Is there an ideal range for the thickness of back and sides?

[Monsoon1]

Just curious if there's a general range that a well made guitar falls into.

[printer2]

Backs between 0.085"-0.120", sides 0.70-0.085". Depends on the type of wood and size of the instrument. Some luthiers do go thinner but they are not your run of the mill instruments.

[Monsoon1]

Originally Posted by printer2

Backs between 0.085"-0.120", sides 0.70-0.085". Depends on the type of wood and size of the instrument. Some luthiers do go thinner but they are not your run of the mill instruments.

huh. not knowing anything about this in advance, I would have thought the sides needed to be thicker/stiffer. but I guess since they are in a formed shape, that they are already stiffer by nature.

[rogthefrog]

Originally Posted by Monsoon1

huh. not knowing anything about this in advance, I would have thought the sides needed to be thicker/stiffer. but I guess since they are in a formed shape, that they are already stiffer by nature.

Much thicker and you'd have problems bending them.

Some builders double up their sides (bend two outer sides and two inner sides, separately, then glue the inner to the outer) for rigidity.

[Monsoon1]

Originally Posted by rogthefrog

Much thicker and you'd have problems bending them.

Some builders double up their sides (bend two outer sides and two inner sides, separately, then glue the inner to the outer) for rigidity.

so it's pretty much made thinner because of the limitations in bending the wood.
this makes me wonder if it coincidentally doesn't matter, or if those double sided sets actually produce a better sound.

[printer2]

Originally Posted by Monsoon1

so it's pretty much made thinner because of the limitations in bending the wood.
this makes me wonder if it coincidentally doesn't matter, or if those double sided sets actually produce a better sound.

More of one, less of the other. Every change has a trade off. Heavier sides can make the sound a little louder, stiffer sounding. A thinner box is more resonant. Neither good or bad, just a different flavor. Because of the shape of the sides they are stiff for their thickness as compared to the back.


Just for kicks, a guitar built by Antonio Torres in 1863. The back is 0.110" and the sides are 0.031". No steel strings for this one.