Official Luthiers Forum!

Now this is getting interesting, I have always used the method Hesh outlined, along with most of the guitar builders i know.

Davids post makes me think of a few builders who are shaping their sides in a different way, like Howard Klepper here and Stefan Sobell. These guys seem to have a pretty clear picture in their head of the tone they are chasing, and have found that non spherical doming helps to achieve it. I think i have also heard Mario p. talk about using several different radiuses in his building.

I have seen some non spherically domed guitars that had a completely beautiful look, with really interesting and flowing contours.

Sooo, anyone doing this want to talk about why and how you do it? I dont see anything wrong with using radius dishes like most of us do, but i am curious, it seems like a step towards refinement that some of the better builders are doing.

BTW, Howards website has some great descriptions and pictures of his arching.

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Jordan Aceto
Ithaca, NY

Radius dishes are a rather new feature (to me), so having fit compound radius backs for years, I never adopted the use of one for prepping the rim. It seemed awkward and unneccessary.
I am using a sanding stick as I described for this and indeed I'm gluing the back braces in a radius dish, but for the actual fitting, I don't want to be constrained by the spherical cross section in that I make a flatter and stiffer back than this would idealy allow.
Also, the top geometry I'm using is far more complex than that allowed by a simple radius.

David,



I've been saying this on a number of luthier forums for a number of years and felt like I was talking to a brick wall. Well said you!!

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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

I dunno .. maybe it was the same guy who said guitars need to be shiny ....

From a construction POV .... there are also those who force a domed/curved top onto a flat rim as well. Different strokes ...

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