boundsteelblues Posted March 28, 2009 Report Share Posted March 28, 2009 Is it frowned upon to join 3 pieces for a body back? I just haven’t seen it mentioned anywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted March 28, 2009 Report Share Posted March 28, 2009 Is it frowned upon to join 3 pieces for a body back? I just haven’t seen it mentioned anywhere. Folks do it with acoustic guitars, with woods that can be difficult or impossible to find in the right widths and grain orientation. Done right, with bookmatched and/or slip-matched pieces, you can hardly tell where the joints are. So with solidbody instruments, why not? If you're using 3 random pieces - then yeah, you'll see the joints. People like to get all exercised about 1-piece vs multipiece, etc - until they're asked to pick out a 1-piece body in a blind test. There is a long way to go in glue/wood ratio from a 3-piece body to plywood...if it works for what you're building and the materials you have at hand, just go with it and don't think twice about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotYou Posted March 28, 2009 Report Share Posted March 28, 2009 (edited) I really like them. I think they give more character to what would other wise be a very plain back. Personally, I like to make the middle piece the same wood as the top, as long as it looks good (it doesn't always work). I think it adds some continuity to the overall design. There have been times where I really want to use a piece of wood that is an inch or two too narrow. Making a three piece back is great way to work around it. I don't think it should be frowned on at all, especially since it involves more work. It'd be much easier to just buy a wider piece. The same goes for laminate necks. Edited March 28, 2009 by NotYou Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick500 Posted March 28, 2009 Report Share Posted March 28, 2009 I just glued one up a few days ago. I think it looks fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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