Guitar back.

Subject: Guitar back.
From: GUEST,Deskjet
Date: 05 Mar 01 - 02:13 PM

Would someone please answer me why guiter backs are made up of two pieces, and not all the one? For a non-expert like myself, a single-piece back appears superior from a practical as well as an aesthetic point of view.

Subject: RE: Guitar back.
From: Lady McMoo
Date: 05 Mar 01 - 02:17 PM

Essentially because very little good quality wood exists in sufficiently large log sizes to provide a one piece back.

mcmoo

Subject: RE: Guitar back.
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 05 Mar 01 - 02:19 PM

For exactly the same reason that the top is made out of two pieces.

Murray

Subject: RE: Guitar back.
From: GUEST,Mike D
Date: 05 Mar 01 - 02:20 PM

Because it's nearly impossible to find Quartersawn wood for typical guitars backs that are from 14"-18" wide. Same reason that guitars heve two piece tops. Also using two pieces has the advantage of bookmatching, which is pretty.

Subject: RE: Guitar back.
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 05 Mar 01 - 02:23 PM

Mmmmmm... Bookmatching...

;-)

Subject: RE: Guitar back.
From: Mountain Dog
Date: 05 Mar 01 - 02:24 PM

Here's my 2 cents worth:

I have a Guild D-4 with a sculpted "fiddle-type" back that is one piece. Other guitars I've had have been made with two-piece backs.

Among those guitars I've owned, those that sounded good did so regardless of how their backs were constructed.

I'm sure there you'll get plenty of informed feedback from many of our more luthier-savvy Mudcats.

Subject: RE: Guitar back.
From: Gray Rooster
Date: 05 Mar 01 - 02:33 PM

Clint - put your mind back where it belongs! You're close to a good immitation of the blues! ;-0>

Subject: RE: Guitar back.
From:
Date: 05 Mar 01 - 02:38 PM

My D-35 has a three piece back which I always have thought of as beautifull Mike

Subject: RE: Guitar back.
From: GUEST,Deskjet
Date: 05 Mar 01 - 02:48 PM

So I gather it's something got to do with the size of trees! Thank you.

Subject: RE: Guitar back.
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 05 Mar 01 - 03:16 PM

Deskjet, to elaborate a little further, all wood used in a guitar whether for the top, the back or the bracing, should be "quartersawn", which means that when you look at the end grain, the grain should run up and down vertically. This quartering is achieved (in lutherie woods) by cutting the tree trunk into lengths of approx 22" , then splitting it into wedges, with the thin end of the wedge where the center, or heart of the tree is. These wedges are then cut into thin plates, and bookmatched to yield a top or back which has symmetrical grain, normally, though not always , with the narrowest grain towards the center.

Guitar tops are always cut like this. Guitar sides should be as well, as the quartersawn timber is best able to withstand the trauma of bending. Backs however are not always quarter sawn, and in fact "slab-sawn" aka "through and through" can yield a much more attractive figure than quartersawn. The downside is that it is a much riskier procedure as the wood is liable to checks and shakes (jargon for splits).

The reason for the D-35 3 piece back is simply lack of quality rosewood wide enough to make a two-piece back. Any luthier setting out today to make a guitar body out of ebony, for example, would be lucky to get away with a four piece back, as ebony billets are getting smaller by the minute.

Ovation guitars, however, have one piece backs ........

Murray

Subject: RE: Guitar back.
From: Midchuck
Date: 05 Mar 01 - 03:32 PM

Mountain Dog, I think your Guild back is laminated. Most "arched" or "sculpted" backs on instruments that don't cost a fortune are. They can get veneer as wide as they want.

That doesn't mean it's not a good instrument, although you'll find a lot of people who claim it does. I still miss my D-1R. But it avoids the problems of getting wood in big enought pieces that determine how solid wood backs are made.

Peter.

Subject: RE: Guitar back.
From: Robo
Date: 05 Mar 01 - 06:52 PM

Mountain Dog . . .

I hear ya!. The only thing better than a D-4 archback is a D-4-12 archback, which is my pride and joy! Haven't found anything to beat it.

Rob-o

Subject: RE: Guitar back.
From: GUEST,CraigS
Date: 05 Mar 01 - 08:29 PM

Re: Guild guitars with arched backs: these are almost always laminated, but on top-line jazz guitars (eg, the Artist Award) are carved from one piece of timber. In truth the back of a guitar does not contribute much to the sound - the great luthier Torres demonstrated this over a hundred years ago by making a guitar with back and sides of papier mache. The guitar is in a French museum and Ovation is still capitalising on the idea. While the back does not contribute a lot to the sound, the artist's body against the back does damp it - the first person to actively recognise this was Mario Maccaferri, who, when performing, would have his guitars mounted on stands to counteract the effect. When Maccaferri made guitars he introduced a lot of internal woodwork to eliminate "wolf tones", and some of them were made with false backs, ie. there was an internal back and an external back separated by a gap of about 1cm. This idea was revived by Washburn for some of their models in the 70s, but such guitars are awkward to make and handle, and finding timber cut to cover the increased depth is becoming increasingly difficult.

Subject: RE: Guitar back.
From:
Date: 06 Mar 01 - 05:53 AM

I remember reading somewhere that the Selmer guitars like what Django Reinhardt played were designed to use laminated wood on the sides and back even though they were top quality, expensive, instruments. I can't remember the name of the designer of them. I usually remember.

Murray

Subject: RE: Guitar back.
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 06 Mar 01 - 06:36 AM

Murray, Mario Maccaferri designed the Selmer guitar as played by Reinhardt.

Murray

Subject: RE: Guitar back.
From: GUEST,Hamish Currie
Date: 06 Mar 01 - 08:38 AM

Does that mean that if I play standing up with the guitar against my body that I won't get such a good sound as if I sit down with the guitar away from my body? Hmmm.... thinks: "...need to check this out. Maybe I've noticed this already, but put it down simply to my ear position relative to front of guitar..."