How much difference does radiused sides make on an acoustic.

[Monsoon1]

I've played acoustics that didn't have that tapering, and they sounded fine. Is it a volume thing?

[rick-slo]

Originally Posted by Monsoon1

I've played acoustics that didn't have that tapering, and they sounded fine. Is it a volume thing?

Tapered not the same as radiused, so I assume you mean tapered. Tapering probably reduces internal standing waves giving a more even
note response, however I also have non tapered guitars that sound just fine. There may also be some ergonomic comfort issues.

[tippy5]

What about sides are radiused?
The bout template?
The overall body height change from the upper to the lower bout?

I had a wild 2001 Fuller Gibson Harlem Slim signature model.
A L0 blues box that had a huge difference with an upper bout of under 4" and the lower bout was 5 3/4".
Too bad that one need a reset it was super fun to play.

If your talking about the top edge radius (binding). I hear you there. I just sold a fine 2016 000-18 because it has a square edge.

[Monsoon1]

Originally Posted by rick-slo

Tapered not the same as radiused, so I assume you mean tapered. Tapering probably reduces internal standing waves giving a more even
note response, however I also have non tapered guitars that sound just fine. There may also be some ergonomic comfort issues.

Ah. I thought that was called radius.
So what exactly is radiused sides?

[fitness1]

Originally Posted by Monsoon1

So what exactly is radiused sides?

Never heard the term - which is the reason I didn't respond!

Are you thinking of the Manzer wedge?

Radius normally relates to tops and fingerboard.

Would be pretty difficult to radius a side board!

[Monsoon1]

Originally Posted by fitness1

Never heard the term - which is the reason I didn't respond!

Are you thinking of the Manzer wedge?

Radius normally relates to tops and fingerboard.

Would be pretty difficult to radius a side board!

I thought so too, but it came up in a Build and Repair thread. And the only thing I could think of was the taper.

[J Patrick]

...actually the sides are tapered AND radiused on many guitars...like the back and top they are radiused from side to side as well as top to bottom...and its not difficult...you just sand it into shape using a concave sanding dish...like the ones you can buy here.. https://www.lmii.com/54-radiusing ...tapering the sides is a separate design element that serves a different purpose..

[rick-slo]

Originally Posted by J Patrick

...actually the sides are tapered AND radiused on many guitars...like the back and top they are radiused from side to side as well as top to bottom...and its not difficult...you just sand it into shape using a concave sanding dish...like the ones you can buy here.. https://www.lmii.com/54-radiusing ...tapering the sides is a separate design element that serves a different purpose..

Not sure I would call the sides radiused. The top and back radii come from curved braces.

[Misifus]

I have no idea what you’re talking about, but I’ve only been playing for 55 years. Maybe I’ll learn.

[charles Tauber]

Originally Posted by rick-slo

Not sure I would call the sides radiused. The top and back radii come from curved braces.

Ahhh. Likely the term is someone's "shorthand".

Normally, tops and backs have a curvature to them: they are not flat. (That curvature can be cylindrical, spherical or something else.)

For the sides to meet the top and back without gaps, the juncture between the sides and top and back must conform to the same contour as the top and back, respectively. For example, if the contour of the back is spherical, then where the sides meet the back, the sides must have the same spherical contour as the back. One could say the sides have then been "radiused", meaning they have been contoured to match the shape (or "radius") of the top or back. (Radiused is jargon, rather than a common English language word.)

[rick-slo]

Originally Posted by charles Tauber

Ahhh. Likely the term is someone's "shorthand".

Normally, tops and backs have a curvature to them: they are not flat. (That curvature can be cylindrical, spherical or something else.)

For the sides to meet the top and back without gaps, the juncture between the sides and top and back must conform to the same contour as the top and back, respectively. For example, if the contour of the back is spherical, then where the sides meet the back, the sides must have the same spherical contour as the back. One could say the sides have then been "radiused", meaning they have been contoured to match the shape (or "radius") of the top or back. (Radiused is jargon, rather than a common English language word.)

Top radius is not relevant to part of the side itself that is perpendicular to that radius and the shortest radius of the top is transverse rather than longitudinal. As the sides are curved and thus have an ever changing angle towards the direction of the top curvature any "calculated" side radius would also need to be ever changing if one wants to be precise. Of course once the guitar is completed and strung up the top curvature changes in various locations, and humidity, etc..

For the kerfing you could use an approximately shaped long sanding block run up and down the length of the guitar or leave it (more traditionally) flat giving a tighter rim area of the top (with the pros and cons of that).

[J Patrick]

....no radius is not the proper term for describing the curvature of a guitars back top or sides...or the fingerboard either....but its the term commonly used for the amount of curvature based on the distance from the center of a circle to its perimeter....is there a proper term???...as close as I can find it is the "curvature of radius"...and as I have clearly demonstrated...I am not a mathematician..

[rick-slo]

Originally Posted by J Patrick

....no radius is not the proper term for describing the curvature of a guitars back top or sides...or the fingerboard either....but its the term commonly used for the amount of curvature based on the distance from the center of a circle to its perimeter....is there a proper term???...as close as I can find it is the "curvature of radius"...and as I have clearly demonstrated...I am not a mathematician..

How about "contoured".

[charles Tauber]

Originally Posted by rick-slo

Top radius is not relevant to part of the side itself that is perpendicular to that radius...

Sure, but in a spherically shaped top there is no such point. In a cylindrically-shaped top, the only points where that occurs is where the sides are perpendicular to the guitar's centreline (i.e. potentially all of, or part of, end and heel blocks).

There are numerous methods for creating a matching contour for the edges of the sides and the top or back. Some of those depend on the contour of the top or back, whether spherical, cylindrical or something else. After 40 years of making guitars, I'm familiar with many of them.

[Sonics]