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Old 03-24-2011, 05:20 PM
thebolo thebolo is offline
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Default Asymmetrical?

I've been seeing a few things here about asymmetrical body shapes. Why is this done? I havent ever heard of that before.
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Old 03-24-2011, 05:31 PM
Itzkinguitars Itzkinguitars is offline
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Originally Posted by thebolo View Post
Why is this done?
Because it's cool. lol Bruce Sexauer uses an A-symetrical design for some of his guitars. Here is an example of his amazing work.
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Old 03-24-2011, 05:34 PM
thebolo thebolo is offline
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Quote:
Because it's cool.]
Thats one of the best answers I've ever heard.
Both of the scratch guitars I've built have turned out asymmetrical...not really on purpose, but asymmetrical nonetheless.
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Old 03-24-2011, 05:36 PM
japple japple is offline
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Generally it would be for an ergonomic purpose.
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Old 03-24-2011, 06:14 PM
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Ergonomics as far as I know. My Baranik is assymetrical.
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Old 03-24-2011, 06:19 PM
japple japple is offline
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Mike Baranik might be one of the best people to discuss this topic with. He builds some of the nice asymetrical guitars I have seen. I has a great handle on ergonomics.
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Old 03-24-2011, 06:33 PM
ericcsong ericcsong is offline
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my Ryan is asymmetrical and it sure is cool too

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Old 03-24-2011, 07:49 PM
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About a third of my work over the last five years is asymmetrical. Shortly after I started doing MultiScale guitars it occurred to me that the bridge, particularly as it is the major brace in the top, was looking cramped on some parts of the top and the guitar ought to respond more evenly if I got more centered, as it had been when symmetrical. The MultiScale had already revealed ergonomic advantages in and of itself to me, and so the rest of my take on asymmetry was the implementation a series of changes to further explore comfort and expediency.

There is no question in my mind that the resultant guitar is superior to the standard model, but it doesn't really matter except to those who are always searching for the edge. Like me.

The one pictured above was the very first, by the way, and there are some 30 or 40 subsequent!
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Old 03-24-2011, 08:05 PM
gitnoob gitnoob is offline
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Because they can.



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Old 03-25-2011, 10:19 AM
Shabby Chic Shabby Chic is offline
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It can be for ergonomic reasons, aesthetic reasons, tonal reasons, or some combination of the three. I made this one to raise the neck up to shoulder height at the nut without changing the natural position in the lap:

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Old 03-25-2011, 10:41 AM
thebolo thebolo is offline
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So how does it affect tone? Or is that just one of those things that you cant really pin down?
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Old 03-25-2011, 11:34 AM
Shabby Chic Shabby Chic is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thebolo View Post
So how does it affect tone? Or is that just one of those things that you cant really pin down?
It's a subject that's probably far beyond the scope of a simple post, but a few generalities can be made. A guitar's tone is made up of a lot of different factors, among the most important are the different ways the top can vibrate. The body can act as an air pump with the top moving up and down... how freely the top can pump up and down has a big effect on bass response. The top can vibrate from side to side where, if you can imagine, the bass side is moving up while the treble side is moving down and the top is effectively split into two vibrating surfaces. This particular 'dipole' motion is associated with how loud the guitar is close to the player. There are countless other ways that the top can vibrate, and each of these 'modes' affects the tone in some way.

In an asymmetric guitar the bridge and bracing are effectively moved away from the center of the top... you can think of it like moving a weight around to different spots on the head of a drum. This affects the way that the top can vibrate in all the different modes. It can be executed in a way that hinders certain modes while encouraging others which in turn can predictably shape the tone of the guitar in different ways.
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Old 03-25-2011, 02:10 PM
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My asymmetry was created to move the bridge toward the center of the top. Just saying'.
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Old 03-28-2011, 10:09 AM
thebolo thebolo is offline
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So by moving the bridge to the center of the top, did you have an idea of what it would do soundwise?
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Old 10-02-2011, 07:28 AM
mc1 mc1 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Shabby Chic View Post
It can be for ergonomic reasons, aesthetic reasons, tonal reasons, or some combination of the three. I made this one to raise the neck up to shoulder height at the nut without changing the natural position in the lap:

this looks very much like one of james ringelspaugh's designs, the comfort eagle:



http://www.ringelspaugh.com/index.htm

i have often thought a neck up design like this would be a winner.
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