piezo pickup so I can plug it into an amp. The pickup is attached to the Virzi, and this gives the thing a much mellower and nicer sound.
Finally, I sanded off the finish and restained it to look better to me. Taking the advice of another forum member, I embraced the fact that it is concrete by putting a handprint and date into the brushed gray concrete back. I think I’ve gotten it to the point where it is as good as it’s going to get.
I’ll try to post a video later, both played acoustically and plugged in.

[Randi Gormley]

I love how it's an A model with open curlicues -- excellent job!