Official Luthiers Forum!

While reading some old GAL Quarterlies (One of the benefits of a bad long term memory. New information every year!)I came across an interview with Jean Larivee. He stated that it was beneficial to leave the interior of a guitar rough as opposed to sanding it smooth. He claimed it was better for tone.

Anyone else have an opinion, one way or another?

Chris Koos
Normal, IL

I have heard of those that believe sanding the top rather than scraping it will dampen it because it forces sanding dust into the wood.

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"It's a Tone Faerie thing"
"Da goal is to sharpen ur wit as well as ye Sgian Dubh"
"Sippin Loch Dhu @Black lake" ,Kirby O...

[QUOTE=K.O.] I have heard of those that believe sanding the top rather than scraping it will dampen it because it forces sanding dust into the wood.[/QUOTE]

Yes but I believe that if you stand on one leg while sanding the top, you create enough disturbance in the local magnetic field to counteract this damping.

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Dave White
De Faoite Stringed Instruments
". . . the one thing a machine just can't do is give you character and personalities and sometimes that comes with flaws, but it always comes with humanity" Monty Don talking about hand weaving, "Mastercrafts", Weaving, BBC March 2010

Yeah, and because I have music in my viens, I believe its good to spill a little blood on a guitar here and there as well

I dont know one way or the other, but other than sanding braces with 220, I dont really get to concerned if the insides are better than 100-150 grit. BTW .. I built my first few right off the info in that article, thats GAL 26 right ???

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

Well Tony, if that info helped get you where you are today, I'll be getting that article!

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now known around here as Pat Foster
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

Dave that mojo only works near Stonehenge.

Tony I would be willing to tune down half a step and try to play from my sons Youthanasia songbook till me fingers bleed to learn from ya.

Me I can't do the same thing twice so I am lucky its not to hard to get decent result.

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"It's a Tone Faerie thing"
"Da goal is to sharpen ur wit as well as ye Sgian Dubh"
"Sippin Loch Dhu @Black lake" ,Kirby O...

Tony, Issue 26 was the one. Seems I'm not the only one digging in the archives.

Chris Koos
Normal, IL

I wonder why he said it then. A joke?

It is one of these things you hear from time to time; how the fuzzy interior makes the top "think" it is thicker when it really is very thin, how some of the "golden era" Martins have table saw marks still visible some place inside, and that this roughness contributes to the tone in a good way... Myth, or is there something to it?

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

[QUOTE=Arnt] I wonder why he said it then. A joke?

[/QUOTE]
That's a great article in #26 (BigRedBook 3#,pg 37)- gonna read it again tonight.
re: Non-smooth interiors-I don't care if it's a myth or not- it's going to be my standard rationale whenever somebody spots a 'tool mark' inside one of my guitars!
I'm also a big believer in pencil lines inside the box as well- I think the slippery graphite...oh, never mind...

Cheers

John

when I first joined the GAL in like 90 or something, I bought all the back issues that had anything Larrivee in them - that one had all the goods, pattern, numbers - all I needed was a body shape - quick trip ot the local guit shop to get that !!! It was a cutaway too ..

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

Keep on working on that theory, Todd!

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

I always thought it was the glue squeeze-out that gives those guitars the magical vintage tone.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

[QUOTE]Yes but I believe that if you stand on one leg while sanding the top, you create enough disturbance in the local magnetic field to counteract this damping.[/QUOTE]

   I'm pretty sure, you have to stand with both feet off the ground, to counter most, but of course, not all, gravitational animated pectrons[1]. Not being influenced directly by the mass of the planet, thus avoiding the window of vulnerablity (WOV)[2].


[1]Animated Pectron Avoidance, by Gerd N. Fugmarphini Pendant Publishing ISBN 12223232-b

[2]The Lorax, by Dr. Suess, Theodor Seuss Geisel
New York: Random House, 1971. National Council for the Social Studies Notable Children's Trade Book / Social Studies ISBN 0-394-82337-0

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Billy Dean Thomas
Covina, CA

"Multi famam, conscientiam, pauci verentur."
(Many fear their reputation, few their conscience)

I tried to find a photo of the squeezeout inside a vintage Martin, but the only ones I can find you can't see the squeezout for the fluffy dust! Now maybe that's why vintage Martins sound so good, it's the fluffy dust, and the little 'tone balls' rolling around inside. Maybe we should reverse the flow on the dust collector into the sound hole and put a nice coating of fluff on the inside of new guitars, instant ageing!

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

A friend of mine once told me that dancing around your guitar by the light of a full moon in nothing but a silver boob tube and fishnet stockings would improve the sound of the guitar by mythic proportions.

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If God had wanted us to drink beer, he would have given us stomaches.

I have heard something similar here but it also involved drinking cougar pi** I imagine since you Aussies are upside down Roo dew would work.

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"It's a Tone Faerie thing"
"Da goal is to sharpen ur wit as well as ye Sgian Dubh"
"Sippin Loch Dhu @Black lake" ,Kirby O...

Chris I remember reading the article in a Big Red Book as well and recall his talking about roughness. Wouldn’t a rough interior inhibit a good glue joint especially for braces?

Another thing I thought was interesting is that Larivee said that they join all there backs with CA.

[QUOTE=JohnAbercrombie] I'm also a big believer in pencil lines inside the box as well- I think the slippery graphite...oh, never mind...

Cheers

John


[/QUOTE]
I always put random pencil lines inside my builds to to confuse the curious

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Say what you do, Do what you say.

True story: repairman I know had an old guitar in the shop and while working on it vacuumed out the old dust bunnies. Owner was furious; said those dust bunnies went back to pre-war.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

[QUOTE=Dave White] [QUOTE=K.O.] I have heard of those that believe sanding the top rather than scraping it will dampen it because it forces sanding dust into the wood.[/QUOTE]

Yes but I believe that if you stand on one leg while sanding the top, you create enough disturbance in the local magnetic field to counteract this damping.[/QUOTE]

I'll have to get up early to come up with such science!

Good one Dave!

[QUOTE=Dave White]

Yes but I believe that if you stand on one leg while sanding the top, you create enough disturbance in the local magnetic field to counteract this damping.[/QUOTE]

Right leg improves bass response while left leg is better for enhanced treble.

[/QUOTE]
I always put random pencil lines inside my builds to to confuse the curious [/QUOTE]

Ahh Yes Dave ! I haven't forgotten . A great tip .   

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CRAIG LAWRENCE of AUSTRALIA
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[QUOTE=Joel] A friend of mine once told me that dancing around your guitar by the light of a full moon in nothing but a silver boob tube and fishnet stockings would improve the sound of the guitar by mythic proportions.[/QUOTE]

This is ridiculous nonsense. To attempt such a ritual without the aid of high heels, suspenders and a Carmen Miranda Fruit Hat would be a complete and utter waste of time.

Some people have no idea

Cheers

Kim