The new bass design is really big, and it needs a really big mold. Normally I make acoustic guitar molds out of MDF, but with a body this big I decided to do a plywood one. I got this idea when I visited the Taylor factory a few years ago. I […]

Instruments, Luthierie/Guitar Building, Acoustic Bass Guitars | No Comments »

Announcing the new ABG Wiki! It’s brand new and a little rough around the edges, but I hope it will end up being a useful store of information on all things related to Acoustic Bass Guitars.
Know something I don’t? It’s a wiki, so you can edit and add to it yourself. […]

Instruments, Luthierie/Guitar Building, Meta, Acoustic Bass Guitars | 1 Comment »

Well, after much trial-and-error, I’ve decided that the thin laminate I got for the tops of the new ABG’s is too much trouble to reinforce for the backs and sides. So off to the supplier for some .040″ laminate. Upon further reflection, I think the thicker material must be what Martin’s using […]

Instruments, Luthierie/Guitar Building, Acoustic Bass Guitars | No Comments »

Recently I put together a vacuum bagging system for gluing up the composite sandwich braces in the ABG. You can see pictures of the process in the web album.
I’ve also built a vacuum press for gluing the braces on the top - stay tuned for that.

Luthierie/Guitar Building, Acoustic Bass Guitars, Workshop | 1 Comment »

Because the bracing of the new basses is so experimental, I need to load test the top to test deflection under string tension. To do this, I made a dummy top out of the real material, braced it, and mounted it in a frame that simulates the perimeter of the body and neck block.
I […]

Instruments, Luthierie/Guitar Building, Acoustic Bass Guitars | No Comments »