screamindaemon Posted January 8, 2009 Report Share Posted January 8, 2009 Afternoon. I have finished my first guitar build with decent success (considering the tools I had at the time), and now I'm moving onto something a little more ambitious. I've always been a fan of explorer bodies, as well as single cut arch top and semi hollow bodies. So I figure, why not throw them all together into one... Now, I've been trying to do some research on this, but I've yet to find a single picture of an arch top explorer. Do you know of any exist? Or is it simply that the guitar shape, plus extra size to make the explorer body is such that this idea simply won't work, thus the reason for no pictures of it? I would appreciate any random (yet on topic) advice you may or may not have. Thanks. -Cam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geo Posted January 8, 2009 Report Share Posted January 8, 2009 I don't know why it wouldn't work. A good design might scale down the size of the body a little, since the body will be thicker. A top arched to fit the shape of that body would look pretty cool. Take your time designing it, and it should work fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted January 8, 2009 Report Share Posted January 8, 2009 anything is possible and this wouldnt be too difficult to pull off.... but i would have concerns about the aesthetics of a carved top explorer, i imagine it looking tubby - depends how you get the carve to work going down the longer parts of the body Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j. pierce Posted January 9, 2009 Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 When you say archtop, do you mean a carved top like an LP, or are you actually considering making a hollow-body jazz box type guitar in the shape of an explorer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geo Posted January 9, 2009 Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 Another thought... if you actually make an archtop, it might be good to have the thickness of the body taper along with the bass side lower bout. Otherwise it might look pretty wonky down there. Also, aesthetically, where would you put the F-hole(s)? Maybe just one, in place of the pickguard. Any F-holes should probably reflect the body shape (i.e., they shouldn't be violin- or 335-style, but more cutting and angular). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted January 9, 2009 Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 The reason you don't see any Explorer archtop pictures is simply because I bet there aren't any. I haven't seen one archtop guitar that didn't have a curved, flowing body outline. You're asking about putting an archtop on a body that is basically all straight lines. I'm with Wez here. It's possible to do, but the aesthetics will be way off. There is a reason why archtops are put on guitars with curved body lines, and also those that are at least a BIT symmetrical. A hollowbody/chambered Explorer? Definitely doable. F-holes on an Explorer? Absolutely. I'm sure Paul Gilbert has a few examples. But archtop is the only point of contention I see here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nor Posted January 9, 2009 Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 (edited) Jackson has done a few RR's with carved tops - look pretty cool. Some might consider this more an 'extreme bevel'... lol.. Edited January 9, 2009 by nor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted January 10, 2009 Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 I would most definitely consider that an extreme bevel. A carve, to me, requires a smooth-ish flow from the center of the guitar to the edges. The nature of beasts like the Explorer and V is that their sharp edges don't lend themselves well to a smoothly graduating face height like an LP does. They fight one another, round peg in sharp, pointy hole-style. Beveling on a shape like an Explorer is cool, though. XXTREME BEVELZZ are great too. That Rhoads looks stylin'! I've apparently gotten in the habit of putting bevels on everything. Can't wait to get a block of nicely figured mahog to chip into! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmrentis Posted January 10, 2009 Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 Yea, I dig bevels too, especially extreme bevels. I think they fit straight edged designs especially well. Bevels were really the only carve I felt worked with the design that I did. My bevel. It was amazing how much more comfortable the guitar was once the bevels were thrown on there, as I had been concerned it'd never feel comfortable. That Jackson does look amazing. J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j. pierce Posted January 10, 2009 Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 Woah, J - did you post a WIP thread for that build? That's awesome looking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmrentis Posted January 10, 2009 Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 Not yet, but I will. I'm just terribly slow so I figured I'd wait til I was nearly done to throw up a thread. I just have to finish the small carves inside the horns, then I can start finishing and on the neck I am just about to fret and I still am working out a headstock inlay. Thanks though and I'll get a thread going soon here I'm sure, I made sure to take loads of pics and that wasn't a very current pic but it showed the bevel well. J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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