Official Luthiers Forum!

I've noticed several posts where people have stated the end weight of their guitar and are happy when it turned out light. I've seen other posts where people are trying to modify the shape of their braces with the intent of saving a few ounces. Could someone tell what's the deal with trying to build light guitars? Do they sound any better?

Before building guitars, I built RC planes, often from scratch, just to see what I could make fly. In this hobby, the concept of building light was easy to understand. Light planes fly better. But at this point, I just don't understand what a few ounces difference will make in a guitar.

Sorry, off topic bit coming up:

I've noticed that a few guitar builders were once RC plane builders. Enough that I've been tempted to take a survey just to find out how many of us are out there. And for those that are interested, here's a link to the last plane I built (out of coroplast no less).

http://spadworld.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6378

Pat

_________________
There are three kinds of people:

Those that make things happen,
those that watch things happen,
and those that wondered what happened.

I think the idea is , in theory at least, a lighter instrument will have less damping , therefor it will vibrate more .. there for it will be better sounding .. now if you buy into that then I am sure someone will be wanting to sell you some hide glue . and a book on tuning the various parts of the unassembled instrument to facilitate a better sounding instrument when it is finished ! LOL Jody

Hey Pat;
Good looking Spitfire.
I started with model airplanes when I was ten. Control line back then, of course. R.C. was expensive & crude, back in the olden days.
I got into Radio Control planes AFTER building my first few instruments back in the early '80's. I loved it! Building was half the pleasure & flying was a challenge that captivated me for years.
After building a few kits, I designed & scratch built my own designs. As a rule, they were lighter, stronger & flew better than the kit models.
As with airplanes, there is a limited amount of energy available to make a guitar "work" the less mass the strings have to move, the greater the performance. Well that's the basics of the theory anyway...
That being said, my two recent Cocobolo / Spruce guitars are my heaviest to date. And the sound they produce is everything I hoped for.
Low weigh (IMHO) is only one of many factors that go into building an exceptional guitar.
As you continue to study this craft, you will find lots of information, theories & prejudices (often contradictory) to chew on as you do your own experimenting.
Welcome to the wonderful world of Luthiery!

Pat buddy guitar weight and sounding better is going to be a very subjective topic just like about half the current threads running at the moment......

But I am a fan of light weight, stiff guitars and I'll stick my neck out only far enough to claim that it's a personal preference for me.

I went on a campaign about 10 guitars ago to be mindful of the weight of my building style and materials. Since then the guitars that I have produced sound better to me then the heavier ones. Many others who have played my stuff side by side have agreed that my lighter weight guitars sound better - no one has preferred my heavier guitars. But this is not science.

Remember too that I am the guy who decided to build 10 guitars first before ever seriously considering selling them. At 10 I decided that I had better build 10 more...... So many things have changed in my building style all along the way not just the mindfulness of the weight of the thing.

But I do believe though that for every guitar made out of any specific materials that there is going to be a weight that is more complimentary to the guitar ringing like crazy and a weight that will slug it out...... Can I prove it - No.

RC airplanes, jets, and helicopters - absolutely yes to all of the above. That was what sucked all my money 15 years ago....... Toward the end helicopters were my bag and I was doing some 3D aerobatics and performing at air shows. An accomplished commercial and military pilot friend of mine and I built one of the first flyable RC jets with an actual mini turbine engine. The engine was from France and cost us over a couple K if I recall correctly...... The jet modeled after an F-18 was a nightmare to fly with actual, not scale speeds exceeding 200 mph and it was very difficult to see.

Fortunately I have not crashed a guitar yet....... I would suspect that there are a number of us here who either did at one time or currently engage in RC flying.

_________________
Ann Arbor Guitars

At its simplest, a guitar is an air pump. Energy moves from the strings through the bridge and into the top, which vibrates, moving air. In general, the more air it moves the better.

In the same way a 10 pound weight is easier to move than a 20 pound weight, a lighter top is easier to move than a heavier one.

Yep, light guitars fly better, too.