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Some thoughts needed....

Hello all. It's been a while...

Some remember me, to others I'm new. Started building CBG's but skill set plateaued, and I shifted to building full size geets (see a couple pix below).

I have access to a couple 40 watt lasers and am able to cut rout templates. Not long ago I saw the MGB 'Fat Bottom kit and have been jonesing after one, but also like the design process so I have created my version from scratch.

My design is similar construction, a top and bottom, with 'rings' for the body, sort of like Danelectro construction. The MGB kit is .250 top/bottom and 2 .750 rings for a total thickness of about 2 inches.

I have a good supply of birch plywood scrap, some bare, some that blond 'finished' surface for cabinetry, of various thickness. I'd like an overall thicker body than 2".

So what I'm thinking of is a bottom of anywhere between .375 and .750, 2 or 3 rings of .750 and a top of .25 to .375 for an overall thickness of possibly close to 4 inches.

So Lots of questions, in stream of consciousness order.

Two types of rings, simple perimeter ring, and the topmost ring with added wood area for a neck pocket and mount support for a hardtail bridge. I'm thinking a top over that should probably be no more than .250, for that whole 'soundboard' vibration thing, and if so, should the internal support be relieved from direct contact (at least in areas that are not neck pocket or bridge mount).

I'm having a hard time finding the neck I want. Should be paddle headstock (3R+3L) short scale, preferably 24-inch scale, 4-string, neck pocket bolt on, zero fret OK, but if it has a nut, nut must be pre-slotted.

Any help/tips will be appreciated.

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Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on August 16, 2023 at 11:47am

Hi James, I like the look of your builds.

As for your questions, I do not fully understand what you are aiming for. Electric or acoustic guitar? You mention internal support, not sure what that refers to, you mention soundboard vibration [acoustic guitar] and hardtail bridge [electric guitar.

You did not mention what the top timber would be. This can have a bearing on the thickness of the top if it's an acoustic guitar. If using a support block for the bridge this will make a vibrating top pretty redundant. Plywood sides ars ok as they do not contribute to the sound, and top-end builders are using laminated sides in their acoustic instruments.

I used a laminated top as an experiment, and it worked pretty well. It was about 3mm thick.

I hope this gives you something to work with for starters.
Taff

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Permalink Reply by James Pobog on August 16, 2023 at 1:01pm

In deference to CBGitty, I'm not going to post a direct link, but this is the kit:

mgbguitars.com/collections/boxes-bodies/products/mgb-fat-bottom-guitar-body-kit

There's thumbnail pix pf builds people have done. It's sort of hybrid Danelectro construction;. Not a traditional acoustic or traditional electric. I was gonna use one of their surface mount flat coil 'buckers, and possibly a single coil 3 or 4 string, but I like the surface mount option better. BTW, I won't use any sort of piezo, don't like them.
What I'm envisioning is making a couple core rings from some of my doug fir slabs to get thickness, and most likely 1/4" birch ply for top and back, though I also might just make several rings out of birch ply scrap that I have.