The increasing scarcity of certain types of wood traditionally used in the manufacture of musical instruments is forcing luthiers to change their practices. This problem is now affecting species such as spruce, the main wood used to make soundboards for cordophones. Faced with this situation, the MAeStrAFone project proposes new strategies to meet both the ecological and technological challenges: making soundboards differently, while guaranteeing equivalence for the musician. The aim of the project is to propose new structures for cordophones’ soundboards, designed in architectural materials that encapsulate all the vibratory and acoustic functionalities of traditional structures. The project also aims to develop a virtual prototyping method for optimizing these new structures, integrating the sound characteristics of the final instrument. In addition to developing innovative concepts in research laboratories, this project aims to test their integration in a hand-crafted lutherie context. To this end, it combines the skills of four vibro-acoustics research teams (LAUM Univ. Mans, LVA INSA Lyon, PIMM ENSAM, LAM-IJLRDA) with those of ITEMM (Institut Technologique Européen des Métiers de la Musique), a key player in technology transfer to instrument makers.

The MAeStrAFone project has been accredited by the EMC2 competitiveness cluster (European Manufacturing Technology Cluster).