MIMF

I agree with the other comments. If you don't have a bolt-on neck, then you'll need to think through how you are going to deal with the neck heel area, both in reshaping and refinishing. If you end up removing a significant amount of wood, there is the possibility that the neck will become less stif...

Well David, I'm not looking to get into an argument with you here, and I didn't research the NEC, but I am 100 percent certain that guitar/bass strings with no electrical connection cannot kill you (unless someone wraps them around your neck), whereas that potential does exist with grounded strings....

. . . or don't ground the strings. It really shouldn't be necessary if the rest of your electronics are properly shielded and grounded. And it's actually safer not to ground them, since that's how people get electrocuted on stage.

It also seems to me that cutting big holes in the lower bout must interfere to some extent with the monopole and cross dipole modes of vibration of the top. I'm wondering if anyone has studied this? It's kind of hard to produce chladni patterns on an archtop.

I think it's clear, as Alan said, that there's no such thing as a "bass side" and "treble side" to the top. However, the same is not necessarily true for the bridge. I haven't personally experimented with this, but I think you could carve a bridge to have less mass on the treble ...

If the workpiece stays straight after you cut it to size, chances are it’s OK. You could laminate it with something else to add warp resistance. I’ve made a couple of archtop necks with laminated cherry, maple and padauk that have stayed straight so far.

I agree with all of Alan’s comments about Douglas Fir, except that I haven’t had a problem with splitting, as in the top actually splitting. Just splintering and chipping. I’ll add that it’s tricky to sand smooth, because of the difference in hardness between early and late grain. The trick is to us...

Eldon - no, the bridge is solid ebony, but it’s carved pretty thin.

Cool! Looks like you could have a lot of fun with that, if it doesn't kill you. You should post a sound clip somewhere.

Here is my fourth 17" archtop. This is pretty similar to my last one, but with different woods and headstock and tailpiece designs. The woods are: Top: Douglas Fir Back & sides: Cherry Neck: Cherry, Maple & Padauk Fretboard: Ebony Bridge: Ebony Headstock veneer: Cocobolo Tailpiece: Coco...

Interesting body shape, with the wide shoulders and tight curves at the waist. What's it sound like, or can't you tell at this point?

A Mad Max guitar! It reminds me of the first car I bought after high school.

I use a StewMac aluminum 12" radius sanding beam for both shaping the fretboard and leveling the frets (and also as a clamping caul for glueing the fretboard to the neck, and for shaping the tops of the nut and saddle). I understand all the reasons why that is not a theoretically perfect method...

Sorry Eldon, I've been away for awhile. No, the holes don't go all the way through. They are just deep enough to hold the ball ends, and lined with brass tubing.

I don't think there is any easy trick to making a perfect joint. You can get a good preliminary fit on the dovetail before adding the neck extension, as Christ says, but it always seems like everything you do affects everything else. I almost always have to use shims in the end, no matter how well t...

Nice job, Bryan. The finish looks great, and it sounded great in the video too. It has a nice depth. What's the scale length?

Brian, what string gauge do you use for your D-D tuning?

Never underestimate the importance of details at the bridge in bringing out the sound of an archtop! I had originally made a two-piece adjustable ebony bridge for this guitar. I thought I’d done a good job with it. The strings all sounded cleanly, and the intonation was excellent. But I felt there w...

Freeman, that is a gorgeous guitar! Beautiful sunburst! What are the skull inlays made of?

Mark, I also learn something new every day. The problem is, I forget two things.