In this article, analytical investigations conducted into active control of longitudinal and flexural vibrations transmitted through a cylindrical strut are presented. Mechanics based models for struts fitted with piezoelectric and magnetostrictive actuators are developed, and for harmonic disturbances, a linear dynamic formulation describing the motion of the actuators is integrated with the formulation describing wave transmission through the strut. The resulting system is studied in the frequency domain and open-loop control studies are conducted with the aid of numerical simulations. Comparisons are made between control schemes based on piezoelectric actuators and magnetostrictive actuators, and the effectiveness of these schemes in attenuating wave transmission is also discussed. The studies presented here, which can form the bases for analog feedforward control schemes and model based feedback schemes, illustrate the potential for active suppression of longitudinal and lateral displacements in cylindrical struts over the frequency range extending from 10 Hz to 5 kHz.