Some people believe that back and sides should be thick and stiff to create a solid base from which the top will vibrate. It seems, however, that more people believe the back should be resonant and vibrate in sympathy with the top. The guitars that I have built have thin backs (classical guitars - from about 2.4 at thickest to as little as 2.1 or 2.0 mm at the thinnest) and there is definitely a loss of volume when the back is dampened and then played, so I must believe from empirical evidence that the thin and resonant back is the right direction to aim.
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Ned Milburn
NSDCC Master Artisan
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Last edited by Ned Milburn; 05-19-2012 at 04:49 AM.
Reason: clarity
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