seeking guitar construction opinions.

[atreidesheir]

I am planning a guitar build next year.
A brain fart said build a les paul type with maple body and mahogany top sandwiched with bolts instead of vibration dampening glues.

I figure a bolt top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right, and one under each pickup

Any thoughts on the the wood combination and/or the use of bolts instead of glue?

[Edgecrusher]

Wont make a measurable difference. When you put the top on the guitar you clamp the 2 pieces of wood together which will squeeze 90% of the glue out. Vibrationally there would be no advantage to bolting it on.

[atreidesheir]

Wont make a measurable difference. When you put the top on the guitar you clamp the 2 pieces of wood together which will squeeze 90% of the glue out. Vibrationally there would be no advantage to bolting it on.

That makes sense. Differences between bolt-on and glued-in necks sparked the idea.
I built one of those StewMac acoustic guitar kits for a friend last year and it was a bolt-on neck and it really impressed me (fantastic guitars worth 3or4x the cost). That is what made me ask the questions.

It could be incredibly ugly (or really cool) too. I imagine the reverse order of tonewoods would mostly be a wash too. But it seemed like an interesting thought experiment. Still intrigued by it...

[Empty Pockets]

This is such a good idea that i have disassembled my pre-WWII Martin and am going to nail it back together tonight

[GuitarDoc]

You said it right..."brain fart".

Too much gas make you do crazy things.

[AlexR]

I just wonder what testing you did to know that glue is a vibration killer.

[Tyler Perdue]

Many thanks

[DarkMatter]

Oh no Tyler Perdue, many thanks to you.

And OP, I don't think you'll gain much from such a method.

[atreidesheir]

The stewmac kit used a bolt on dovetail like this:


I was very pleased with the neck resonance and response. Very alive (feeling). That was the germ of the idea. Just wondering about expanding the idea.

[GuitarDoc]

Some glues may absorb vibration, but only if they are left very thick. When wood is glued and clamped together there is essentially no glue thickness, it becomes a wood-to-wood contact joint and the glue plays no part in the tone/vibration equation.

It is common knowledge that different types of wood transmit vibrations differently. If, for example, you just bolt the body and top together, there will not be a complete body-to-top intimate connection between the two and the vibrations will tend to be isolated within the two wood types. This could lead to a situation similar to electronic microphonics...you will get "buzzing". The glue is necessary to create continuity between the mahogany and maple (so they act as one wood).

So, again, I say...yes indeed, a brain fart.

[Snoogles]

Many thanks

huh?

http://www.seymourduncan.com/forum/s...rchid=17345757

[scottosan]

I am planning a guitar build next year.
maple body and mahogany top

Dont you have this backwards?

Also, use glue.

[atreidesheir]

Just looking beyond tradition. Even my Charvels and Vandenberg feel like they have long gray beards these days.

[Empty Pockets]

i don't understand the desire to innovate just for innovation's sake.

if it ain't broke don't fix it. keep it simple. y'know?

[PonyKiller]

Hahaha, bolt-on top. That's a really,,, interesting idea actually. Kinda reminds me of the BC Rich invisibolt thing. It didn't last long apparently.

I can only picture taking such guitar to the Les Paul forums. "OMGzz bolt-on top?! Kill it with fire!! Set tops rulez!"