Acoustic Guitar Shapes

I started being a lot more conscious of the different shapes of the guitar, and now dreadnoughts and auditoriums just kind of jump out at me where ever I go.

Yesterday, I was in (ugh) Guitar Center on 14th Street and I tried out the kind of shape I'm thinking of building. It's cool, but a little bit smaller than what I am used to. I also don't think that not having a cutaway is going to be a big issue as I rarely play in that area anyway (perhaps, unfortunately).

Also, in GC they had an acoustic whose side was actually sawed off so you an inspect the insides, and it gave me a pretty good idea of the real-world thickness of the soundboard. Cool!

Basic Anatomy, Body Styles, Dimensions, and Bouts

See Buying an Acoustic Guitar for a basic discussion of exterior anatomy, body styles, and types. This buying guide also discusses the effect of various woods on the sound of the intstrument.

I learned that my Takamine G Series guitar that I've had and used for years is, as it turns out, a cutaway dreadnought. This is not the body type that we'll be building, however; we'll be focusing on the slightly more pleasantly curved "Auditorium" size. I like that this is one of the larger-dimensioned models, because having a big guitar in your hand is sort of like having a big machine gun.

Notice that on each side of the guitar there are two curves -- the lower, larger one and the upper, smaller one. These are called bouts and the width across the upper and lower one (along with the curvature) are what creates the shape of the guitar. This will come into play in a little while when we create an outline of our guitar template.