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Hi guys. I have an old, cheap small bodied guitar. The name on the headstock is Henson. As I said, it's an old, cheaply made guitar. The body is 17 and 3/4" from neck block to tail block, the lower bout is 13 and 6/16" at it's widest point and the upper bout is 9 and 10/16" at it's widest point. The body tapers from 3 and 3/4" at the tail block to 3 and 1/4" at the neck block. 12 frets to the body, 18 frets total. Solid peghead. Following are some pics.
You can see it was ladder braced, and missing one.



Was quite dirty inside.



It also had a tailpiece that is not in the pics, and a floating bridge to go with it. The reason i bring this up is that it was a comfortable guitar for me to play. I have physical problems which prevent me from playing larger guitars. Even and L-00 I have is not that comfortable. This guitar is, but it sounds like trash. I initially thought about re-topping it, but now I'm thinking of building a guitar based on these dimensions, but with an X-braced top, no tailpiece, and a pyramid bridge. But what type of guitar would it be? L-0, parlor, something else?

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

I have a nasty problem with my left hand & wrist that makes playing your average 14 fretter a real pain (literally). So... I designed a guitar to fit my "disability". It is large in the lower bout, small in the upper. 12 frets to the body. Short scale length. 1 7/8" nut. The neck was made purposely thick to prevent cramping I get with a thin neck.
I did everything I could to decrease the distance I had to reach with my left hand.
With the cutaway, I don't miss the extra two frets to the body.
The bottom line is, I can comfortably play my own guitar for hours. Most others, I crap out after 15 minutes.
Try to analyze what is "right" about your old Henson & re-produce it in a guitar you'll be proud to play.
That is (to me) one of the chief joys of this craft. Within sensible limits, you can do pretty much whatever you want.
A smaller bodied guitar will probably not have the punch of a dred, but I am happy to have a guitar I can play... Even though it can't kill banjos & accordions.
Or... Just re-top the old guitar & enjoy it.

This is the realisation I've come to as well. I will never again play a 'dread, nor enjoy the big, booming bass that accompanies one. I have been playing an electric for about a year now, but for the music I play(Gospel) nothing in my mind compliments the voice better than an acoustic guitar. So if I can build a small guitar that has a pleasant sound, plays well, and is comfortable enough to allow me to play it without pain, I'll settle for that and be happy.
As for what is "right" about this guitar that makes it playable for me, I believe it's the smaller lower bout. It's reaching across that large lower bout, (which even on my L-00 is 15 and 1/4") that causes me discomfort. I can't even get through a single song, and afterward I hurt for a couple of days. Finding a decent, affordable guitar of this size is near impossible, so my only other choice is to build one. Thanks for your reply, Daniel.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

I am by no means an expert in guitar sizes, but those dimensions are close (not right on though) to a Martin size 7 guitar, while the body shape most resembles an 0. The size 7 is about the same dimensionally, but it has more of a dread body shape, while the 0 is about the same width as your guitar but is longer between the neck and heal block.

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Aaron Craig

Similar to an 0-18 in upper and lower bout widths. 0-18 scale is 24.9" and the body of an 0-18 is about 1 3/8" longer; body depths are 4 3/16" at the tail and 3 3/8" at the neck.

Size 0 molds and plans are available. You could make the body thinner if you wanted but you're talking less than a 1/2" which shouldn't be too noticeable to the player.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

hey, you guys with problems playing git, make yourself a weissenborn.
9 years ago i quit playing because arthritis in my left wrist, bone to bone, no cartilage.
started selling my stuff, and built an elec lap-steel out of pilfered parts. liked the lap style, so i built a weiss style.
in a year, started sounding pretty good! people were actually amazed at my playing.
start now, while you can still play regular git, and by the time you can't play anymore reg-git, you can keep playing music on the weiss. those worn out body parts generally don't get better.
sorry.

Thanks, Jac68984, and all the rest who chimed in about size/type comparisons. That helps a lot. Steve, I will probably make a mold to match this guitar, and build as close to it as possible, with the mods previously discussed. It'll be next year, probably, since I'm still in the process of finishing my first, which is a solid body. So I have time to plan it out well. It'll be my first acoustic build, so I'll have to learn to bend sides. Should be fun!



Unfortunately, you are right, but I'll just keep plugging on anyway.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

Good luck with this project Mike. I had almost given up playing before I built my "CT Special".
That is my tongue in cheek designation for this model. CT stands for carpal tunnel (syndrome) I have CTS plus serious arthritis which limits my wrist bent to about 5 degrees back & 20 degrees forward. It is such a pleasure to be able to play again, pain & numbness free.
Now, I guess I should really try to learn a few more chords!
I hope you keep us up to date, once you start building.
As an afterthought... Body depth can have a big impact on player comfort... A Manzer type "wedge" might be beneficial for you.