Backstrip or not?

[Matt Atkinson]

I dunno...
No back strips?

[Freeman Keller]

What are your plans for binding a purfling?

[Matt Atkinson]

b/w/b purfling on the top only. Bloodwood binding with b/w meeting the sides. So bloodwood binding showing around the back. Its just the appointment decisions that grind me to a halt. Like writer's block, I guess. The rest is all mechanical...

[Marshall Dixon]

There is a visual separation of the three elements as it is.

I think back strips would tie them together, making for a single mosaic-like presentation.

The eye will see the esthetic of decoration instead a striaght line of joinery. Much like making a virtue of necessity.

[Freeman Keller]

My humble opinion (you know what they say about opinions) is that if you use a back stripe it should be the same wood (plastic, whatever material) as the rest of the binding and purfling and should flow into the binding somehow. That is easier to do at an end graft, it might be quite difficult with a three piece back. I might be tempted to just run a single light purfling line that matched a single line running around the binding.

[Clay Schaeffer]

If you are not doing a purfling on the back, I would skip the purfling on the sides and just do bloodwood lines between the back sections butting into the bloodwood binding. In the picture there is not much contrast between the three back sections so I would add the lines to visually separate them. As Freeman said, it's just an opinion, and it's your guitar so do what you think looks best.

[Matt Atkinson]

Thanks, all. Decided on bloodwood backstrip after all.