nollock Posted August 21, 2004 Report Share Posted August 21, 2004 Ok, Ive been looking round the net to help in my (first) guitar design process and I have noticed that bookmatched tops rarely match up (at the join). Whats the deal? Even all the pictues on the PRS site show guitars with bookmatched maple that dont actualy match very well. Quilted maple doesnt seem as bad as flamed maple, and some other woods seem to work better. So is it just heavily figured wood that doenst match well? Am i right in think this is becuase the figuring changes after a bit of sanding? I assume a carved top would bugger it up all together? And so if i want a well (at the join ) matched top I should avoid heavly / fine figured wood? Tbh I dont like seeing the join like down the center of the guitar, somtimes it looks ok but most of the time it spoils the look imo. cheers, chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wademeister Posted August 21, 2004 Report Share Posted August 21, 2004 no man, they're matched perfectly. Remamber that grain running up out of the surface in one half will be running down at that spot on the other surface. Look at it from the neck or from the back strap button and the light and dark spots swap places. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonofaMesa Posted August 21, 2004 Report Share Posted August 21, 2004 Bookmatching isnt perfect becasue one has to cut, sand, and plane the veneer down. As such, the two sides diverge from the point at which they would match. Look at a piece of wood. Is the grain exactly the same on one side as the other? No. Thats why bookmatching isnt perfect. My theory is that a guitar is meant to be viewed from a distance. Say 4 ft at least. At that distance, you really cant tell. Figured woods have bvery active grain, so it may seem like they match less. Something like cherry with fine grain may be less noticeable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
litchfield Posted August 21, 2004 Report Share Posted August 21, 2004 Wrong guys. The bookmatches are off. Pics soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
litchfield Posted August 21, 2004 Report Share Posted August 21, 2004 (edited) and a big one of the last one Now, look at the other carved tops. I dont like Ed Roman, but he tends to pay attention to getting a prefect boocmatch.....Off to go find a quicksilver Rick gledura slacks on the books: And a couple quicksilvers: Edited August 21, 2004 by litchfield Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted August 21, 2004 Report Share Posted August 21, 2004 I've got to admit... I don't know much about wood, but even an amateur can see that PRS sometimes falls very short with bookmatching. I've noticed it since long before this thread, and I bet others have, too. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killahworm Posted August 21, 2004 Report Share Posted August 21, 2004 but of course they won't match up, when you put a saw to the plank you are going to take away some wood, the only way u could have a perfect bookmatch was if you didn't take away any wood. Adn since this is the way saws work it is impossible with a saw, i don't think you could get it perfect even with a laser,(if this is possible, i don't know) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhoads56 Posted August 21, 2004 Report Share Posted August 21, 2004 Veneers can be bookmatched almost perfectly, but the grain will always be "opposite". Carved tops are the worst, its just part of the game... your dealing with natural products. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
did291 Posted August 22, 2004 Report Share Posted August 22, 2004 remember too that the grain is bookmatch, not the figure. And quilt or flame may not match from one inch to another whithin the wood planck.But i must admite that the bookmatching on some of those picture is off by a lot.PRS is mass produce mainly by machine i gess ,it would be far more precise bookmatching using just your eyes and skill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhoads56 Posted August 22, 2004 Report Share Posted August 22, 2004 remember too that the grain is bookmatch, not the figure. And quilt or flame may not match from one inch to another whithin the wood planck.But i must admite that the bookmatching on some of those picture is off by a lot.PRS is mass produce mainly by machine i gess ,it would be far more precise bookmatching using just your eyes and skill. Your wrong, every pic in this thread is PERFECTLY bookmatched, inc the PRS examples. Machines have NOTHING to do with it. And for the record, PRS bookmatches all their guitar tops by hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
litchfield Posted August 22, 2004 Report Share Posted August 22, 2004 This one doesnt look lined up to me, but the rest are great. PRS still does a lot of things by hand. Ed Roman, whom I personnally dislike for reasons not to be discussed, lies about things PRS does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hai Yu Posted August 22, 2004 Report Share Posted August 22, 2004 I've been lurking here for a while but this subject got me registered. Hello everyone! I recently split a nice piece of lacewood that had one side look like a 'negative' of the other after polishing. Interesting effect. Having said that, the guitars pictured look pretty good. Especially the large PRS. Peace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ki swordsman Posted August 22, 2004 Report Share Posted August 22, 2004 welcome to the jungle! got pics of that lacewood? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hai Yu Posted August 22, 2004 Report Share Posted August 22, 2004 No pics I'm afraid. I never waste anything. It was a 90x90x300 offcut that became a pencil case for my son. It's nice looking wood. I wonder what it would sound like? Peace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
litchfield Posted August 22, 2004 Report Share Posted August 22, 2004 like really pretty mahogany. I do wanna make a lacewood cribbage board tho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
litchfield Posted August 22, 2004 Report Share Posted August 22, 2004 Please ignore/delete this post. I was a retard for a moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hai Yu Posted August 22, 2004 Report Share Posted August 22, 2004 I've used it in all sorts of projects in the past but the 'look' can be a bit much on some furniture. I've found it to be a bit heavy but I imagine it wouldn't be bad for a carve-top. I had a piece recently that had really the broad 'tiger stripes' on one side and was probably wide enough for a top but the run of the grain was a bit off. People still play crib? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
litchfield Posted August 23, 2004 Report Share Posted August 23, 2004 yeah! I am the king. I have never lost a game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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