concrete mandolin

[Steve VandeWater]

I know this is a bit bizarre, but I am a concrete finisher with a recent interest (obsession) with the mandolin. I have two "real" mandos, but wanted to see if I could build a playable acoustic one out of reinforced concrete. I finally did it over the past month.
Here is the resulting 4 string monstrosity. It's a tad heavy but holds a tune very well and plays ok, although a bit muted. I think if I build another I can do a LOT better acoustically.
I made an A style, then decided to turn it into an F with a little bent aluminum. I also opted for an oval hole because my two others have f holes. Where "Florida" is on a real mando, I decided as a joke to show my Hoosier pride and substitute Indiana instead.
Has anyone ever seen or heard of a concrete mando before? I looked online and could find nothing so maybe this is a first. Let me know what you think!

[Mark Wilson]

It's a tad heavy..Kinda cool. So how much does a concrete mandolin weigh?

[MosquitoXEL]

I can honestly say that I've never seen one before:grin:

[Randi Gormley]

I love the "indiana" touch. You could probably make a killing with a similar fretboard ending in any state -- texas, ohio, california -- what an option!

[Tobin]

That was awesome. :) I love the bridge saddle!

So what kind of reinforcing did you use? Did you make it in parts and then assemble it, or what? I'm genuinely curious how you go about building a concrete mandolin.

[Steve Sorensen]

No one will take that for granite!

[JEStanek]

It's a first. Pretty wild. I would love to hear a sound clip and know how heavy it is. I bet its still lighter than a bluegrass banjo.

Jamie

[MikeEdgerton]

I don't recall seeing another one here.

[Pete Jenner]

It might be good for rock music. ...well someone had to say it.

[MikeEdgerton]

That's heavy Pete.

[Steve VandeWater]

Haven't actually weighed it, but I'd guess it's about twice as heavy as my 2001 Michael Kelly Firefly. The extra weight's not really too noticeable with a neck strap. I will try to post a sound clip soon but first I need to find someone who could play it well. I'm still a rank beginner and am pretty bad, whatever the instrument.
I made it in pieces and glued them together. Here are a couple pics when it was in pieces, one showing the concrete x bracing. I originally was going to cut f holes, but decided on oval instead.
The neck is also too fat for my liking. Should have made it narrower.

[Steve Zawacki]

Haven't actually weighed it, but I'd guess it's about twice as heavy as my 2001 Michael Kelly Firefly. The extra weight's not really too noticeable with a neck strap. I will try to post a sound clip soon but first I need to find someone who could play it well. I'm still a rank beginner and am pretty bad, whatever the instrument.
I made it in pieces and glued them together. Here are a couple pics when it was in pieces, one showing the concrete x bracing. I originally was going to cut f holes, but decided on oval instead.
The neck is also too fat for my liking. Should have made it narrower.

Make sure the strap is darned strong. If it snaps or comes loose, that's not going to bounce easy off the toes.

FYI, the chords/lyrics to "Concrete Angel" are online...

[Jim Garber]

Very cool, Van! I don't see any x-bracing in the photos above. Just curious... why would you need any bracing for a concrete top? How thick is the top?

[Tobin]

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! :))

[Steve Zawacki]

No pick guard?

[Jim Adwell]

Very cool. What kind of concrete did you use?

[mrmando]

Great instrument for sidewalk strumming.

[billhay4]

Tres cool!
Bill

[Steve VandeWater]

Very cool, Van! I don't see any x-bracing in the photos above. Just curious... why would you need any bracing for a concrete top? How thick is the top?

Sorry I forgot to post that pic. I'll do it tomorrow when I can access those files. The top, sides, and back are all 1/8" thick, modified cement reinforced with fiberglass tape.
I was afraid the string tension would buckle the top without bracing.

[Steve VandeWater]

Kinda cool. So how much does a concrete mandolin weigh?

Just weighed it on the bathroom scale and it says 3 lbs.

[fatt-dad]

Fellow Hoosier here! Engineer too, so I've seen concrete used in all sorts of cool stuff. Love your passion!

I'd love to play it for sure!

Well done!

f-d

[kkmm]

If you don't tell, I would think the body is wood with very nice nice wood pattern.

[Steve VandeWater]

Fellow Hoosier here! Engineer too, so I've seen concrete used in all sorts of cool stuff. Love your passion!

I'd love to play it for sure!

Well done!

f-d

I got thinking of it after I sold the Virginia Tech concrete canoe racing team some stain for their boat. If a concrete canoe, why not a concrete mando?

[fatt-dad]

Fellow Hokie too!

f-d

[Jon Hall]

I would have to pick "Here Comes the Flintstones" as a first tune on that mando.

[Steve VandeWater]

Okay Jim, here are the photos of the x bracing. As I said, the top, back and sides are only 1/8 inch thick so I was being cautious

[mandroid]

Given Oregon's southern border is surveyed to be a 42 degree latitude straight line
so I guess I already have mine just past fret 20.

(No its not concrete)

[Petrus]

Love it. Awesome. If you know me, you know "the weirder the better" is one of my watch-words. This fits the bill.

[niels]

the f-style conversion, that elegant concrete bridge ... love the details :)

[Tom C]

Here is a concrete boat (barge) in Hudson river off of Nyack NY. From WW1. Experimental going up and down Hudson. Did not fair too good.
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[Jeff Richards]

Amazing!

[niels]

Fellow Hoosier here! Engineer too, so I've seen concrete used in all sorts of cool stuff. Love your passion!

I'd love to play it for sure!

Well done!

f-d
wouldn't that be a good idea, and share a recording here? I would love to hear it.

[Steve VandeWater]

I'm planning to post a sound bite soon. However, I'm so bad at playing that I have to get someone else to play it. Maybe this weekend

[Petrus]

Here is a concrete boat (barge) in Hudson river off of Nyack NY. From WW1. Experimental going up and down Hudson. Did not fair too good.

Problem with the bridge height, no doubt.

Anyway the mando doesn't have to float.

[Steve Zawacki]

Did anyone put a handprint or write their initials in the concrete before it dried?

[Steve VandeWater]

Problem with the bridge height, no doubt.

Anyway the mando doesn't have to float.

The bridge height! Nice one!

[Steve VandeWater]

Did anyone put a handprint or write their initials in the concrete before it dried?

Actually that would have been a nice touch. A palm print on the back and my initials scratched in with a nail.

[sebastiaan56]

I've just caught this thread Van, I had a geekgasm, love it, totally, to pieces etc.

[Ben Cooper]

This is just too cool for words!!

[Steve Ostrander]

[QUOTE][It might be good for rock music. ...well someone had to say it. /QUOTE]

All these puns are starting to aggregate me.

Van, I appluad your creativity, and if nothing else, you built yourself an interesting wall hanger there.

[Steve VandeWater]

Thanks everyone for the comments/compliments/puns.
I have a couple of sound clips of the concrete mando on my i-phone but can't figure out how to post them anywhere. Maybe the wrong type of file? I'm really sorry if this has been discussed elsewhere (I did a forum search but couldn't find it), but could someone tell me how to do it?
Thanks in advance.

[Pete Jenner]

IMO the best thing to do with sound clips is put them on Soundcloud and create a link here using the link button.
The best thing to do with video is to upload it to Youtube and post a link here using the 'insert video' button.
You'll work it out.

[Steve VandeWater]

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=SJA7cYK8tRY

I think I did this right. I'm not a computer guy so I may have screwed it up.
Anyway, here is the link to a YouTube video of MandoMarkinIndy playing Take Five on my concrete mando. I recorded it on an iphone and the sound is pretty muted. You may need to turn your speakers up to hear it well.
Let me know what you think. Thanks!

[robert.najlis]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJA7cYK8tRY

I think this should embed it.
Nice playing !

[Steve VandeWater]

Thank you very much for your help!

[robert.najlis]

Thank you very much for your help!

no problem. I have to say - I never even imagined the possibility of building a concrete mandolin. Very cool! Congratulations!
I am amazed at how good it sounds too! Concrete - never would have thought it...

[Marty Jacobson]

David Pye said that any good craftsman could make anything in his material. You just have to use your imagination and make it work. I think that before this thread we would have all said this was impossible, even ridiculous.

Awesome.

[Randi Gormley]

Pretty neat

[Steve VandeWater]

https://soundcloud.com/concreteconstructionmag/concrete-acoustic-mandolin

The link above is to a 40 second audio clip of another guy, Bill Pruitt from Madison, IN playing the concrete mandolin. The sound is a lot better than on the previuosly posted video.

[JEStanek]

Very cool. Who would have thought it would sound so good. I wouldn't have thought the top would move for it.

Jamie

[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 ...

118953

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 ...

118954

[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.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfJsiachQ_8

[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.

https://soundcloud.com/concreteconstructionmag/concrete-acoustic-mandolin

[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.

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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.

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[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. :cool:

[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.
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[Randi Gormley]

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