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Hello everyone,

Recently I had a 000-12 built in EIR/Adi. It was based on the StewMac plans and built by Larry Nair of Tahoe Guitars. It turned out wonderfully. It has all the dark silky rumble one would expect from a EIR mid-size guitar. See pics.

I am now working with Larry to build a sister guitar. It will be a 000-12 (again based on StewMac's plan) in flamed Big Leaf Maple and Carpathian Spruce. The question I would like to ask is if you think going with a 1/2" deeper body on this guitar would help bring out the bass with the maple back and sides.

I want to be clear that I want a clear, snappy and balanced maple guitar. But I don't want it to lack bass. I had a deep body Collings OM in maple that had excellent balance with nice maple bass. Your thoughts appreciated.

Before you suggest "consult your luthier", allow me to say I have and will continue to do so. Larry and I have been working very closely together for two years on various guitar projects, including a "team build" OM Mahog/Adi. We have an excellent working relationship and he is very open to my input.

Thank you!

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Mmmm....wood.

In my opinion adding 1/2 to the depth alone will not add a significant amount of bass. It could help but only when paired with other aspects of building (bracing and such). I'm sure your luthier will be able to pull off the sound you want and making the body deeper may be part of that plan but it may not be. It depends on what else is going on with the guitar.

Have you considered a sound port? I have found that they can help with bass response as well carrying power.

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ELEVATE || Next Level Lutherie
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Tell your builder what you want and let him build it for you. If he feels that what you are asking for is not possible or beyond his skills hopefully he will let you know. Al Petteway's deeper body Maple Circa 00 has no lack of bass and is one of the 1st Maple guitars I have really liked. John Slobod at Circa certainly knows what it needed. I also tried a Maple Circa OM that was quite nice and will be a great guitar but was still a bit tight as it was real new.

Fred

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Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
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One minor thing to think about - building a deeper bodied guitar may mean that a standard case won't fit and you will need a custom one. I have built several deeper bodied guitars (none out of maple, sorry) and they have required expensive cases.

Did the bass increase as a result of the depth? Can't really tell since I didn't build "standard" sizes to compare with and they are all pretty odd ball in other respects.

IMHO if you are going to pick woods based upon how they look with regards to figure and species you need to accept the tones they provide and enjoy the beauty of the guitar. If on the other hand tone is what's important to you then the wood should be chosen for it's tonal contributions rather than aesthetics.

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Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

Good maple guitars can have a great warm, woody bass sound. I'm not entirely sure why factory maple guitars so often sound bright and thin. IIRC, Greven recommends going a bit thick on the back. I think that's a good idea. Low and wide martin style back braces are probably a good idea too, as is a slightly floppy top. Extra depth IME won't get you much if any more bass, but the sound can get a little richer - for lack of a better description. Maybe try 1/4" deeper?

Thanks, everyone, for your input.

I am most definitely NOT looking for a light curly wood guitar that sounds like a EIR guitar. As I stated in my original post, I want the sonic attributes of maple. But not all maple guitars are the same. I had a wonderful Collings in Euro maple and a Bourgeois OMS both of which had very nice bass.


I was simply curious if a deeper box equates to more bass. It seems the consensus is 'no'.

jim

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Mmmm....wood.

My experience from flamenco guitars is that the treble/bass compromise is more than anything in the soundboard. When you go thinner, you get more bass and less treble, when you go thicker its the other way round. Later, some adjustments can be done in the bracing: the stiffer you keep the soundboard towards the edges, the brighter it´ll be. Body depth, doesnt really do that much in this aspect, deeper body, richer sound and slightly slower response.
Soundports normally give a slightly deeper (more bassy) sound to the player, but not to the listener, they always give the player a feel of a bigger and fuller sound. Dont make it to big.

Remember that what I just wrote is based on nylon string guitars.