fridge Posted April 5, 2009 Report Share Posted April 5, 2009 The title basicly says it all. ive done countless searches here and found that almost everyone has said that there very quiet and have no volume at all. this i know to be true as i own a PRS semi-hollow but i was wondering. What if u had/built an electric guitar but had it completly hollowed out with only a small block for the neck joint, the neck pickup is screwd right to the top wood and the bridge was tune-o-matic screwed to a block of wood that was attached to the top wood but NOT the bottom. and a sound hole of course. Being roughly 1-3/4" to 2" in thickness. i know the volume on acoustics is from the top wood vibrating hence the bridge not being full attached. also to resolve the bridge/string tension on the top wood the stop peice will be the style arch tops have. im hoping this will be a future project of mine. fridge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fridge Posted April 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2009 Nobody has any input to this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fridge Posted April 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2009 realy? no one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodenspoke Posted April 6, 2009 Report Share Posted April 6, 2009 i know the volume on acoustics is from the top wood vibrating hence the bridge not being full attached. You answered your own question, its not an acoustic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foil1more Posted April 6, 2009 Report Share Posted April 6, 2009 Yeah, you pretty much described a hollow arch top. The only difference is that an arch top and what you described is arch tops generally have some bracing and a bridge that sits against the top instead of being attached to a plate in the top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted April 6, 2009 Report Share Posted April 6, 2009 Why don't you just pony up and learn how to build an acoustic guitar and amplify that... ...that's what you want by the sound of it. Why are you so interested in making a solidbody guitar a resonant instrument, why not just build a truly resonant instrument to begin with, and do that properly? You could spend countless hours reading archived conversations on this subject on the various forums, and you'll find far far more information by searching out there than asking the same old question again and again, it's just been beaten to death. Or...you could just build a few yourself instead of asking that same old question on a forum again and let us know how it worked out for you and your results/experiences with it. In the end, I would guess that 90% of these conversations come down to people who want to build an acoustic guitar but are scared to do it, they think they can 'cheat' the system somehow. Lets look at it from the other direction, say you're taking acoustic principles and 'deadening' an acoustic enough to hold a TOM bridge...that is, in effect, exactly what you asked for, so learn how to build an acoustic and deaden the top to take a TOM and a pickup or two. Theres your answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stereordinary Posted April 6, 2009 Report Share Posted April 6, 2009 Lest we forget one of the main reasons why the solid body guitar was invented in the first place; to reduce feedback at high volumes. Sure, you could engineer a fully hollow guitar, with a TOM and a pickup, but be ready for feedback complaints. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted April 6, 2009 Report Share Posted April 6, 2009 You should ask this question over at the MIMF, and post it in the hollowbody/archtop section so experienced archtop guys can explain your issues with more clarity. Better yet, search their archives. The bottom line is that as soon as you put ANYTHING on a vibrating top, you deaden it's ability to resonate (vibrate) as it was designed to do in the first place. So, you need to know where your limit is, what level of acoustic vibration are you looking to achieve and what are you willing to build to achieve your goals. You will need to understand top plates and top plate construction techniques (whether it be flattop or archtop) to get anywhere with your idea tho, just understanding how to build a solidbody guitar, then ream out it's guts isn't the answer, you should really start to study acoustic / archtop construction to get what you want, it is definitely do-able under those circumstances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiKro Posted April 6, 2009 Report Share Posted April 6, 2009 The title basicly says it all. ive done countless searches here and found that almost everyone has said that there very quiet and have no volume at all. this i know to be true as i own a PRS semi-hollow but i was wondering. What if u had/built an electric guitar but had it completly hollowed out with only a small block for the neck joint, the neck pickup is screwd right to the top wood and the bridge was tune-o-matic screwed to a block of wood that was attached to the top wood but NOT the bottom. and a sound hole of course. Being roughly 1-3/4" to 2" in thickness. i know the volume on acoustics is from the top wood vibrating hence the bridge not being full attached. also to resolve the bridge/string tension on the top wood the stop peice will be the style arch tops have. im hoping this will be a future project of mine. fridgeSeems to me that you might now understand why I am working with a reso cone for the acoustic aspect. MK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpm99 Posted April 6, 2009 Report Share Posted April 6, 2009 (edited) Like foil1more said, you're describing something similar to an archtop guitar. I'd go with an archtop bridge rather than a block of wood under the top. One of these: If you laid out your intentions for the guitar, you'd probably get more focused advice. Good luck. -Dave Edited April 7, 2009 by dpm99 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 I'd go with an archtop bridge rather than a block of wood under the top. OK Dave, if you want to use an archtop bridge, then you're going archtop style (pressure exerted on top plate for vibration) technique, as opposed to flattop (pulling vs. pressure) technique, which he does verify he wants to do by using a trapeze type tailpiece as stated in his post. In which case, either you're going to have to make a real braced archtop top to be strong enough to withstand the downward pressure, or you're going to use a piece of wood so thick that it does not resonate. I will repeat, if he wants to do this, he needs to study acoustic building techniques and procedures. If he does that, he can build a great instrument that does exactly what he wants it to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpm99 Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 No arguments from me, Drak. You're right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fridge Posted April 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 thank you for the advise Drak and others. after re-reading my post i realized how similer this idea is to an archtop guitar. Do you have any recomended reading on the subject of acoustic construction and building. i have been reading the tutorials here and elsewere but i would there no such thing as learning to much . good thing i havnt started this project lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 The MIMF forum has an entire forum section dedicated to archtops and hollowbodies that quite a few pro builders hang out at (last time I was there anyway) and is a great place to start. The MIMF archives is also a really excellent source of information A simple google search for archtop construction, acoustic guitar construction, ...like that...will get you a LOT as well, there's a ton of information out there, and really, is fun to learn about. A lot of first-time guys who like to build archtops also seemingly like to post tutorials about them on their own websites as well, I have run across a truckload of them over the years... Godspeed to you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davee5 Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 1. I have convinced myself that buildin g atrue archtop is about the hardest guitar build one can undertake, more so than a flattop ("normal") acoustic guitar. I have built only 1 guitar, a semihollow/chambered electric, but am preparing for an acoustic build and have read widely. I expect that if you have to ask how to do it in an online forum, you have a LOT more homework to do before you can build an archtop. 2. My favorite guitar building book of any genre is Robert Benedetto's "Making an Archtop Guitar". Buy it no matter what kind of guitar you're making, it's gorgeous and incredibly informative on a wide range of fine building techniques. Incidentally it will also teach you how to build an archtop. 3. Everything is doable, but you have to take your time and do your reading and/or practice. (Well, definitely practice, but extreme care can take you a long way on you first go.) 4. Best of luck. -Dave E. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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