New acoustic. Is this as designed?

Bod · January 2018

I bought a new Tanglewood TPE SF DLX acoustic a few weeks ago. I've not really had much time to play it but got it out of the case today and I've noticed there's a contour in the top behind the bridge.

I'm suspicious that this not as designed and is actually a deformation of the top. I'm happy to be corrected, but I thought acoustic tops were usually flat?

What are your thoughts?

Image: http://i65.tinypic.com/27y7ebs.jpg

earwighoney · January 2018

Bod said:

I'm happy to be corrected, but I thought acoustic tops were usually flat?

Nope. Acoustic guitar soundboards have a radius.

However...

It's difficult to tell by the pictures but your acoustic guitar doesn't quite look right.

The soundboard could have bellied due to excess humidity or it could something a bit more serious. Hard to say from just one picture though.

Bod · January 2018

Thanks for the confirmation. It does seem uniform and the action is perfect, so I think it's OK. I'll try and take a few more photos in natural light - it's quite difficult to see, let alone photograph.

menamestom · January 2018

Also worth looking inside, if all the bracing looks good it will be further confirmation, along with the action that there is no issue. You'll need a small mirror to look at the bottom of the soundboard.

ToneControl · January 2018

what does the body look like from the side?

AliGorie · January 2018

forget the deliberate doming of the top - what to look for is - is there enough height in the saddle to make adjustments ie lower should u need to.
The neck angle, soundboard radius is part of the normal design of the acoustic guitar, the doming strengthens the s/b - think egg / the roof of St Pauls.
All the calculations are to allow a saddle height to string action over the f/board. As long as a good playing 'action can be achieved - all's ok.

ICBM · January 2018

They always belly up a bit - there's a lot of tension on the top. That does look like quite a lot when you see it like that, but it's more obvious than it would be normally when you put a big straight edge across it

.

As AliGorie says, if the action is fine now and the bridge isn't already cut down as low as it will go, it's meant to be like that and everything is OK. If the bridge is already very low and the action is still too high, that's when you should be concerned.

A 'flat top' acoustic means as opposed to an archtop, which is like a violin and is deliberately highly arched, either by being carved or pressed to the shape, not that the top is exactly flat.

Strat_a_tat_tat · January 2018

Someone once told me... 'Never trust a flat top without a belly.' Meaning... if there's no belly, the guitar is probably a bit over-built - and less likely to resonate as much as a more lightly built guitar.

I guess there may be some truth in that.

Lewy · January 2018

Strat_a_tat_tat said:

Someone once told me... 'Never trust a flat top without a belly.' Meaning... if there's no belly, the guitar is probably a bit over-built - and less likely to resonate as much as a more lightly built guitar.
I guess there may be some truth in that.

It’s a quote often attributed to Norman Blake - someone who knows a thing or two about acoustic tone.

Strat_a_tat_tat · January 2018

Lewy said:

Strat_a_tat_tat said:

Someone once told me... 'Never trust a flat top without a belly.' Meaning... if there's no belly, the guitar is probably a bit over-built - and less likely to resonate as much as a more lightly built guitar.
I guess there may be some truth in that.

It’s a quote often attributed to Norman Blake - someone who knows a thing or two about acoustic tone.

I've never met Norman Blake... I think it was Blakey (from On The Buses) that told me. ;-)

AliGorie · January 2018

ICBM said:

A 'flat top' acoustic means as opposed to an archtop, which is like a violin and is deliberately highly arched, either by being carved or pressed to the shape, not that the top is exactly flat.

I still call 'em 'flat top'd' - when I did the guitar making course and did a bit of tonewood buying, I was surprised to see some 'suppliers' in Europe still referred to them as 'western' for size to differentiate between 'classical'' which are smaller dimensions.

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New acoustic. Is this as designed?

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