This article originally appeared in Acoustic Guitar magazine. © String Letter Publishing, all rights reserved.
Design Innovations
By Teja Gerken
As new guitar companies emerged, countless luthiers entered the scene, and players developed new demands, guitar design in the '90s began to challenge traditional ideas and perceptions. Often referred to as the new golden era of lutherie, the last decade saw both the production of some of the best copies of traditional designs and the popularization of contemporary designs.
To the casual observer, today's guitars don't look much different than those built in the '40s (with a few exceptions). Many of the most tantalizing developments of the '90s happened in the manufacturing process or in details that are invisible to the eye once the guitar is completed. Bolt-on necks are probably the best example. Though they are not new, their acceptance as part of a high-quality instrument is. A modern-day bolt-on neck is a complex piece of engineering that involves more than simply slapping a neck onto a body, and few people still insist that a traditional dovetail joint always leads to a better-sounding instrument. In the words of Bob Taylor, "More players and builders recognize that a bolted neck performs as well as a dovetail and carries some advantages, such as the ability to hold a tighter neck angle tolerance when the guitar is originally made and the ability to remove and reset the neck at a later date." The neck-body joint is a main concern for many luthiers these days. Taylor was the first major company to come out with a radical new system designed to minimize the effect of a rising or sinking top on the neck and fingerboard, but luthiers such as Rick Turner, Steve Klein, and John Monteleone are working on their own improvements to this crucial element of guitar design.
The neck-to-body geometry was one of Martin's prime considerations when it developed the inexpensive D-1 model. "The neck angle is built into the body, as opposed to the neck," explains Martin's Dick Boak, who also adds that "the bracing pattern is cantilevered and A-framed, extending out to support the soundhole better." The concept proved to be such a success that Martin introduced the new 16 series, which merges some of the technology adapted from the D-1 with more traditional designs.
There are, of course, many design trends that are more outwardly apparent than neck-body joints. Unusual soundhole placement is one of the most obvious. Luthiers working on Kasha-style instruments have been experimenting for years with moving the opening away from the center of the soundboard, but now more and more builders, of both flattops and archtops have become receptive to the idea. In fact, Tacoma entered the market in 1997 with a line of affordable solid-top instruments that featured soundholes in the upper bout of the soundboard.
When renowned luthier Steve Klein, who was one of the first to embrace Kasha's ideas, designed Taylor's new acoustic bass in 1995, he moved the soundhole into the area of the instrument's cutaway to maximize the efficiency of the top, a design he has since incorporated into several of his own guitars. Luthiers John Monteleone, Linda Manzer, Steve Andersen, and Tom Ribbecke have been experimenting with offset soundholes and openings in the side of the guitar in their archtop designs. These developments are likely to be more common in years to come.
Luthiers have long fancied the use of composite materials, but during the '90s a variety of manufacturers began using graphite and other nonwood materials on a larger scale. The most dramatic advances were made by RainSong, which developed a line of guitars made entirely out of graphite composite. Similarly, Ovation's Adamas line and Q guitar-an instrument similar to "project cars" shown by auto manufacturers-provide a glimpse into the possible future of the instrument. Graphite has even found its way into wood guitars. Innovative luthiers Rick Turner, William Cumpiano, and Charles Fox have all discovered the positive qualities of the material in soundboards, necks, trussrods, and braces.
Some new design developments began as solutions to players' ergonomic needs. Luthiers have begun to built wedge-shaped bodies (Linda Manzer and William Cumpiano) or include a beveled edge on the lower bout (Grit Laskin, Washburn) in an effort to alleviate right-arm discomfort without sacrificing tone. As nylon-string guitars found their way into styles of music traditionally played on steel-string instruments, a new breed of hybrid instrument was needed. Thanks to Takamine, Yamaha, Godin, Ovation, and smaller companies like Breedlove and CFox, players unused to the classical guitars' wide neck no longer have to commission custom instruments to feel comfortable with nylon strings.
For many players, the arrival of a wide selection of travel guitars has probably been the greatest guitar-related event of the '90s. It's not always practical to drag a full-size acoustic along on business trips and vacations, but travelers now have a number of good-sounding half- and three-quarter-size playing partners to choose from. While Martin's Backpacker pioneered the modern travel guitar concept, Taylor's Baby proved to be equally successful and also served as a guinea pig for many of the company's other developments. Tacoma's tiny Papoose, tuned like a regular guitar capoed at the fifth fret, offers both a cool new sound and the portability of a travel guitar. Ovation's Trekker brought the rugged roundback design to the smaller format, and Yamaha, Washburn, and Larrivée have all jumped on the traveling bandwagon.
The stage is set for a new, open-minded era of guitar construction. As Bob Taylor says, "Breaking tradition is not the goal. Making better guitars is." With players open to new ideas and lutherie at its highest level ever, it's certain that the best guitars are still to come.