Official Luthiers Forum!

As you may recall, i'm building with my "sow's ear", barn-siding, stinking, punky and way too thin cedar top.

Even though i am focusing on the process and not the product I have been somewhat disappointed since it really has been pretty dead to my ear. An unripe pumpkin thump has been about all i could get out of the thing. I would have been nice to have SOME response.

Over the weekend I built a laminated bridge plate and glued that and the lower bout lattice braces on. The thump went to a muffled **thump** and so i was resigned to making a nice flamable ashtray.

Before i put the X brace on, i wanted to trim down the lattice and have been working on that. Tonight i got down to a point where i almost think they'll pass the "too beefy" critique (Still too high though) and started looking for a tap tone...

Wouldn't cha know it!? The sucker actually talked back to me! When i give her a zing on top of the bridge plate i get a nice 2-3 second hum that sounds to me like a low E. So dag gummed excited i had to come down to post!

I feel like Dr Frankenstein must have when his creation took it's first breath!

Don't give up. It is the experience that counts.....and
I feel most guitars are overbuilt. Since I started building them lighter with thinner tops and lighter bracing they
have been much better instruments.
Wait until it is finished. You may be pleasantly surprised.
BTW, how thick was the top?

_________________
Andy Z.
http://www.lazydogguitars.com

Hi Andy. No intention of giving up. It's all about the experience!

This was exciting because i really expected nothing from this top, now i start to think it may actully sound something like a guitar when done.

The top hovers around .85 to .90...

Yeah - pretty cool Rob! Never miss out on a chance while building to tap and flex away on your tops. IMHO this is the only way that we will hopefully one day get that feel for it.

_________________
Ann Arbor Guitars

0.085 to 0.09 might be just fine. It is all about the stiffness. Also, the size of the guitar and the bracing have huge influences. Just saying it is too thin is tough to judge without feeling the stiffness, seeing your bracing and knowing what type of guitar it is.

For example I thickness my parlors to a lower degree of stiffness than a SJ. Even if it is the identical piece of wood. I believe in the principle that smaller body guitars need a thinner top since the "drum head" is smaller.

Even if your cedar top is relative too thin (lack of stiffness) for your guitar size etc, Slightly taller (stiffer) bracing may compensate for it. I am a big believer of keeping detailed records of everything so when the guitar is done you can refer back to what you have done. I measure thickness, stiffness, body size, wood type, brace height, density and photograph each top. Once finished, I enter data on the tone. It really has been great to refer back to the records.

_________________
Andy Z.
http://www.lazydogguitars.com