Official Luthiers Forum!

[QUOTE=Doug O]

JJ you wrote "When we tune a top, we are trying to find where the braces need to be and how their profiles need to be adjusted...likewise, mass distribution is still another component that needs to be taken into consideration."  Are saying you that you determine location of the braces differently from one top to the next based on the repsonse of the particular top?  Could you elaborate on that please?

Doug

 

[/QUOTE]

Some tops are stiffer than others. I have made slight adjustments on the X-spread and whether it's forward shifted or not based solely on a hunch. If it is stiffer, I believe that one can spread the x-legs a few degrees and allow for more top movement.

For some time, I've been curious about where mass is good and not so good on a top. Now that I have 3 completed guitars of my own, I want to temporarily add mass to various sections and observe any changes in response, tone, volume and sustain. Who knows, but it seems likely that one should be able to detect some differences and hopefully some will have a positive effect.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

Doug - That is firewood in the background. I wouldn't treat back/side wood that way.

Hesh - This guitar was given to my grandfather back in 1937. It was a gift from a church where he was the preacher. They told him to go to the store and get what he wanted. I think it's interesting how the back pieces don't match.

My mahogany ladder braced guitars come in at 3lb 1.6oz all strung up or at least the one I weighed did. It was mahogany/red spruce with mad RW trim.

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Tickle your guitar daily, and it'll tickle you back.

I have a different opinion on a point Rod made - the belly bridge adds strength to the glue joint not only due to its increased area (over a rectangular one), but its distance the to the back of the bridge from the saddle, since the rotational torgue is trying to pull the back of the bridge off the top - the further away that it is, the harder it is to lift it.

I also think blackwood, the african kind, is pretty much the same weight as ebony ... but it sounds better as it is a true rosewood

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