Quote:
Originally Posted by SJ VanSandt
That's a gorgeous guitar in the works there, Mark. How does hard maple compare to mahogany or Spanish cedar weight-wise? Would it adversely effect the balance of a smaller guitar like, oh, say a 00?  |
Thanks! Hard Maple tends to be about twice as heavy as Spanish Cedar. That dose not mean a neck would weigh twice as much though. Other things also affect the weight of a neck and the balance of the guitar. The weight of the frets, fretboard, torsion rod, tuners, headstock laminates, and center laminates together probably weigh more that the weight of the neck wood.
As for the balance of the guitar, where that weight is makes a big difference. The headstock area with the weight of the laminates and tuners has a lot more affect on the balance than if that same weight was added, for instance, to the heal.
So double the neck wood weight might be 25 percent heavier and have a 20 percent effect on balance,.
Now if I were making a very light weight 14 fret OO, I would be concerned that extra weight would be too much. The balance could be easily compensated for with a heavier tail block but our super lightweight, playful guitar that dances like a child wouldn’t be so light on her feet anymore.
Mark