A Fancy Batson for Bill

[BatsonGuitars]

Will Kirk,
Great question. This is something we've thought a lot about and experimented with quite extensively.
The soundhole, in our experience (especially with our latest location: in the side), has less to do with tone. The hole, essentially, is there as an 'airport', allowing air movement over and under the top... otherwise, we have a vacuum, and thus no sound. The Tone we are after is realized by allowing the 'tone-generator' (the soundboard) to function more effectively as a unit - having a balanced, even movement. Bracing comes into this picture and the 'lattice' we now use for top bracing has a great impact on even disbursement of tension, creating a balance of tone and a note/string clarity that we've never heard before.
Did I answer your question? Let me know if that doesn't clear anything up for you... or it opens up another can of worms...

gb

Originally Posted by Will Kirk

Very nice! I love those woods.

I have a question though in regards to the build, do you find that you still need to brace the top using some form of an x brace or can you pretty much do your own thing since you don't have the forward facing soundhole?

Seems like the traditional soundhole would cause some of the top's strength to shift since it wouldn't be able to disperse tension in the area where the wood is missing. I know that in most case's when you move a guitar's soundhole that the closer you put it to the bass strings the more bass you get and vice versa, how do you balance the tone when the soundhole is where you put it?

[Joel Stehr]

This is one of the most beautiful guitars I've seen,,,ever! Well done!

[BatsonGuitars]

Thanks, Joel. It may have been my favorite ever.

Originally Posted by Joel Stehr

This is one of the most beautiful guitars I've seen,,,ever! Well done!

[Ruble]

How do the tuners work?

Chris

[drcmusic7]

Grant, as always this is a stunning guitar! I hope the owner is enjoying this wonderful guitar.


Kindly,
Danny

[BatsonGuitars]

Ruble,
The tuners are banjo tuners, but two of them actually have stops built in. From what I understand, they are a combination of spring-driven and geared... Honestly, I know only a little about these tuners, as these were the first we ever used. They were requested by the client. He emailed me yesterday and says he loves them.
You can check them out here:
http://www.beaconbanjo.com/faq.cfm

Cheers!
Grant

Originally Posted by Ruble

How do the tuners work?

Chris

[CBG_BUILDER]

Awesome!!

Can you post a closeup of the bridge setup?

[BatsonGuitars]

I went through the photos and really didn't have a great clear one of the bridge. It was pretty typical of our bridge setup, though. No inlays or anything different about it.
Any particular questions regarding the bridge?