Guild D55 soundboard not completely flat....

[Nauti]

Dear all,

I recently acquired a Guild D55, Corona build in 2002 (I think), Wonderful guitar. But, I have a question regarding the soundboard. I noticed that the soundboard is perfectly flat and perpendicular to the sides.....apart form the area where the fretboard runs over it. Where the fretboard runs over it the soundboard is slightly elevated,the elevation is completely symmetrical and it is also there when there are no strings on the guitar. Now, I wonder if this is Normal? The guitar seems rock solid, it is hard to imagine that there is unwanted curving of the soundboard going on. any thoughts on this?

I will bring the guitar to a repair man later on this week as the A strings rattles a bit when fretted, he will also take a look at the soundboard.

At this moment I have .12 strings on it, What are you all using? I'm thinking of switching to .13? any thoughts on that?

Cheers,

Jacob

 

[jazzmang]

All soundboards will deflect over time. Ideally, the guitar will have a slight arch to the entirety of the top. Its only after a long time that the top will begin bellying or bulging upwards behind the bridge.

This is normal behavior for most acoustics, BUT... if the top deflects too much upwards, you will have to comprimise by reducing saddle height. Eventually, no more compensation is feasible and the guitar may require a neck reset or some type of soundboard bracing modification/repair/replacement.

There are a lot of 'ifs' and out of all the Guilds I've got, only one has had significant bellying. I took it into my luthier, where they reglued some braces, firmly reattached the bridge, and put the soundboard under some straightening clamps while it was overhumidified and warmed up. Stayed like this for over a week.

Final verdict: The bulge is still visible, but far less worse now. Saddle height stabilized.

 

[taabru45]

Hi, my Corona D25 seems pretty flat all over, by eyeing it, I agree, its an outstanding guitar, as are most Guilds. Try the Daddario 'Bluegrass strings, they are light (12) at the top 3, and medium on the bottom 3, and they sound just great on mine, be sure you humidify properly. I'm in the northwest where it never gets that dry. good luck with that beauty. Steffan

 

[john_kidder]

My GF60R has a pretty substantial belly (light bracing, I think). The Bridge Doctor relieved it, but I had the sense that the whole bridge/assembly was under stress - I felt that it would have been better installed when the guitar was flat to prevent bellying, rather than trying to change the angle of the bridge when it was under stress.

So now I've had the guitar unstrung for about 4 months, and the top has settled back to flat. Going to reinstall the good Doctor next week into the static flat condition, see how she stays and how she plays.

 

[Nauti]

So, it is safe to conclude that a D55 should be completely flat and that the soundboard under the fretboard should not be elevated

(even though it is just a little bit, and it is completely symmetrical, it is only visible when you have the guitar on your lap, so, looking at a perpendicular angle at the soundboard. the soundboard flattens out slowly, basically at the end of soundhole it is flat again. ).

I have to look around here for a good repair man that knows guild, it will be a problem to find one where I'm living (other side of the pond...). I have also contacted Guild by email, but so far no reply.

 

[Nauti]

Ok,

I made some pictures which you can find here

http://picasaweb.google.com/jacobhartst ... dD55Curve#

(I realized you cannot post pictures on this forum?)

Anyway, the last picture is of the area behind the bridge, Basically there is curve in the soundboard, lowest point at the soundhole and at the sides and highest point in the middle line of the soundboard behind the bridge and the fretboard.

Something to worry about or not?

Cheers,

Jacob

 

[GardMan]

I doubt that many "flat top" tops are completely flat. In fact, I think many (most?) are built with a slight crown. Others (all eventually?) will start to belly a bit behind the bridge from string tension or humidity issues. The question is... is you D-55s excessive?

I couldn't see you pics other than the thumbnail size... so it's hard for me to tell. Is the belly behind the bridge extreme enough to affect the string height above the frets ("action;" everyone has somewhat different criteria here... most of my dreads have a bit more than ~3/32" clearance from the low E string to the 12th fret... and a bit more than ~2/32" from the high E to the 12th fret). Have you had to lower the saddle to bring the action into playable range? IF your action and saddle are OK, your (D-55s) belly probably isn't out of the ordinary. You might check inside with a mirror to make sure the braces and bridgeplate are OK, just to be sure).

As for elevated at the fret board... you might be seeing an effect of neckblock. On my D-25, I can faintly see a raised area under the fretboard corresponding to the neck block... but only if I have the guitar tilted just right to the light. Though it might be a humidity issue, but it's still there after 3 years at 40-45% RH. I have decided not to worry about it (too much).

With the limited info I have... I'd say you don't have anything to worry about. If you are seriously concerned, take it to a luthier/tech and have them look at it.

Good luck,
Dave

 

[chazmo]

I agree with Dave. I was able to see the full-size images by clicking on them. In any case, if your playing action isn't good, I would definitely have it looked at by a luthier. Flattops are misnamed (only because of their relation to archtops). There's almost always supposed to be a crown towards the center line of the guitar (on both back and top). I'm not sure about what you're seeing at the neck block.

I've seen massive bellying due to dehydration damage and storage under too much tension. The good news with that is that it can be solved by hydrating the guitar with strings off and with a stack of books resting on the guitar behind the bridge. It turns out that wood is very resilient.

I would take the strings off this guitar, and use covered soundhole and room humidification at a high level (70% or so) for a couple of weeks. Put some books on the fretboard and behind the bridge. See if it takes its shape back (assuming it's actually out of shape).

Try to take some pictures (or examine with a mirror) the inside of the guitar around the bridge and the neck block and look for any cracks and particularly any separated braces.

 

[markus]

My Dv52 also has a litle bit of belly, but sound is great nevertheless;
In the beginning I thought a flat top should be absolutely flat but I learned from a luthier arched tops are much more stable, so allmost all guitars are more or less arched (as violins are);
I think it was posted here before, but the following video helped me understanding that "flat top"-theme: http://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/features/woods/humidity/default.aspx

Markus

 

[kostask]

Nauti:

I also think the guitar is OK. All of my dreads have a curve to them, caused by string pull. Yours does not seem to be excessive, from what I can see.

You could get it checked out by a luthier to make sure.

I heard it said by some famous guitar player ( I forget the player's name): "I don't trust a guitar that is perfectly flat", the implication being that it is not hard to build a flattop with a perfectly flat top, but that guitar will have either a very thick soundboard, or very large braces, either of which will degrade the sound significantly.

Kostas

 

[Nauti]

Well, the Taylor videos were a nice way to learn more about humidity and the effects of it on the guitar. I decided to get a good humidifier and hygrometer and carefully monitor the humidity in the case. I changed the string to .13 and there is no rattle anymore and it still plays so smoothly due to the low action, wonderful. I think the guitar is fine as it as, and probably there is no excessive warping.

Thanks for all the replies!

Jacob