Official Luthiers Forum!

If I upset someone -I'm sorry!
I've been making and repairing guitars of all types for over 30 years-I learn from evryone who has the same interest,no matter what experience they've had!

I just found a reason to keep doing guitar work-The O.L.F.!

Let's all contribute and not debate!

Mike Collins

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Mike Collins

So what can you look for to help gauge whether you're overbuilding or
underbuilding the back? How much lateral flex should it have? Or is that
even what I should look for?

Mario I wish I could tell you their are no such things as forest sprites and tone faerie but they tell me to listen to you among others here.

_________________
"It's a Tone Faerie thing"
"Da goal is to sharpen ur wit as well as ye Sgian Dubh"
"Sippin Loch Dhu @Black lake" ,Kirby O...

I usually will never enter in to these heated discussions. But I am going
to step out here and say a few things that I have observed over the last
few months.

First and most importantly, the lack of respect some of you have shown
Scott and others who have non-traditional ideas is very discouraging. I
am a biochemist with a very strong background in physics/science in
general. A good majority of Scott's bracing theory seems wrong to me
but who am I to presume that I have the best answers and maybe he is
really on to something. We can all learn from each other, even the well
established guys like Kevin, Mario and Alan. And regardless of your
reputation as a builder, everyone deserves to be treated with honor and
respect.

I have seen a lot of hypocrisy here - folks dishing out what they in turn
would be very offended by. The tone of this forum is up to us. We can
choose to be respectful and open-minded or we can be arrogant -
content in our level of knowledge and abilities.

This is in no way intended towards specific people. I just think it is a bit
sad that whenever these "bracing theory" threads appear, harsh
comments usually follow.

Peace Out,
Simon

James;
I build my backs with no lateral flex.
For the reasons I stated before.
I want my top to do the work -that way it's very managable for me and the guitarist!
(that's who we make guitars for)

I was just playing one of my guitars with a cedar top and palisander B & sides
The back had no affect on the volume or tone if I held it against my body!
If you make a flexible back you have more work to make the top & back to work together !
I know some say that it's easy -well after 30 years of making guitars I can tell you for ME it's NOT!
I brace my sides so they are stiff also!

I know this is hard -I'm glad there is this forum to help you.

Mike Collins

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Mike Collins

For some reason it strikes me that that the back be weight matched to the rest of the guitar to be my main effort beyond stabitity?

Non coupled backs for strumin, cross and chicken pickin?

coupled if done right add color to fingerstyle, but wacth out for wolves?

_________________
"It's a Tone Faerie thing"
"Da goal is to sharpen ur wit as well as ye Sgian Dubh"
"Sippin Loch Dhu @Black lake" ,Kirby O...

oops Make that stability please!

_________________
"It's a Tone Faerie thing"
"Da goal is to sharpen ur wit as well as ye Sgian Dubh"
"Sippin Loch Dhu @Black lake" ,Kirby O...

WOW...I just now started catching up on this thread and am totally bummed about Mario's decision to retire from the OLF!!! That's terrible news for all of us!

Mario...please reconsider! Your posts over the years have led to me personally beginning entries in my journals with, "Mario says..." or "Mario does it this way..." Your reputation is impeccable because you always have a logical reason for your design or process that is based on facts drawn from testing or experience. I REALLY appreciate this...and I know others do as well.

If your decision is based on PMs that you consider to be based on BS then please address that with the "private messengers" and be assurred that the vast majority of "public messengers" appreciate your participation. If your decision is final, then I want to thank you for everything you have so generously given to this community. I only hope it's not final!

To all of my fellow members, let's not get hung up on the way messages are posted or how things are said...instead, let's do better in trying to keep topics on message and weight that message on the basis of fact rather than opinion. I'm personally not as much interested in group hugs as much as moving toward truth. I look at Mario as a "benevolent taskmaster" who has earned a lot of respect for what he has accomplished...I've found that over the years in education, industry, and my personal life that it's the taskmaster that has added most to my learning experience. We have lots of different views on topics from time to time and the more we learn the better we will become in being able to separate good ideas from BS...honorable people from charlitans... fact from opinion. I hope we can convince Mario to continue to be one of those teachers. He has earned tenure and deserves our respect.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

    
    I was pretty surprized at how things went as a result of this thread and
its contents. I really didn't see anything of a demeaning or attacking
nature in any of the posts, but maybe there are some long running or
ongoing tensions between members that I don't know about.

    It is a good informative threead with varying offerings concerning the
point at hand and in question.

    Sometimes we need to leave our feelings aside and allow others to
disagree with us since they have their own set of experiences to back
their findings up.

    Take it all, try it all and decide what gives you the best results.

Regards,
Kevin Gallagher/Omega Guitars