Best Vintage: Sandblast Your Way Into New Skills

Perspex is one of the most versatile manufacturing materials available it is strong, difficult to damage, and relatively inexpensive. Perspex is probably most commonly used for the creation of signs to adorn the walls of offices and factories but it is slowly gaining wide acceptance as the material of choice in sectors as diverse as home furnishing and drinking glass manufacture.

One area that you may not immediately think of Perspex being widely used is the music industry. While commercially produced Perspex turntable mats are readily available not everyone realises that many of the instruments themselves can be created from Perspex and still sound just as good as the wooden or brass alternatives.

Do Perspex instruments really work?

Not only do Perspex instruments work but they often have advantages over their traditional equivalents. A Perspex trumpet, trombone, or cornet can still produce the rich, authentic sound of a brass instrument but it is considerably lighter to carry around. Another advantage of a Perspex instrument is the ability to choose an instrument in the colour of your choice. Why choose a brass instrument the same as everyone else owns when you could opt for red or a blue Perspex instrument?

What other Perspex instruments are available?

Perspex isn't just restricted to the brass section of the orchestra. Perspex can be used to replicate almost any instrument from the woodwind to percussion. However, perhaps the most commercially successful Perspex instrument does not come from the orchestra at all but from the rock band. On the other hand, wood has traditionally been favoured for electric guitars many acrylic guitars have been made over the years. As far back as 1960 Fender produced the solid acrylic Stratocaster guitar, and then in 1970, the respected session player Dan Armstrong partnered with Ampeg to create high-end acrylic guitars with wooden necks. These new Ampeg guitars were able to eliminate all the unwanted vibrations and frequencies that can so often get in the way of the perfect guitar sound.

The see-through effect

In addition to the sound quality, one of the other advantages of an acrylic guitar is the ability to make them see-through. See-through acrylic guitars have proven popular with musicians such as Keith Richards and Bill Wyman over the years, and are still available from several manufacturers today.

Don't feel compelled to stick with the obvious. Whether it is a trumpet, a drum, or a guitar that you want to buy there is no reason to restrict yourself to traditional choices. Even if you can't find a ready-made Perspex instrument that suits you it's quite possible to have one created. Talk to your Perspex manufacturer today and see if they can create a custom Perspex instrument just for you.