Letters to the void.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Acoustic Whammy

On the outside chance that an expert guitar luthier is browsing through random blogs and finds this one... let me describe my dream guitar, which I have only so far imagined as 2007. The guitar is shaped like a regular Martin dreadnought steel-string, but neck has the feel and dimensions of a Taylor only larger. Why larger? To support a low seventh B-string below the the regular 56-gauge low E. This is of course a bit unconventional, but let me get to kicker. At the bridge of this acoustic masterpiece is an 80's style matted-black Floyd Rose locking tremolo whammy-bar. Yes. Nobody makes a flat-top guitar with a whammy-bar. Why? Because the tension and flex created by a whammy bar would rip through any top of an acoustic guitar, no matter if it's spruce, ebony or Brazilian purple-heartwood. Here's the solution: an extended truss-rod. The truss rod of a guitar usually extends the length of the neck. But on the whammy acoustic, the truss rod will go past the end of the neck, behind the sound-hole, all the way to the bridge. This metal rod will attach to a metal plate behind the bridge, which then connects on the top of the guitar to the whammy-bar. Alternatively, the truss rod could extend all the way out the guitar past the strap-button. The strings could be anchored all the way out there at the back edge of the guitar or the whammy bar could also be anchored back there. How about it, science!?

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