ES175/L4CES

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Hans Vermeulen
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Dec 03, 2022 7:13 am

ES175/L4CES

Post by Hans Vermeulen »

I am preparing to build an ES 175 based on the well-known drawing from Australien Luthier Supplies (because I want to make the top, sides and back of solid wood, it will actually be an L4CES). According to the drawing there is a very small dome too small for my taste, in both top and back. In Benedetto's book a much larger dome is used: about 16mm on the top. Now that 16mm seems quite big for a 16 inch guitar. My question now is: what is a common curve in top and back on a 16 inch archtop, or does it not matter much on a guitar with two humbucker pickups?
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Barry Daniels
Posts: 3186
Joined: Thu Jan 05, 2012 10:58 am
Location: The Woodlands, Texas

Re: ES175/L4CES

Post by Barry Daniels »

Yeah, two humbuckers pretty well eliminates any acoustic concerns. A full acoustic archtop is often 3/4 to 1" arched, whereas you would be fine with something nearer 1/2".
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Freeman Keller
Posts: 494
Joined: Mon Feb 27, 2012 11:34 am

Re: ES175/L4CES

Post by Freeman Keller »

Hans, I have built two acoustic guitars sort of like what you are suggesting. The first was built from the ALS ES-173 plans but were intended to be totally acoustics so I used a single piece of spruce thicknessed to slightly less than 1/8 inch and X braced it in a 16 foot radius dish. That gives a little doming but not nearly as much as you would see on a carved topped guitar
IMG_1573.JPG
IMG_1574.JPG
I also just completed a 16 inch acoustic archtop and used Benedetto's arching (5/8) and thicknessing (1/4 center to 1/8 recurve) with X bracing.
IMG_7088.JPG
Both of these guitars used commercial floating bridges and tail pieces - it would have been easy to modify the bracing to mount pickups as with a 175. I do have other pictures of these if you are interested.
Allyson Brown
Posts: 114
Joined: Fri Jul 28, 2023 2:08 am

Re: ES175/L4CES

Post by Allyson Brown »

How was the build so far?
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