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Evolution of the vibrational behavior of a guitat sounboard along successive

construction phases by means of the modal analysis technique

Article  in  The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America · August 2000

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Evolution of the vibrational behavior of a guitar soundboard
along successive construction phases by means of the modal
analysis technique
M. J. Elejabarrietaa)
Departamento de Fı́sica Aplicada II, Universidad del Paı́s Vasco, Apdo. 644-48080 Bilbao, Spain
A. Ezcurra
Departamento de Fı́sica, Universidad Pública de Navarra, 31006 Pamplona, Spain

C. Santamarı́a
Departamento de Fı́sica Aplicada II, Universidad del Paı́s Vasco, Apdo. 644-48080 Bilbao, Spain

共Received 15 November 1999; accepted for publication 20 March 2000兲

The crucial piece of a craft guitar is the soundboard since it determines the quality of the sound
given by the instrument. From the initial phase 共the gross plate with no hole兲 until the last
construction phase 共the plate with the full structure兲 several stages are followed to modify the
dynamic behavior of the structure and hence the acoustic response of the final guitar. The aim of this
work is to analyze the effect of each modification on the vibrational response of the plate. With this
in mind, an experimental modal analysis of all the construction phases has been performed in the
low frequency range under free conditions. The response of the plate in each stage is defined by
vibration patterns, resonance frequencies, quality factors, and admittance curves. © 2000
Acoustical Society of America. 关S0001-4966共00兲00307-6兴
PACS numbers: 43.75.Gh 关WJS兴

INTRODUCTION the construction of the soundboard, which is the element of

String instruments have attracted the interest of re-
searchers for centuries and much work has been dedicated to
the study of different aspects of these acoustic systems from
the selection of materials to the radiation of the sound. One
of the main difficulties in studying the performance of these
instruments derives from the fact that they are the result of a
craft industry which is quite often not very systematic and
fixed. It is well known that small changes in the craft manu-
facture may cause big changes in the resulting instrument,1
which gives endless trouble to researchers. Hence, the im-
portance of a good knowledge of the contribution of each
modification to the final vibrational behavior of the instru-
ment.
Several experimental and computational techniques have
been applied in this field, to study the mechanical vibrational
properties. Among these techniques, modal analysis provides
quantitative results that can be compared with those obtained
by other procedures, such as finite element methods. The aim
of the present work is to investigate in depth the dynamic
behavior of the guitar soundboard under free conditions. It
should be pointed out that several qualitative studies
have been carried out, using holographic techniques, for
example,2,3 but not quantitative results are found for guitar
plates under free conditions.
This study is part of a more extensive work involving
the whole resonance box and box-fluid coupling. Further-
more, we try to determine the outcome, from a physical point
of view, of all the different stages followed by the luthier in
a兲
Present address: Departamento de Mecánica, Mondragon Unibertsitatea,
20500 Mondragon, Guipuzcoa, Spain.
the guitar that to a large extent determines its musical-
acoustic quality. Therefore, it is of great interest to under-
stand how the construction process influences the dynamic
behavior of the guitar. Although the soundboard does not
work freely when it is part of a guitar, it is made separately
by the luthier and it was interesting to know the influence of
every step of the whole manufacturing process on the even-
tual guitar. For this reason we have tried to follow the real
process that takes place when a guitar is being made.
I. CONSTRUCTION PHASES OF THE SOUNDBOARD
The construction of the soundboard of a high quality
classical guitar consists of several stages. First, the choice of
the wood is very important for the acoustic quality of the
instrument. After a previous dynamic study of the materials
most commonly used for plates,4 we decided to employ ce-
dar, and our luthier chose a good piece of Canadian Cedar.
This species is characterized by having a low density 共342
Kgm⫺3兲 and a high flexibility. As a guarantee of the quality
of the plate 共and subsequently of the whole instrument兲 the
following requirements were accomplished:
• the grain was parallel to the longitudinal axis of the plate,
preserving the symmetry;
• the grain was as fine as possible, to gain homogeneity; and
• the wood was old enough to have stable physical proper-
ties.
The main construction stages, as decided by the luthier,
are described below. A modal and dynamic analysis was
carried out at each stage in order to evaluate the effect of
each transformation. The most relevant physical characteris-
tics at the end of each stage are summarized in Table I.

369 J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 108 (1), July 2000 0001-4966/2000/108(1)/369/10/$17.00 © 2000 Acoustical Society of America 369
TABLE I. Construction stages of a craft soundboard.

Stages Thickness 共mm兲 Mass 共g兲 Characteristics

s1 3.50 166.5 • Unsmoothed wood.

• No orifice.
• Approximated contour.
s2 2.85 143.5 • Smoothed wood.
• Preliminary orifice:
diameter⫽10 mm.
• Definite contour.
s3 2.70 130.0 • Definitive mouth:
diameter⫽85 mm.
• Zuncho.
s4 2.70–2.00 123.0 • Variable thickness.
149.0 • Two transverse bars.
s5 ••• b 1 ⫽14.0
b 2 ⫽12.0
170.0 • Fan:
r 1 ⫽3.2 Seven rods in rough state.
s6 ••• r 2 ,r 3 ⫽6.4 Symmetrical distribution:
r 4 ,r 5 ⫽6.0 Torres.
r 6 ,r 7 ⫽5.4
165.2 • Definitive fan: FIG. 1. Variable thickness 共mm兲 in stage (s4). The position of the accel-
s7 ••• r 8 ,r 9 ⫽0.8 Two additional rods. erometer and the coordinate axes are indicated.
Well shaped rods.
tures were provided to the plate. In particular, two bars were
placed perpendicular to the grain, respectively, over and be-
After choosing the wood, the joining of the two halves, low the mouth. These bars were of spruce 共density 460
parallel to the grain, was considered as the first stage (s1). Kgm⫺3兲. The upper bar (b1) had a constant rectangular
The contour was nearly equal to the definitive one, but 1 cm cross section. The low bar (b2) had also a rectangular sec-
larger. The two wooden halves forming the plate must come tion, but its height was reduced linearly from the two ends to
from contiguous cuttings of the trunk, ensuring that the plate the center of the bar. The form and dimensions of these two
will be symmetric with respect to the grain distribution. At structures are shown in Figs. 2共a兲 and 2共b兲. The grain of the
this point the wood was not smoothed and so the thickness of bars was parallel to the longitudinal axis and so perpendicu-
the plate was not uniform. lar to the grain of the plate. These bars implied a mass in-
Next, the plate was smoothed and the contour given the
final form (s2). This implied a uniform loss of mass over the
whole surface of the plate. Also an initial orifice 共10.0 mm
diameter兲 was made through the plate in this phase, that
caused a very small mass decrease 共0.33%兲 in comparison
with the total diminution of mass in this stage. The orifice
was located at the central position of the future mouth.
In the third stage (s3) the mouth of diameter 85.0 mm
was cut out. To avoid a split in the direction of the grain, a
hoop 共‘‘zuncho’’兲 was placed around the mouth. This zuncho
is made of polychromatic woods, and, apart from its me-
chanical function, is decorative. The contour was not modi-
fied with respect to the previous phase, but the thickness was
reduced by 5%. In this phase, the variation in mass with
respect to (s2) is due to the definitive size of the mouth
共45%兲 and to the decrease in thickness.
In the following construction stage (s4) the thickness
was varied from point to point. The performance of this
phase depends on the luthier and sometimes is not essential.
As can be observed in Fig. 1, the upper part of the plate,
above the mouth, maintains the thickness of the previous
stage, but in the lower part the thickness of the plate is pro-
gressively reduced toward the edge. The thickness was mea-
sured on the 115 response points with a dial indicator 共accu-
racy 0.01 mm兲. The plate was pressed slightly on a flat and
smooth surface to measure the correct thickness, avoiding
the casting.
Afterward stage (s5) took place. Some additional struc- FIG. 2. Shape and size 共mm兲 of: 共a兲 upper bar; 共b兲 lower bar; 共c兲 rod.

370 J. Acoust. Soc. Am., Vol. 108, No. 1, July 2000 Elejabarrieta et al.: Guitar soundboard modal analysis 370
 TABLE II. Rod sizes 共mm兲 at (s7) stage. The symbols are described in Fig. 2共c兲.

r1 r2 r3 r4 r5 r6 r7 r8 r9

a 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 3 3
h1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 6 6
h2 6 6 4 4 4 4 4 6 6
h3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 6
L1 35 30 30 30 30 30 30 ••• •••
L2 120 115 115 110 110 85 85 ••• •••
L 235 233 233 218 218 198 198 106 106

crease of 22% with respect to the mass of the plate.
In the next stage (s6) seven of the nine rods of the fan
were placed on the plate. The rods were arranged in the
classic way, according to the Torres distribution. At this
step, the rods had a constant section and their length was the
final one. However, they had not been given the correct
shape yet, but still offered a rough aspect. All the rods had
identical section, but had different lengths 关see Fig. 2共c兲 and
Table II兴 and were made of the same type of wood as the
bars 共spruce兲. The distribution of the rods was symmetric in
relation to the central longitudinal axis of the plate, increas-
ing the slope angle with respect to it. Figure 3 shows these
positions and the angles.
In the last stage (s7) of the construction of the sound-
board two symmetrical rods were placed (r9), on the lower
part of the plate. Their section was rectangular and uniform
and their positions and slopes can be seen in Fig. 3. Also, in
this phase the other rods were given the definitive profile.
Their sizes are shown in Table II. The seven rods forming
the fan had a similar shape, but each pair of symmetrical rods
FIG. 3. Definitive shape and size 共mm兲 of the guitar soundboard including
the position of the internal structures, according to the Torres distribution.
were of different size. The final mass of the soundboard with
all the internal structures was 165.2 g, which means that,
despite the addition of the last two rods, the weight of the
plate was reduced by 2% with respect to the previous phase.
Finally it must be noted that the bridge has not been
included in this study, although it is an essential part of the
guitar top, because our craftsman is used to glue it after the
box is assembled.
II. EXPERIMENTAL SETUP
The experimental method used in this work was the
Modal Analysis technique.5–7 Among the available applica-
tions the Frequency Response Function 共FRF兲 was chosen.
The structure was put into vibration by a transducer hammer
acting on successive points, and the response was recorded at
one fixed point 共the so-called Roving Hammer Method兲
through an accelerometer. The accelerometer was attached to
the structure by a thin wax layer. This type of joint avoids
relative movements between the structure and the transducer
and optimizes the range of use of the accelerometer since its
resonance frequency remains constant.
A Brüel & Kjaer type 4500 accelerometer 共frequency
range: 3 Hz to 16 kHz, sensitivity: 0.3 pC/ms⫺2, weight: 3.5
g兲 was used, as these characteristics as well as its resolution
were the most suitable for the system. The miniature trans-
ducer hammer was a Brüel & Kjaer model 8203 关sensitivity:
3.47 pC/N, weight 共tip兲: 3.2 g兴 compatible with the acceler-
ometer. The hammer signal was obtained by making it act on
the woods and was flat over the frequency band of interest.
The FFT analyzer was a two-channel Brüel & Kjaer
mod. 2148 共0.7 Hz–25.6 kHz, resolution ⫽0.1 dB兲. The ac-
celerometer and the hammer were connected directly to the
two channels. In the case of the hammer, a power unit was
not necessary, for the analyzer had an integrated power cir-
cuit. The two channels took measurements simultaneously.
The frequencies studied were in the 0 to 800 Hz range in
all cases, although an estimation of the modal parameters
was carried out in more reduced bands whose ranges were
determined by the different structures and situations ana-
lyzed, whereas the resolution was 1 Hz.
An analysis of the measurements was performed by
means of specific software for experimental modal analysis,
CADA-PC 共LMS, Leuven Measurement System兲. As the
graphic performance of this software was rather poor, Micro
CalOrigin software was used for graphic representations. Ad-
mittance curves 共and related parameters兲, vibration patterns,
natural frequencies, and quality factors were obtained by

371 J. Acoust. Soc. Am., Vol. 108, No. 1, July 2000 Elejabarrieta et al.: Guitar soundboard modal analysis 371
means of LSCE 共Least Square Complex Exponential兲 and
LSFD 共Least Squares Frequency Domain兲 techniques.8 Once
the modal parameters had been obtained, they were validated
with the aid of several techniques such as the reverse syn-
thesis of FRFs, the MAC 共Modal Assurance Criterion兲, the
MP 共Modal Participation兲, and the MPC 共Modal Phase Co-
linearity兲.
The system under study was a guitar soundboard in the
successive stages of its construction, whose boundaries were
supposed to be free. Theoretically, with free boundary con-
ditions the six rigid solid modes should have an associated
frequency of 0 Hz. Nevertheless, in practice it is not possible
to work with a structure of utterly free boundaries because it
needs to be hung in some way. In order to obtain approxi-
mately free experimental boundary conditions, very flexible
bands were used so that the first six modes had frequencies
very low with respect to the structure frequency. Four rubber
bands were used and the resulting resonance frequencies
were around 1–2 Hz. All these bands were identical and
equally stretched. They were attached to the edge of the
soundboard, on the upper part of the longitudinal axis. It was
found that any changes in the stress of the bands or in the
support points of the soundboard did not alter significantly
the response of the structure. The support point minimized
the influence of this suspensions, since it was located on the
nodal line of the shear modes, and many transverse flexural
modes also had coincident central nodal line. A preliminary
test was carried out to compare the responses with those
obtained when fixing the opposite point in the lower zone.
The results were indistinguishable, except for points very
close to the fixed one in each case. Finally, we chose the
upper point because that zone of the plate becomes more
rigid when other structures are added and, consequently, it is
not so interesting from a dynamic point of view.
Both the excitation and the response were perpendicular
to the plate, the most important direction regarding vibration
and acoustic radiation of the final instrument. The response
point was located at the position of the bridge, next to the
bass bar coordinates 共⫺6 cm, 34 cm兲, and 115 excitation
points were distributed over the plate. Keeping the acceler-
ometer fixed, the mass distribution was constant throughout
the analysis. The admittance curves were obtained at a lateral
point with coordinates 共12 cm, 42 cm兲. This point was se-
lected because it did not coincide with any nodal line, at least
in the first stages of construction. 关Note: the y-axis is the
symmetry axis, and the point 共0,0兲 is at the upper edge.兴
The number and location of the selected measurement
points 共maximum distance 5.85 cm; minimum distance 2.82
cm兲 covered the frequency range as well as the number of
expected modes, each node being connected with its neigh-
bors 共eight connections for each interior node兲. Prior to the
experimental analysis, a finite element analysis was carried
out to validate the boundary conditions and the suitability of
the excitation and response points.
Finally, it was experimentally determined that the sys-
tem met the Maxwell’s reciprocity principle by interchang-
ing the accelerometer and hammer positions. This allowed us
to consider that we had one excitation point 共at the acceler-
ometer position兲 and multiple response points 共the 115 im-
372 J. Acoust. Soc. Am., Vol. 108, No. 1, July 2000
pacts兲. Then the system could be described as having one
input and multiple outputs.
III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The modes were named as (m,n), m being the number
of transverse half-waves and n the number of longitudinal
half-waves on the plate.9 In the latter case, in patterns with
only one line, the modes were designated with a plus sign
共⫹兲 above the mouth and a minus 共⫺兲 below the mouth,
depending on their situation.
A. Dynamic behavior of the plate without any added
structure
Now the evolution of the dynamic behavior of the
soundboard is to be described accounting for the vibration
modes, the natural frequencies, the quality factors, and the
cross admittance of the harmonic plate in the first construc-
tion stages of a crafted guitar. This section evaluates the
contribution of each transformation, prior to the addition of
the structures, from the vibrational point of view.
The estimation of the modal parameters was global,
since each modal analysis was made up of the 115 response
functions. Therefore, the reported natural frequencies, the vi-
bration modes, and the quality factors do not depend on the
particular response point.
The vibration modes obtained had a normal character,
since their MPC was between 91% and 99%. This index
indicates that the imaginary part of the pattern is practically
negligible compared to the real part, and so the relative phase
for the 115 degrees of freedom was 0 or 180 degrees. Con-
sequently, the modes can be considered as normal, with pro-
portional viscous damping.
1. Vibrational patterns, natural frequencies, and
quality factors
In the first four construction phases the harmonic plate is
subjected to a decrease in thickness and so a decrease in
mass. Taking into account the decrease in each natural fre-
quency it can be concluded that the decrease in thickness
affects the stiffness more than the mass of the structure.
The natural frequencies of the eight vibrational patterns
undergo changes through stages (s1) to (s4) and because of
this we limited the number of modes instead of the frequency
band to be analyzed. Furthermore, the patterns were ordered
as in the first phase of construction, overlooking the particu-
lar frequency value in the successive construction phases. In
this way, the evolution of the modal patterns along the con-
struction process can be clearly seen.
In Fig. 4 the eight lower vibration modes are shown in
phases (s1) and (s4), rough state and final outline with
varying thickness, respectively. It can be seen that the form
of the patterns is practically equal in both phases. This indi-
cates that the mouth and the decrease in thickness do not
imply any change in the form of the vibration modes, al-
though the nodal lines are much more defined after the last
modification in phase (s4). This can be explained by con-
sidering that in the initial phase the plate is not smoothed and
so the structure is more imperfect. The vibrational amplitude
Elejabarrieta et al.: Guitar soundboard modal analysis 372

of the modes could not be compared to one another, since
each pattern was normalized to unit modal mass. Accord-
ingly, an increase in the level line density from phase (s1) to
phase (s4) can be seen in the lower zone for almost all the
modes. This is due mainly to the varying thicknesses in the
upper and central zones, and in the lower one, the latter
showing greater mobility.
The normal modes in these first four construction phases
are independent since the relationship among the different
patterns has a MAC lower than 15%. This MAC index is an
indicator of the influence of one pattern on another. Thus the
shear mode 共1,2兲 is more influenced by the transverse flex-
ural patterns than by those of longitudinal flexion, owing to
the slope of the transverse nodal lines at the lower part, and
this will be reflected in the MAC indices. In the case of the
transverse flexural modes, two groups can be distinguished,
depending on their reciprocal influence: on the one hand,
those presenting a longitudinal central nodal line and, on the
373 J. Acoust. Soc. Am., Vol. 108, No. 1, July 2000
FIG. 4. Vibrational modes and natural
frequencies in stages (s1) and (s4).
Equal displacement lines are showed;
the gray areas represent nodal zones.
The vibrational amplitude of the
modes could not be compared one an-
other, since each pattern was normal-
ized to unit modal mass.
other, those which do not present such a line. Thus a mode
such as 共2,0兲 is not affected by the 共3,1⫹兲 mode, but it is
affected by the 共4,0兲 mode.
Taking into account that all the modal analyses were
performed with the same reference point, located next to the
position of the bass string, it is possible to establish, by
means of the modal participation index, the dominant modes
for that position. For the four stages analyzed, the dominant
mode is 共2,0兲. The other modes have similar contributions,
except for modes 共2,1⫺兲 and 共2,2兲, whose modal participa-
tion is negligible due to the particular excitation point.
It should be noted that the construction of the mouth, in
phase (s3), affects the form of modes presenting a notable
vibration in their zone, mainly 共0,2兲 and 共0,3兲. In Fig. 4 it can
be observed that modes with a central nodal line 关共1,1⫺兲,
共1,2兲, and 共3,1⫹兲兴 preserve the slope of the nodal lines. On
the other hand, the rest of the patterns modify the bending
Elejabarrieta et al.: Guitar soundboard modal analysis 373

and the position of the nodal lines when the mouth is cut out
in phase (s3).
Figure 5 shows the evolution of the natural frequencies
corresponding to the eight lower vibration modes. The de-
crease in thickness elicits a decrease in the frequencies,
mainly from the stage (s1) to the stage (s2), when mass
decreases by 14% uniformly, apart from the preliminary
hole. This decrease causes another decrease in frequencies of
between 35% and 48%, being greater in the highest modes.
Thus the decrease in thickness decreases the stiffness more
than the mass. In phases (s2) and (s3) the decrease in mass
is localized in the mouth zone, and this affects some of the
frequencies, mainly those of longitudinal flexion, (0,2) and
共0,3兲, and to a greater extent lower frequency modes. The
relative frequency changes were between 7% and 20%. Fi-
nally, the decrease in thickness on the lower contour does not
affect the frequencies between the variations obtained are
smaller than the experimental precision. It was observed that
modes with higher frequencies than those presented in this
work were affected and tended to decrease.
Like natural frequencies, quality factors decreased sub-
stantially between stages (s1) and (s4) 共see Fig. 6兲. The
effect on the quality factors due to varying thickness—phase
(s4), 共⫺40%兲—is remarkable, in spite of the invariability of
the natural frequencies. Taking the quality factors in free
boundary conditions as a quality standard,10 it may be con-
374 J. Acoust. Soc. Am., Vol. 108, No. 1, July 2000
FIG. 5. Natural frequencies 共Hz兲 cor-
responding to the eight lower modes in
stages (s1) to (s7).
cluded that the plate decreases in quality over these four
stages.
2. Admittance curves
Figure 7共a兲 shows the evolution of the cross admittance
curves for the selected point 共see Sec. I兲 from phase (s2) to
(s4). A similar behavior can be observed in these admit-
tance curves. From stage (s3) to (s4) the peaks broaden out,
so the quality factors decrease in this step. Furthermore, ad-
mittance increases over the band, mainly at the high frequen-
cies, and, moreover, the six lowest modes have a similar
level, this level being higher than the one corresponding to
higher modes in the three stages.
B. Dynamic behavior of the soundboard with
structures
The dynamic behavior of the soundboard was substan-
tially modified when the bars and the internal rods were
added. These structures cause an increase in the stiffness of
the plate without limiting its mobility. The actual position of
the structures maintains the symmetry of the plate with re-
spect to its central longitudinal axis.
In previous phases, the plate itself was transformed by
the change in thickness or by removing the material of the
mouth, but in phase (s5) the plate behavior was modified
due to the addition of supplementary structures. The initial
FIG. 6. Quality factors in stages 共s1兲
to (s7).
Elejabarrieta et al.: Guitar soundboard modal analysis 374
phases imply a nearly uniform decrease in mass over the
whole surface of the plate, except for phase (s4), when a
decline in thickness was made in the lower area. Afterward,
the plate recovered the previously eliminated mass, although
now in a specifically located way, and, as a result, the dy-
namic behavior should be different from that in the initial
stages.
The additional structures, from phase (s5) to (s7), con-
sist of two parts, each one with a different function, the two
transverse bars and the fan. The bars, above and under the
mouth, strengthen the upper part of the plate, to endure the
neck. Therefore, this zone becomes more rigid. In the lower
zone, i.e., under the mouth, the emplacement of the fan and
later of the bridge help the fragile plate to support the tension
exerted by the strings. The literature on the subject report
many fan distributions, craftsmen say, in order to improve
the acoustic properties, but this literature does not offer any
objective criteria on rod quantity and positions.
As already mentioned, dynamic and modal analyses
were carried out during all the remaining construction
phases. The results of these analyses are given below.
1. Vibrational patterns, natural frequencies, and
quality factors
The results displayed have been recorded as functions of
the quantity of modes, with no limit for the frequency band,
because this band increases in length up to the final stage.
The order is the same as that of the first stage (s1), as
previously explained. Mode 共4,1⫹兲 has also been included,
for it presents a frequency lower than mode 共0,3兲 in stages
(s6) and (s7).
Figure 8 shows the first seven vibrating patterns in
stages (s5) and (s7). These two stages were selected for the
following reasons, respectively, phase (s5) to appreciate the
effect implied by the emplacement of the two transverse
bars, and phase (s7) because it is the last construction stage
before the piece is assembled to form the resonance box. As
can be seen, the vibration patterns change their forms when
the transverse bars and the rods are added, in contrast to the
first construction stages.
The first remarkable point in stage (s5) was the disap-
pearance of two vibration patterns, 共2,1⫺兲 and 共2,2兲. These
two modes did not reappear in the subsequent stages. When
comparing the modes corresponding to stages (s4) and (s5)
some changes can be seen in position and curvature for the
nodal lines. As a general rule, emplacement of the transverse
bars hinders the vibration in the upper zone, at least for the
analyzed modes.
There are not any notable changes in the form of the
patterns corresponding to longitudinal flexion, 共0,2兲 and
共0,3兲. The change in curvature of the 共0,3兲 mode nodal lines
should be noted, these lines becoming parallel to the trans-
verse bars. In these longitudinal flexural modes the vibration
amplitudes were similar all over the whole surface of the
plate. This did not occur in previous stages, since the inter-
mediate zone remained practically fixed.
Although the patterns are independent, some relation-
ship 共lower than 15% in the MAC matrix coefficients兲 be-
tween modes with the same vibrational character is still
375 J. Acoust. Soc. Am., Vol. 108, No. 1, July 2000
present. This is the case of the transverse flexural modes,
共2,1⫹兲 and 共4,1⫹兲. The emplacement of the two bars mini-
mizes the vibration in the upper zone for both modes and
gives rise to a new nodal line in the former 共2,0兲 mode.
It should be emphasized that the mode 共1,2兲, in addition
to its previous relationship with the 共1,1⫺兲 mode, is influ-
enced by the 共2,1⫹兲 mode in the phase (s5). This can be
explained in terms of the immobility of the upper zone and
its transverse flexural character in the lower zone of the plate
共the level lines are practically parallel to the grain and not
perpendicular, as would correspond to the second shear
mode of an isotropic plate兲. The shape of the nodal lines of
the 共1,2兲 mode would suggest calling it 共3,1⫹兲, but accord-
ing to a finite element analysis it originated as the 共1,2兲
mode.
The emplacement of the rods in stages (s6) and (s7)
caused a practically equal mass distribution between the up-
per and the lower zones, and the total mass in phase (s7)
was almost equal as that of the initial stage (s1). The rods
permit the upper zone to vibrate again, as can be seen in Fig.
8.
No changes occurred in the pattern shapes in stages (s6)
and (s7) in comparison with (s5), except for the curvature
change of the 共0,2兲 mode in the lower zone of the sound-
board. The vibration modes remained normal, since the
imaginary part of the 115 response functions is negligible in
comparison to the real part, as in the previous phases. From
phase (s5) to (s7), a MPC between 91% and 100% was
obtained for the seven studied modes.
In phase (s5), the modal participation of the present
modes was quite similar. However, after the addition of the
ribs, the modal participation of the longitudinal flexural pat-
terns diminished. This can be explained by taking into ac-
count the curvature change in the nodal line on the lower
zone of the soundboard. This line is close to the position of
the bass string and, because of this, these modes present a
low modal participation factor. Thus after emplacing the
rods, the modes that most contribute in the band from 20 Hz
to 200 Hz are the transverse flexural and shear modes.
Figure 5 shows the evolution of the natural frequencies
of the modes analyzed from phase (s4) to (s7). The em-
placement of the two transverse bars in the upper zone of the
plate had a different effect depending on the vibrational char-
acter of the modes. Thus it produced an increase in the stiff-
ness of the shear and transverse flexural modes, due to the
rise of the equivalent Young modulus E2 共perpendicular to
the grain兲 of the whole structure and these modes notably
increased their frequencies in a consistent manner. In the
case of the longitudinal flexural modes, 共0,2兲 and 共0,3兲, the
emplacement of the two bars in the upper zone had a mass-
increasing effect, and so their natural vibration frequency
diminished.
The emplacement of the seven rods in the rough state at
phase (s6) increased the stiffness of the structure in the band
analyzed. This effect became greater on the longitudinal
flexural modes, since the fan implies an increase on the
equivalent Young modulus E1 共parallel to the grain兲, the
main agent responsible of the natural frequency in those
modes. Finally, concerning the natural frequencies, the
Elejabarrieta et al.: Guitar soundboard modal analysis 375

emplacement of the two rods in the lower zone and the per-
fection of the previously attached rods only affected the two
highest modes. The frequencies of the five lowest modes
remained unchanged, within the 1 Hz experimental resolu-
tion. In the case of the two highest modes, the phase (s7)
involved an increase in their natural frequencies, this effect
being stronger in the 共0,3兲 mode.
376 J. Acoust. Soc. Am., Vol. 108, No. 1, July 2000
FIG. 7. Cross admittance curves 共dB兲:
共a兲 In stages (s2), (s3), and (s4);
modes are labeled for stage (s4). 共b兲
In stage (s5). 共c兲 In stages (s6) and
(s7); modes are labeled for stage
(s7).
Figure 6 shows the quality factors. The emplacement of
the internal structures involves an increase in the quality fac-
tors for the seven modes analyzed. The increase in mass
共21%兲 due to the two transverse bars elicited an increase in
the quality factors of at least 50%. The least affected modes
in this stage were those of longitudinal flexion, especially the
共0,3兲 mode. The emplacement of the seven rods in phase
Elejabarrieta et al.: Guitar soundboard modal analysis 376

(s6) implied a mass increase of 14% with respect to (s5)
and a stiffness increase on the lower zone of the plate in the
direction of the grain. This change in stiffness and mass elic-
ited an increase higher than 25% in the quality factor for the
highest three modes. Also, it can be observed that the longi-
tudinal flexural modes were those most affected by the fan,
just as for the natural frequencies; for example, mode 共0,3兲
increased its quality factor by 40% with respect to (s5).
In the phase (s7), in spite of the two new rods in the
lower zone, the mass of the whole plate was reduced 关3%
less than in stage (s6)兴 due to the good shaping of the fan.
This decrease became apparent as a decline in the quality
factors of the modes analyzed. As can be seen in the figure,
phase (s7) had the opposite effect to that of phase (s6), and,
as a result, the quality factors at (s7) were similar to those of
(s5) for the four lowest modes. In the case of the three
377 J. Acoust. Soc. Am., Vol. 108, No. 1, July 2000
FIG. 8. Vibrational modes and natural
frequencies in stages (s5) and (s7)
共see Fig. 4 caption兲.
highest modes, although these were more affected by the
shaping, the increase in the quality factor in stage (s6) was
not compensated.
2. Admittance curves
Figures 7共b兲 and 7共c兲 show, respectively, the curves of
cross admittance corresponding to the aforementioned point
in phases (s5), (s6), and (s7).
In Fig. 7共b兲, the response level in the band from 20 Hz
to 200 Hz is shown, the 共1,2兲 mode featuring the maximum
admittance. Likewise, mode 共3,1⫹兲 is not detected since the
response point coincides with one of its nodal lines. In com-
parison to (s4), the emplacement of the bars prevented mo-
bility of the soundboard, since the admittance curve was in
general reduced by more than 10 dB, this decrease being
Elejabarrieta et al.: Guitar soundboard modal analysis 377
more visible at high frequencies. It is also possible to appre-
ciate a narrowing of the peak bandwidths with respect to the
plate without structures. This was clearly seen in the increase
in the quality factors.
Figure 7共c兲 shows the effect of the rods in the rough
state and in the well-shaped state 关phases (s6) and (s7)兴 on
cross admittance. Besides, in phase (s5) the modes were
more equidistant and the level of admittance was uniform
throughout the frequency range. Also, it can be appreciated
that the longitudinal flexural modes were not detected in
phase (s6) in the response point selected and showed a low
amplitude in phase (s7). This is due to the curvature change
of its form in the lower zone, the response point being close
to the lowest nodal line. Finally, in phases (s6) and (s7) a
slight increase occurred in the admittance level for all the
modes studied.
IV. CONCLUSIONS
A detailed study of the vibrational behavior during the
construction stages of a guitar soundboard has been made,
before setting up the resonance box. In this sense, the vibra-
tional modes, natural frequencies, and quality factors, as well
as the admittance curves, have been determined at each
stage, and their evolutions along the process in relation to the
modifications have been discussed.
378 J. Acoust. Soc. Am., Vol. 108, No. 1, July 2000
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As a natural sequel of this work, we are interested in a
similar study, considering the soundboard with its actual
boundary conditions. It is hoped that such a study, together
with the present one, will help us to influence and to improve
the construction process of a guitar.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors are grateful to S. A. Keller for their impor-
tant collaboration, and very much obliged to Alberto
Atxotegi, the craftsman, for his careful work.
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