Experimental and Numerical Design of Vibroacoustic Metamaterials for Guitar Soundboard Resonance Control

Sawczuk SA, Chojnacka K. Experimental and Numerical Design of Vibroacoustic Metamaterials for Guitar Soundboard Resonance Control. In: Express Paper. Audio Engineering Society; 2026.pp. 445:1-. Available from: https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23264

@inproceedings{Sawczuk2026_23264,
  author = {Sawczuk, Sawczuk, Aleksandra and Chojnacka, Klara},
  title = {{Experimental and Numerical Design of Vibroacoustic Metamaterials for Guitar Soundboard Resonance Control}},
  pages = {445:1-},
  year = {2026},
  month = may,
  publisher = {Audio Engineering Society},
  url = {}
}

TY  - CPAPER
TI  - Experimental and Numerical Design of Vibroacoustic Metamaterials for Guitar Soundboard Resonance Control
AU  - Sawczuk, Sawczuk, Aleksandra
AU  - Chojnacka, Klara
SP  - 1
M1  - Paper 445
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/28
UR  - https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23264
PB  - Audio Engineering Society
LA  - en
AB  - Metamaterials are engineered structures whose acoustic and mechanical behavior arise from their geometric configuration and internal architecture rather than their material properties. Within this group, vibroacoustic metamaterials offer the ability to influence elastic wave propagation by introducing frequency bands in which flexural vibrations are either suppressed or selectively altered. The integration of such structures into musical instruments, particularly acoustic guitars, provides a promising approach to shaping their vibroacoustic response and mitigating undesirable structural resonances. The objective of this project is to design a vibroacoustic metamaterial capable of modifying the resonance properties of an acoustic guitar soundboard. For this purpose, vibration measurements with Laser Doppler Vibrometer were conducted to identify the fundamental resonant modes of the soundboard. Based on these measurements, a coupled structural-acoustic numerical model was developed using COMSOL Multiphysics and subsequently calibrated with the experimental data. In the following phase, various vibroacoustic metamaterial configurations were designed, and their influence on the resonance characteristics of the soundboard was investigated. The most effective resonator design was fabricated using 3D printing and its performance was experimentally evaluated. The anticipated outcome of this research is the development of an effective method for tailoring and enhancing the tonal response of an acoustic guitar without modifying its conventional construction, thereby contributing to new design strategies for stringed musical instruments.
ER  -