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Archtop f-hole placement: how precise?
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Archtop f-hole placement: how precise?
I was finally able to model something like a Gibson L7 top plate! Now I’m trying to build my f-holes…
My only reference is the Benedetto archtop book, where it puts a few rules of thumb about how the f-holes should be placed. My question is, how precise are we talking here?
One of the rules of thumb is that the bridge intersects at the midway point of the f-holes. Does this imply that the f-holes are at a certain location on the plate, or could I (more easily) say that wherever I place the f-holes, that should now become the bridge location?
Attached is a screenshot of what I have. I have a centerline, but haven’t chosen a firm scale length yet
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4 Replies
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1: Commit to a scale length. I know how tough commitment can be, but now is the time!
2: The little horizontal line that makes the “S” into an “F” points right at the bridge.
3: Send Bob a thank-you email!
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My post might have given the wrong impression…I’m not waffling on the scale length, but really asking a more subtle question.
Given the mold I already have been designing against (J-200), I could approach the f-hole placement in two ways:
– I could take what I have shown as a screenshot (which seems aesthetically pleasing), make that intersection point where the bridge goes, then inferring a scale length
OR
– I could ignore my f-holes for the moment, pick a scale length, then place the f-holes at the bridge location
What I’m asking is whether it matters which way I choose? I’d have to imagine that we’re not talking a big shift either way, but given I’m drawing this out in CAD first, I figured I might as well ask
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Possibly answering my own question…given my current drawing, there is 11.157″ from the f-hole point I chose to the end of the body. If you assume that’s the 14th fret, it implies a 26″ scale length (within 0.025″ tolerance). With 25.5 scale length, the f-hole should be about an 1/8″ different.
Surely that doesn’t matter?
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Hi Randy – Just for some context here, on an upright bass, the center of the f-hole has an angled cut that aligns with the foot of the bridge – both on the bass and treble side of the top table. Using this “logic,” I think that you are fine with how you are locating the f-holes. The position of the f-holes should not affect the sound/output of the guitar, but rather, the bridge position will, as you surely know.
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