A/B comparison maple build vs rosewood

[jaymarsch]

Thanks for this great explanation, Sadie. I find all of the nuances with respect to bracing and tone shaping quite fascinating.
Best,
Jayne

[Sadie-f]

Originally Posted by koolimy

I don't know exactly what binding does tonally, but I bet your guitar will look even better with the binding! It looks great as is, I didn't realize it didn't have binding until you mentioned it LOL.

If you can get such a good sounding guitar with an uninspiring top, the sky must be the limit for you with actually good tops! It seems like you have quite a few projects in your mind or in your workshop, really interested to see how those turn out.

It must be so cool to actually receive mentorship from a legend like Mr. Hoover. Please don't tell him I like your guitar better than his though LOL.

@koolimy, The kerfing is the key structural connection between the sides (which are really what give the guitar most of its stability) and the top/back. Gluing without kerfing would fragile because it's such a small connection between sides and top/back. On the other hand, that joint is quite rigid. Routing away the purfling/binding channel makes a structure that's still strong, and also more flexible (so not resisting motion). Binding and purfling aren't stuctural in the same way the original top-sides joint was.

I was advised early on (Thanks Alan Carruth!) that it's quite easy to make a not great instrument from superior wood, and while I did use pretty nice flame maple for the sides, that doesn't cost nearly as much as a premium top or the nicer (to me) quilt maple set that's probably my next build.

I would like to think the sky is indeed the limit and I'm excited for all of the builds to come .. I'm also trying to be realistic. I spent several working days just tuning tops, RH can do one in 15 minutes, and I have no doubt he gets better results. I would like future builds to run a bit quicker than this first one .. I've learned a lot, It's still a lot of work.

The time I had with RH was amazing and super valuable, and I've had help from so many people! Other luthiers of course, folks here, and I work in a shared workshop, where for instance if I need a router bit I don't have in stock, or say to 3-d print the drill guide for correct location of the neck bolts in the head block, I can get those things for just asking.

[koolimy]

Originally Posted by Sadie-f

@koolimy, The kerfing is the key structural connection between the sides (which are really what give the guitar most of its stability) and the top/back. Gluing without kerfing would fragile because it's such a small connection between sides and top/back. On the other hand, that joint is quite rigid. Routing away the purfling/binding channel makes a structure that's still strong, and also more flexible (so not resisting motion). Binding and purfling aren't stuctural in the same way the original top-sides joint was.

I was advised early on (Thanks Alan Carruth!) that it's quite easy to make a not great instrument from superior wood, and while I did use pretty nice flame maple for the sides, that doesn't cost nearly as much as a premium top or the nicer (to me) quilt maple set that's probably my next build.

I would like to think the sky is indeed the limit and I'm excited for all of the builds to come .. I'm also trying to be realistic. I spent several working days just tuning tops, RH can do one in 15 minutes, and I have no doubt he gets better results. I would like future builds to run a bit quicker than this first one .. I've learned a lot, It's still a lot of work.

The time I had with RH was amazing and super valuable, and I've had help from so many people! Other luthiers of course, folks here, and I work in a shared workshop, where for instance if I need a router bit I don't have in stock, or say to 3-d print the drill guide for correct location of the neck bolts in the head block, I can get those things for just asking.

I see, thanks for the tidbit about binding! I have been reading a ton about guitars and how each element affects the sound, but I knew nothing about binding and its effects. One of the reasons why I love this forum is because you learn something new every day!

The luthier community is also so generous and helpful. It's no wonder we get addicted once we try our hands at building our own guitars LOL.