Glossary

 

A-Braced

Edge Ports

 

Frequency Compensated Bridge

History, philosophy—The way I understand this idea (developed by Kasha, Schneider and Klein) is the redistribution of stiffness/weight across the top plate. The broader width and increased weight/stiffness on the bass side will tighten the bass-end by limiting the harmonic content, the opposite being true of the treble side. And though the top is a single diaphragm ( ie what happens on the bass side will affect the treble side) , as frequencies increase the vibrational areas of the top will break up into smaller nodal areas. So at lower pitches the whole top works together, and higher frequencies are afforded a broader harmonic content, and the top functions better at a broad range of pitches simultaneously.

 

Laminated Ribs

Why? The guitar is generally considered to have a very modest ability to turn energy into sound- about 6% efficiency. Most of the strings vibrational energy is absorbed by the guitars structure and dissipated into heat. In order to minimize this damping and provide the two plates and neck with good support one only has to look to the Banjo or the snare drum to see that volume and projection begin with the rim. I have taken the full-thickness side (2mm) and laminated it with a curly maple veneer, and a second cross-grained veneer over the sideport area. The blocks are epoxied in place. I have recently gone from ”reversed kerf” liners to solid bent wood strip liners for even more stiffness in the rim. Finally, the inside of the rim is sprayed with shellac for reflectivity. All this adds up to minimizing any vibrational damping by the rim or the neck by providing a more stable platform to mount the plates and neck to.

 

Laskin Armrest

A common feature of the guitars made by William Laskin, www.williamlaskin.com. The lower bout of the guitar is beveled to remove the pressure point normally caused by the strumming arm resting on the sharp upper edge of the guitar.

 

Raised Fingerboard / Thumb Ledge / Under-cutaway

 

Reverse Geography Bridge

 

Rosettes

The decorative inlay work around the soundhole.

 

Sideports

Popular belief would tell you that the guitars soundhole is the source of the instruments voice- its mouth. That may be partly true, but its main job is twofold: to set the inherent pitch of the box, and to allow the free movement of air in and out of the box as the plates move in and out. The tuning of the box is set by the size of aperture; the larger the opening, the higher the pitch. Now, a wise man once told me that a soundhole can be anywhere on the guitars body (see www.laskinguitars.com, and laskin armrest) and certainly we see there are concert harps with the soundhole on the back that regularly compete for sonic space in an orchestra. By putting the majority of the openings on the side we get two benefits: by minimizing the loosening effect of the top soundhole we can make the top looser and lighter by making it thinner, the player can access the harmonic minutae that happens within the box—even amplified, the player hears the acoustic nature of the guitar.

 

Slotted Headpiece

 

Tear-drop Vee

Tear-drop vee is a description of the asymetrical cross-section of the guitar's neck.

 

Tilt Control