Musician Builds an Inflatable Guitar to See If Helium Would Make It Sound Like a Ukulele

Swedish musician Mattias Krantz, who enjoys reinventing his piano in different ways, built a balloon-based Baschet Inflatable guitar and fill it with helium to see if it would sound like a ukulele. He constructed a wooden guitar frame and tested it out sans helium. He found the structure too unstable.

He consulted with a fellow engineer who suggested he make the bridge and neck out of steel. This proved more successful in his mission. He then tried different balloons, both with and without helium. Despite Krantz’s efforts, he couldn’t successfully distinguish any difference in pitch between the two.

This would be historic if this works. Didn’t that sound higher in pitch than before? I can’t tell. Is it higher in pitch? I don’t think it is….yeah so helium in a guitar doesn’t do anything. I might get some use from this guitar though.

Here’s Dr. Martí Ruiz of the University of Barcelona demonstrating an original Baschet Inflatable guitar.