How do you design a new model?

[nkforster]

Just posted on TLB about the aesthetic aspect to designing a new body shape.

http://www.theluthierblog.com/articles/ ... itar-body/

How do you do it? What's your normal starting point?

Nigel

http://www.theluthierblog.com
http://www.nkforsterguitars.com

[pat foster]

My customers have all wanted something along the lines of an OM, L-00 or parlor, so I've only done one design from scratch. I wanted a shape with a full lower bout, and in the interest of playing comfort, a narrow upper bout and a petite waist. Using splines in a CAD program, I started with an upper bout curve I liked and the sound hole at a normal distance from the neck join, and a lower bout curve I liked, drawing each individually, then attached the bouts by adding the waist. I tweaked the waist until it flowed well into the bouts, and changed the bouts with each change of the waist, then back to the waist, then back and forth until it all looked "right." The bracing pretty much falls into place as dictated by the locations of the soundhole and the bridge. My ground zero for all the major components like the neck, body and bracing is the neck join.

Here's what I got. 12-fret 24.9 scale.

DSC03091 - Version 2.jpg (71.21 KiB) Viewed 4672 times

Pat

[Nick]

I usually build to established patterns but have also 'tweaked' these designs on a few where I've had Carte Blanche to do what I want to do. I prefer the 000 sizing as a base and have played around similar to Pat, using "G thang" (the freebie by Mottola) until it looks aesthetically pleasing. For me,at least, the narrower waist and larger lower bout is pleasing to my eye, I don't play around with the upper bout. Have several designs for different soundhole designs but haven't implemented them as yet. Nothing too radical from me I'm afraid.