[rogthefrog]

I've seen a few guitars (mostly archtops) where the fretboard does not touch the soundboard and instead floats above it. That's a fairly large area of the soundboard, so presumably leaving it free to vibrate would be beneficial (considering how some people are up in arms about the tone-destroying impact of a little arm bevel). Can some of the builders shed some light about why the floating fretboard isn't more common in flat tops? Is it tradition, cost, difficulty?